On Monday night Jersey featured in Thalassa – one of France’s longest-running television programmes.
The show, first broadcast in 1975, focuses on the sea and maritime life and is aired across the country once a month.
But filming didn’t entirely go as planned when the crew began working on an episode featuring the Mont Saint-Michel monastery in Normandy, Chausey and the Channel Islands.
Dave Nuth, owner of Iris Freight CI, which ships national newspapers – printed in St Saviour – to Guernsey, said that the film crew did not fare well on the Island’s choppy seas.
‘They phoned up and asked if they could get an insight into how we deliver the newspapers to Guernsey. They came down to the dock to film us load them at about 3 am,’ he said.
‘Unfortunately, they were not very good sailors. I do not think they were used to being on boats at night and had a bit of mal de mer [sea sickness].’
Mr Nuth added that the film crew had endured very mixed weather during their visit and ended up staying in Jersey longer than planned. ‘They got some really good footage. They hired a RIB and used a drone to get some shots of us going along in the boat.
‘Unfortunately, the weather turned while they were over and they ended up getting stuck here for four days,’ he added.
During a break in the weather the crew enjoyed a day out at the Ecréhous to sample Jersey produce.
Fresh Fish Company co-owner Vicky Boarder, who accompanied the crew to the reef with Mr Nuth, said: ‘We took some fresh Jersey scallops and wrapped them in fresh Jersey bacon, barbecued them and then put it on French bread. We also did some filming at La Rocque, showing the gullies and rock formations at different states of the tide.
‘It was such a wonderful day with wonderful people, it was really fantastic. I will not forget it.
‘The sea was calm. It was just the most wondrous day, and it made showing off Jersey just so much better.’
Mrs Boarder said that filming the programme had been nostalgic and brought back childhood memories.
She said: ‘When I was much younger I used to watch it with my family on French TV. I think it used to go out on either a Sunday or Monday night. It really brought back memories.
‘It is a massive coup for Jersey to be on such a massive stage like this.’
