Round Ireland with a Fridge filmed in the Preselis and Manorbier (From Western Telegraph)

Round Ireland with a Fridge filmed in the Preselis and Manorbier

2:58pm Friday 12th June 2009

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Watching a refrigerator being taken surfing is hardly the chill-out experience one would expect from a day out at the beach.

But then, strange things can happen in Pembrokeshire - like the county being used as a landscape double for Ireland in a film...

No sooner have the Harry Potter crew dismantled their idyllic Shell Cottage in the dunes of Freshwater West and the cameras begin to roll on Russell Crowe's Robin Hood epic on the same sands, than along comes Fridge d'Or Productions to Manorbier and the Preseli Mountains.

They've chosen the county, which is the jewel in the crown of Wales, to Dublin-up for the Emerald Isle in Round Ireland with a Fridge, which they predict is going to be the comedy hit of next winter.

It's a surreal, life-affirming tale of how a drunken bet led comedian and broadcaster Tony Hawks to hitch-hike around the country, with a fridge in tow. He has now not only adapted his best-selling book for the screen but will star in the film as himself.

""It's a bit of a one-off for someone to make a journey, write a book and then play themselves in its film, but that was the only real way to make the film happen," 49-year-old Tony told the Western Telegraph yesterday (Thursday). "I am, after all, ridiculously cheap!"

Shooting on the privately-funded film began a month ago in Irish-themed pubs in Surrey and the London area, today Friday sees the 50-strong crew heading for the Preselis to film hitch-hiking location shots.

However, there will be a brief foray across the Irish Sea to Dublin, where Tony's challenge started and finished over a decade ago.

One of the most bizarre situations of the entire book comes when Tony and Bingo the surfing barman decide to take the fridge to ride the waves off a beach in County Sligo - and that's where Manorbier comes in.

"The filming has gone really well," said wet-suit clad Tony, emerging from the sea with Bingo (Tomas O'Suilleabhain) and one of the five different fridges which are being used.

"This film has captured the attention of a lot of distributors because of its message of optimism amid the current economic conditions. It's really a little adult fairy-tale, because I realised that if I had faith in the fridge, things would work out for the best, and they did!"

It is hoped the film will be released this winter after screening at the London Film Festival in November. It is being directed by Ed Bye, who worked on Kevin and Perry Go Large, Red Dwarf and French and Saunders, and also features Josie Lawrence and Irish comedian Sean Hughes.

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