GAZETTE & HERALD: CHIPPENHAM morris dancers were able to get in the mood for next week's town folk festival when they were called in to teach the celebrities on TV's The Farm how to perform.

They danced their way to television fame alongside former Dallas actress Charlene Tilton, veteran entertainer Lionel Blair and all the other residents of Channel Five's reality show The Farm on Sunday night.

The Chippenham morris side was invited to join the celebrities on the television show and spent several hours on Saturday at the farm, near Warminster, where the programme is recorded.

Not surprisingly, Lionel Blair proved the quickest on his feet and soon got the measure of the traditional dance the Chippenham men tried to teach them.

Unusually for a reality show, the programme makers asked for a second shot of the celebrities struggling to master the dance.

"I don't think the camera people got it right the first time they didn't get enough of the celebrities' faces," said Chippenham morris member Torquil MacInnes.

He said the programme producers found out about Chippenham Morris Men via their website and invited them to take part in the show.

The celebrities enjoying a taste of country life also include Keith Harris, of Orville fame, Flavor, a hip hop MC and founder member of Public Enemy, model Emma, male porn star Ron Jeremy and actress and glamour model Emma Noble.

Sunday's episode included a mock-up country fair on the farm and the morris men were invited to perform three dances before taking the celebrities under their wing for training.

"The Americans were a bit puzzled I don't think they'd seen anything like it," said Mr MacInnes. "But they were all very friendly and thought we were fantastic."

The morris dancers had a few hours hanging about but they were well fed and had some beers. The production company even gave them a crate of beer to take home and Mr MacInnes admitted they paid a nice fee to top up the club's bank account.

It isn't the first time the Chippenham Morris Men have appeared on television, however.

In the 1980s they appeared alongside Canadian band Men Without Hats in their video for hit single Safety Dance subsequently screened on Top of the Pops.

They also danced around a classic car at Castle Combe circuit for an episode of Top Gear and appeared alongside Richard Harris in a film called Savage Hearts.

The morris side will be among around 70 dance groups who will be descending on Chippenham over the folk festival weekend, including Chippenham debuts by some extraordinary morris sides such as the black-clad and black-faced Wolfshead and Vixen morris side, the Flag and Bone Gang, whose dancers rattle animal bones, and the Dogrose morris side.

For young people aged 12 to 21 there will be three days' drama, music and dance workshops laid on for them at the Bridge Centre. Renamed the Hub for the festival weekend, the youth events will be run by nationally renowned group Shooting Roots.