TV star Stacey Dooley threw herself into the life of a nun at St Hilda's Priory in Whitby in her latest documentary.

From following the nuns' strict timetable and eating meals in silence to learning how to pray and sing in a choir, the documentary maker spent 10 days learning what it's like to be a nun in the modern age. 

St Hilda's has been home to Anglican nuns for more 115 years and used to be a teaching order, meaning education was the key mission for sisters.

Very little has changed at the convent since its foundation, but with an ageing population and fewer women being called to the vocation, this way of life is dying out.

York Press: Photo via BBC/Firecracker Films. The sisters from St Hilda’s Priory - the Order of the Holy Paraclete, Whitby (Left to Right) Sister Erika, Nadine Unger, Sister Grace, Sister Helen, Sister Grace, Sister Dorothy, Sister Allison, Sister Jocelyn.Photo via BBC/Firecracker Films. The sisters from St Hilda’s Priory - the Order of the Holy Paraclete, Whitby (Left to Right) Sister Erika, Nadine Unger, Sister Grace, Sister Helen, Sister Grace, Sister Dorothy, Sister Allison, Sister Jocelyn.

Having struggled to prioritise her work-life balance for some time, busy bee Stacey swapped her life in the fast lane for a slower and more meaningful way of life.

Ahead of her visit to the convent, Stacey described the vast scenery on the North Yorkshire moors as "stunningly beautiful". 

The documentary was Stacey's first encounter with church and religion since childhood.

Sister Grace helped guide Stacey through confusion at prayer time while she swapped her women's magazine for more religious reading material.

The documentary maker also found a new way to look at life's everyday rituals and understand a different sense of purpose.

"The idea that you can take real pleasure and meaning from like mundane chores is quite a revelation to me," Stacey said.

"I can't stand here and say that putting a dishwasher on can make me feel closer to God because I just feel like 'Oh, it's such a laborious task'. But I think I understand what they're saying. You know, take meaning from everything you do and don't always place importance on big, loud, massive achievements. It can be just simply existing and being here."

Stacey explored how the sisters - some of whom have been at the convent for several decades - cope with the rigidity of an old-fashioned, scheduled life.

Ahead of the show, the BBC said: "Can living with these 23 devout sisters, who have dedicated themselves to a very different set of priorities, give her new insights into her own life that might last beyond her time with them?

"What are the challenges of living within the strict confines of a convent, where the women have taken vows of poverty, obedience and celibacy?" 

You can watch Stacey Dooley's latest documentary Inside The Convent via BBC iPlayer.