Official Statement from Team Crabtree – The Quest Extended as Illness Strikes
The Quest for ‘Peter’ – the national TV talent search for a fishing-mad youngster to appear in Series 2 of TV classic Fishing in the Footsteps of Mr. Crabtree has been extended due to serious health concerns around Executive Producer, Lester Holcombe.
It’s been a trying month at Crabtree Towers and we’ve had to take the difficult decision to delay filming of Series 2. The key reason for the delay lies in the fact that Lester has been critically ill and is currently recovering in hospital from major surgery. Lester’s illness has taken us all by surprise and we’re still reeling. He’s still very poorly although the prognosis is good for a full recovery. We’re a tight knit team and, as the lifeblood of Crabtree, it’s unthinkable that we film without him. This means that our plans to film in early August have necessarily had to change.
Our key focus right now is on giving Lester the time and space he needs to get better and that means pushing back filming until the latter part of September. We’re positive thinkers at Crabtree though and there’s always a silver lining – in this case it means we can extend the Quest for ‘Peter’ and give everyone the chance to enter.”
We’ve been overwhelmed, as always, by the enthusiasm of the children desperate to star in Fishing in the Footsteps of Mr. Crabtree. We know it’s really disappointing for them that we are forced to delay things a little, but without Lester series 1 would not have been the success it was. It’s always better to take stock and make a sensible decision and, in this case a little delay is a very good thing – it means that Series 2 will be better than ever!
The extended deadline for the Quest for ‘Peter’ means that the search will now continue until Sunday September 1st 2013.
Looking forward, the team has got a lot planned for the rest of the summer and there’s some really exciting news to come. Team Crabtree is made of stern stuff and we’re dedicated to our cause. We’re sorry to have to ask the original entrants to wait a little longer, but we promise that it will be worth it. There are lots of exciting times ahead!
Lester with a 54lb mirror carp caught at Etang Meunier, France