NOTHING is quite as it seems in Ryedale. The glorious excesses of Brideshead really belong to Castle Howard. The Hogwart's Express was a Pickering steam train. And now Scarborough is celebrating Christmas 12 weeks early.

But then, this is not North Yorkshire, it is TV-land. In this strange principality they pull crackers before Halloween and guzzle Easter eggs as we tuck into turkey.

The Scarborough snow has arrived courtesy of the popular ITV show The Royal. We can only hope that the weather is kind in mid-January, when the actors are forced to film in summer holiday swimsuits on the windswept South Bay.

Updated: 11:14 Friday, October 03, 2003