Masterchef judge helps Devon town enter Christmas

17 Dec 2024, 11:37 by Lewis Clarke · DevonLive

Masterchef judge and Telegraph food critic William Sitwell has helped Bampton enter the Christmas season by turning on the town’s lights.

Despite Storm Darragh doing its best to dampen proceedings, the event was moved into the Riverside Hall where there was a grand switch-on of the indoor tree in unison with the main tree outside.

Outside, there was also a chance to ride a steam bus, which had appeared on Channel 5’s Big Steam Adventure, and inside, carols were sung, led by Bampton Primary School.

William Sitwell said: “It's fantastic to be here. I'm so excited. I have seen some Christmas countdowns. I have never participated in one quite so tremendous as this.

“We're very excited that storm Darragh has brought us in here to shelter from her vicious storm, but our hearts will not be made to come to harm because of that. It's a wonderful thing to be gathering in this beautiful town. Devon is full of beautiful towns, but I actually think that there is no more special place than Bampton.

“It is an amazing community, and one of the organisers here, Samantha Thompson, should be replicated in every village and town across the country. We will need people like her. We need purple-headed monsters running our lives, not ruining them.

“Tonight, we are also going to enjoy the first Bampton Rest Fest, a food safari across the town where we are celebrating the incredible hospitality that Bampton has, and because of the weather, we're treating it like a Viking raid.”

Speaking of the countdown, he added: “Unlike the one outside Downing Street where the Prime Minister sounded like a Dalek, we definitely did something different.”

Countdown to Christmas in Bampton 2024 was supported by GOV.UK and Mid Devon District Council through the ‘Vibrant Town Centres’ scheme and enabled by Bampton Town Council. There are large numbers of businesses, community groups, individual residents and anchor organisations in the town supporting the event which is an opportunity for the whole town to work together – and to celebrate the festive season in Bampton.