IF you recently discovered one of the Forest's best known pubs closed to all comers, but the sounds of merriment and odd cry of "action" from within, the secret's now out.

It wasn't a lock-out or private party at The Ostrich in Newland, but a marathon filming session with comedian Hugh Dennis, of Mock the Week and Outnumbered, and wine expert, Oz Clarke.

Ostrich landlady, Kathryn Horton, said she was approached when the production company asked about filming wassailing – the folk festival ceremony closely linked to cider and fertility (of fruit trees).

"If you want to film wassailing, the answer is, The Ostrich, or the Ostrich," said Kathryn, who arranged for the Forest of Dean Wassailers and Isca Gwent to perform a wassail at the free house she's run for nearly 10 years.

"Filming took more than four and a half hours, exhausting but great fun."

The results will appear on the small screen as Oz Clarke's Christmas Drinks Special on BBC1 on December 20, repeated on Christmas Day.