ELSTEAD has featured on Channel 4 as it competes to become ‘Village of the Year’.

The picturesque community in Surrey appeared on the show last week in a bid to impress judges.

‘Village of the Year with Penelope Keith’ involves the actress, who lives in Milford, visiting a number of villages across the UK over four weeks with her team of judges.

They include archaeologist Alex Langlands, garden designer Juliet Sergeant and craft expert Patrick Grant.

Elstead’s parish clerk, Juliet Williams, nominated the village and said: “Elstead has a great community feel and by entering it’s a great way to demonstrate this community feeling.

“There are so many activities taking place in the village for all ages, so it’s a very inclusive village.

“It’s a very versatile village with beautiful countryside and a great community spirit but without knowing everyone’s business.”

Home to around 2,500 residents, Elstead is up against villages including Happisburgh in Norfolk, Hampstead Norreys in Berkshire and Ashwell in Hertfordshire.

What’s more, the winning village will receive £10,000 towards a community initiative.

Juliet went on to say: “It’s really nice to showcase what Elstead is about and it’s brought the village together.

“There’s been a positive response from residents about how it’s been portrayed and it’s lovely that it can be portrayed. It’s our own hidden gem.”

The ‘village of the year’ will be crowned in the show’s grand final on Saturday, February 10 at 8pm.