TELEVISION artist Alan Hydes has a new series, Blooming Art, coming to Yorkshire TV in February.

As part of the series Mr Hydes, of Apperley Bridge, near Rawdon, visited Althorp, home of Earl Spencer, and painted the island where Princess Diana is laid to rest. He also painted views around the grounds where she played as a child.

Mr Hydes, who also has a second series which includes a programme on Ilkley due on YTV screens in July, said: "The Blooming Art series has gathered momentum with the more exclusive gardens now happy to feature in the series.

"Althorp was a real scoop. It is incredible. Earl Spencer was keen on my paintings and he gave up a day of his time in September.

"All the visitors had gone and the autumn leaves were blowing down into the lake. It is very majestic and touching. The lake is a fabulous part of the gardens.

"Just before she died, Princess Diana came up for the weekend. She loved it and had taken photos of the view I chose to paint. It is very serene with deer grazing. A lot of the trees, from all over the world, have been planted by the Royals over hundreds of years."

The six-show series begins on February 19 at 7.30pm. Gardens featured include Bishopthorpe Palace, the home of the Archbishop of York; Newby Hall near Ripon; Castle Howard; Renishaw, south of Leeds; and Exbury with one of the richest men in the world, Nicholas de Rothschild.

The Archbishop of York joined Mr Hydes in the gardens of Bishopthorpe as he painted his favourite flowers. Mr Hydes said: "Bishopthorpe Palace had suffered really bad floods last year.

"When I got there all the borders and flowers had been swept into the river. The Ouse claimed a lot of the garden. I had to use artistic licence to fill in the gaps. It was a fairly nice bright garden but not as it should be.

"In a year's time, providing there are no more floods, it should be back to how it was."

While he was there he decided to change the background of a portrait of the Archbishop of York he had done on a previous occasion. He took it away but it came back 'a totally different portrait'.

He said: "All the flesh tints looked wrong so I had to repaint the portrait." He urged people who have been to see it to return and see the updated version.

His second series, Painting the Past, takes in Ilkley, Skipton and the surrounding area, and is scheduled to be broadcast in July.

The programme featuring Ilkley shows Mr Hydes painting the old bridge near the junction of Denton Road and Bridge Road.

This came about through the Ilkley Gazette which asked for readers to write in with their suggestions. The winner was Pam Tankard who had a romantic family story connected to the bridge.

Mr Hydes said: "Several generations of her family had proposed on the bridge. The programme was done in the summer and is a fabulous film."