HE'S the original one man and his dog, and Mr Graeme Aldous could not be happier.

For an inspired idea to involve the family's sheepdog Nell in his fledgling audio-visual business has been a runaway success.

And much of it is down to Nell's natural broadcasting skills, coupled with the voice of a popular actress.

Mr Aldous is now so busy he is struggling to find the time to start a third video featuring Nell and her tales of the North York Moors.

But he assures fans: "We will do it, it is just on the back burner."

It was back in 1993 that he came up with the idea of using Nell to make a promotional video for the moors national park.

He had been asked to write a script and present film footage of life on the moors.

He felt Nell could speak with more authority than he could and a new star was born.

Working with cameraman Mr Ted Parker, Nell toured the land with a camera attached to her collar to give a dog's-eye view of the scenery.

Her "voice" has been provided by actress Diana Davies, who starred as Mrs Bates in the popular soap series Emmerdale.

The trio recently enjoyed a lunchtime reunion when Ms Davies was appearing at Darlington Civic theatre.

And the actress was delighted to hear about the success of Nell's videos. "Doing Nell is a very different role for me," she said. "Graeme thought the character of Mrs Bates was warm and comfortable and he wanted that kind of voice.

"I put on more of a Yorkshire accent and took it from there. It has been a joy to do."

She said it was good to meet Mr Aldous and his wife, Anthea.

But she was especially thrilled to be re-acquainted with Nell.

"She is such a lovely dog," she said. "But Graeme makes sure we keep in touch. He sends me her paw-prints on Christmas cards!"

After the D&S Times recently revealed Nell was about to make her 100th "personal appearance" at a moorland Women's Institute meeting, the paper received dozens of calls from people eager to buy the videos or book the canine star for an event.

The first two videos - Nell's View of the North York Moors and Nell's Coast - have now sold 5,500 copies worldwide.

At 56, Graeme Aldous is on the crest of a wave. But it has not always been plain sailing.

A man of Kent, he lived in London until his mid-20s and then went to Harrogate theatre as an electrician.

He joined the BBC in 1968 as a technician and was sent to Belfast for two years, by which time local radio was starting to get established.

"One thing I learned in Belfast was the joy of living out of the city," he said.

With family links in Newcastle he ended up working as a broadcaster/producer/presenter with BBC Radio Teesside. This later became Radio Cleveland and he was one of the founders. He met his wife when she was a guest on the radio to talk about Teesside Poly rag week.

They bought a house in Skelton and she became a zoo-keeper at Preston Park where she came to realise she loved working with animals.

At this time, Mr Aldous also wanted to change direction.

"We thought: why don't we buy a smallholding and Anthea can work with animals?"

They saw their Moorsholm farm as a PO box number, bought it and "came home."

"We have now been here 26 years and have no intention of leaving," said Mr Aldous.

In 1984 he started to think about going freelance.

"The BBC knew that, wanted to learn how to make people redundant and knew I would be a willing guinea pig," he said.

In 1985 he was the first person to be made redundant by the BBC.

"I wanted something in both TV and radio," he said. "I also wanted to stay in East Cleveland and had to find something to bring that about."

So he set up an audio/visual presentation business - Teeafit Sound and Vision.

Even the title reflects his love of his adopted home. Teeafit is the East Cleveland dialect name for the peewit or lapwing.

"I didn't really know what I was doing. I had some technical knowledge from the BBC but little else," he said.

He got some second-hand equipment and made a start, quickly finding that in East Cleveland there is not enough of any one thing to specialise in audio/visual work.

So he did some writing, soundtracks for the moors centre in Danby and even some performing. The "visiting preacher" at Beamish museum is Graeme Aldous.

He put up way markers with Nell in the national park and cleaned site cabins for water workers.

"Business was not brisk and I had to be versatile," he said. "You delight in this way of life but you have to work at it.

"Moorsholm is a friendly village provided you go with the flow and throw yourself into it. I was soon village hall chairman.

"We have roots here we could never put down in suburban London where I was brought up."

He says the Nell videos are the most successful thing he has done financially and far and away the best creatively.

"I am fully booked until Christmas so the third series is on hold," he said. "People have been asking where they can get the tapes since the D&S did an article and I've had lots of requests for us to talk to groups. I never thought it would go as well as it has.

"Nell is a much better communicator than I am. She cuts across the age range and generates goodwill and a nice feeling.

"She is a great ambassador for the moors and national park."

Mr Parker had met Diana Davies through the Border Players and he and Mr Aldous went down to Yorkshire to record her voice-over.

"She was the key to the whole thing," said Mr Aldous. "She has this lovely Yorkshire voice."

He was delighted to meet her again in Darlington and says she is lined up to do the third video.

A recent coup has been taking part in the FutureWorld exhibition in Newcastle.

After setting up his audio-visual business at his farmhouse home, he has had to spend a lot of money to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology and investing in digital equipment has made a whole range of work possible.

And next? Teesside tertiary college, the university and other organisations have got government funding to make a series of TV programmes aimed at helping people gain basic skills.

Then it's back to Nell. Nell's 100th WI visit to the Eskmoor branch in Westerdale went down well.

"It was particularly appropriate that the 100th visit was in the Esk Valley where it all started," said Mr Aldous. "So much a part of what it's all about for me. So close to home.