FOR over 50 years, Percy Allen wouldn't leave his little wooden hut for anything. He'd painstakingly built it even before he helped build the house, made the kitchen units in there, spent many hours just potting the world to rights.

Last year, however, Percy had to move into a nursing home. The new house owner didn't need the shed, offered it free to a careful owner and was delighted when it re-appeared in Richard Bradley's garden at the other end of the village. Now the hut that Percy built is about to become Britain's best known garden shed.

The scene is Gilling West, near Richmond in North Yorkshire. By the end of October, however, the shed that never knew its B and Qs will be seen by 15 million television viewers every Sunday evening - a permanent fixture in the Yorkshire Tea commercials in Heartbeat. "A bit like the dogs that watch the washing machine in Emmerdale," says Richard.

The advert makers had asked locations manager Andrew Bainbridge to find a "characterful" old garden shed for what in the trade is known (apparently) as a bumper.

Though he and Richard Bradley had never met, Andrew lives in Gilling West, too. Andrew looked all over, but didn't have to look far at all. "It must have been three months after the producer and director first came that they finally said it was perfect and confirmed they wanted to use it. They looked at four or five others. We were convinced we'd heard the last," says Richard.

The commercial's story features an old man who likes to drink his tea from a huge mug, ladles the sugar with a garden trowel and then, rather like the late and lamented Compo, drinks it from the saucer. Since the lady wife disapproves, as lady wives have a habit of doing, he slurps surreptitiously in the shed.

The shed, originally intended as a hen house on Richard's brother's farm, had been transported through the village on a low trailer - "it must have been a wonderful sight," he says. "All it needed was a little old man smoking his pipe at the door." The television people painted it dark brown inside, installed a ceiling and an outside seat, covered the inside walls with picture postcards, magazine cuttings and other memorabilia.

A set designer spent all day making alterations to Richard's garden. And at 6.30am next day a 28-strong production team - and that's not including the catering van - arrived for the bumper day. "I was expecting half a dozen at the most," says Richard, himself a gardener and a part-time hotel accountant. "They were there for 12 hours and half the village turned out to wander round the garden - the television people were very good about it."

There, too, was Percy Allen, driven over from the nursing home in Richmond. "I think he was very proud," says Richard.

He now has plans to return the shed, presently used for more traditional bottom of the garden purposes, to the sort of bolt-hole featured in the commercial. Should word of his commercial break get around, Richard even contemplates guided tours - proceeds to the parish church, where he's treasurer, with a cup of tea included.

Though Richard and his mother received a few bob and rather a lot of Yorkshire Tea for their troubles, the story, alas, doesn't have an entirely happy ending.

The lady wife discovers the old man's drinking problem - as lady wives also have a habit of doing - and in the last shot he is seen amid the petunias, sipping from the best bone china. Richard Bradley watched the filming. "He didn't look very pleased at all."

THE Rt Rev Martyn Jarrett is a gardener, too. To be installed in York Minster on Saturday as "flying" Bishop of Beverley - an Anglican occasion to make the Vatican seem low church by comparison - he relaxes in a rather more down to earth manner, among his vegetables. Bishop Jarrett, whose new patch will cover the entire north of England, even used the compost heap as an image in his farewell sermon as Bishop of Burnley - "Christ the compost heap, Christ the bottom of the pile. He keeps cropping up in the most uncomfortable places."

The compost heap also had a more practical use, he added. "When yet another wad of lengthy committee minutes lands on my desk, there are few more satisfying things than knowing that in a few years' time I will have shredded them down, mixed them with my kitchen waste and enjoyed them, transformed into next year's cabbages."

BROTHER George, described in the column last year as the best known Christian since Dior, celebrates his 90th birthday on October 23. Once cheerfully familiar on licensed premises throughout the region - though only, of course, drinking lemonade - George still lives among fellow monks at St John of God Hospital in Scorton, near Richmond for which he helped raise both money and profile.

His effigy, in the form of monastic collecting boxes, remains on countless

bars while George also continues indomitably to visit patients - "they're surprised, they think the old beggar died years ago," he says.

His birthday will be marked with a tea party, to which the order has kindly invited us. We said we'd not miss it for the world.

STEPHEN Smailes, 34 years a Conservative councillor in Stockton, has also called with an invitation - to join his final Last of the Summer Wine Club outing of the season. They're cross-bench occasions - fellow Tory Bill Woodhead, Labour member Keith Leonard ("it's an effort, but you have to") and council official Ken McWilliams. Stephen probably plays the bossy one. Usually they go down the Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough to Whitby - "wonderful at this time of year" - couple of pints in a little pub at the bottom of the 199 steps, bag of fish and chips, maybe another beer to see them homeward. "A perfect day for people like you and me," insists Stephen, though unfortunately we've not been able to accept.

In any case, there's a caveat. "We don't drink 14 pints, probably not even between us," says Stephen. "We leave that to the leader."

AFTER wowing Trimdon Labour Club (John North, September 28) skiffle king Lonnie Donegan duly took the Rock Island Line down to Brighton for the party conference. Broken toe notwithstanding, the 69-year-old won just about the week's biggest standing ovation. "He was absolutely fantastic," reports Ian Luck. "Tony and Cherie shook his hand, Mo gave him a huge kiss. It was undoubtedly the highlight of the conference."

THE latest edition of the Robin Hood's Bay magazine Bayfair has arrived, a picture of your columnist and of Willie the Seagull on the front. "I hope your mug on the cover won't lose us too many sales," writes editor Jim Foster, facetiously. It has also caused much merriment with Mr Graham Manser and Mr Charlie Woodward of Whitby Town FC, who insist upon ringing The Northern Echo and asking for Willie the Seagull. They will be made to pay when Whitby play Easington in the Cup a week on Saturday. Bayfair also reports that Robin Hood's Bay holidaymaker Charles Sutcliffe, 37, was hit directly by lightning which passed through his chest where the blood capillaries formed a fern leaf pattern.

Doctors also discovered three hair-line fractures of the skull, the result of his crashing to the ground. Next day he was discharged from hospital. Sutcliffe, they concluded, had been a lucky man.

...and finally, we hear that Durham University boffin and city councillor Grenville Holland is claiming to be the only man to have slept on the moon without leaving the earth's atmosphere. Dr Holland, visiting Cape Canaveral or somewhere similarly out of this world, had been given a sliver of moon rock for research purposes. Security being what it is, he went to bed with it beneath his pillow