POPULAR Stroud pub, the Prince Albert, is to feature in a new BBC TV series, in which TV chef Tom Kerridge tries to find ways to save British pubs.

The Gloucester-born restaurateur is looking at ways to help revive pubs, which have closing at a rate of roughly 12 a week since 2000 - even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Saving British Pubs with Tom Kerridge will see the Michelin-starred chef trying to reverse the trend.

In the three-part series Tom, 47, will visit the Prince Albert in Rodborough as well as hostelries in Cornwall and South London.

The series starts on BBC Two on November 12.

The Prince Albert is run by Lotte Lyster and Miles Connolly and was named Stroud CAMRA's Pub of the Year for 2020.

A BBC statement said: "The tenant landlords of The Prince Albert are exceptional hosts and the pub is regularly full, so Tom is surprised to hear they are struggling.

"With no food on sale, profit must come from the sale of beer, so Tom urges them to raise their beer prices for a trial period."

It continued: "The price they buy their beer is already higher than usual because they are subject to a 'beer tie' - a centuries-old system under which tenant landlords must buy beer from the company which owns the building.

"If prices are raised, the Prince Albert could become the most expensive pub in Stroud."

In publicity for the series, Mr Kerridge said communities with a decent pub at their heart are stronger for it.

He said: "Pubs are a vital part of our history and culture and communities with a decent pub at their heart are stronger for it because people from all walks of life mix and socialise there.

"While many local services and shops are closing down, there are clear opportunities for reinventing what a pub can be.

"I want to work with locals to give them what they most want and need and create a place where they all feel welcome."

The chef, who runs two Michelin-starred restaurants, The Hand & Flowers and The Coach, in Marlow.

Writing in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2021, he said: "The one thing we have all missed during lockdown is human connection and social interaction, which above all else, is everything that the Great British pub provides - a warm, happy and friendly place for people to drink and eat.

"We need now more than ever to be positive and strong to enable us to drive the word home about how fantastic the Great British pub is and, more importantly, what it brings to each and every community."