The recent publication of a paperback version of Black Diamonds provided an opportunity for me to catch up with Catherine, in between a series of promotional events in Yorkshire, and find out a little more about both the background to the research and writing of the book and herself. I had met Catherine for the first time several years earlier, introduced to me by my Wentworth friend Martyn Johnson who thought I may be able to provide a little help with information about local coal mining communities. I was immediately struck by Catherine’s determination to access a wide range of sources for her research and the way that she generally got on so well with local people. I had met London television people before and she was certainly different, far more perceptive about the recent history of the local area. Martyn, well known in the village and locality, has a great interest in local history too, and will be remembered by many readers for his ‘metal detecting’ contributions to BBC Radio Sheffield and has accompanied Catherine on several of her recent promotional tours.

I began by asking Catherine how the idea for the book began. She told me that it was the sight of the great house itself, back in 1995, when she was researching a television documentary, that first inspired her. Its huge dimensions, the shuttered windows and air of neglect, its relative obscurity compared with places such as Chatsworth or Blenheim, added to an increasing sense of mystery. ‘It came to haunt me’, said Catherine, ‘the more I discovered, the more intriguing it became.’ In between making documentaries she began compiling an outline, albeit sketchy, of the house and its family history.

The coal mining element added another key dimension to Catherine’s growing fascination in a potential writing project. Years earlier, just after the 1984/85 miners’ strike, she had spent several months living in the South Wales mining community of Ynysybwl, based on the Lady Windsor Colliery, when researching a documentary about Britain’s miners. There she felt close to the people which gave her an affinity and interest in the subject of coal. Not long afterwards Lady Windsor Colliery went the way of most South Yorkshire pits, closed in the aftermath of the strike but the discovery that the later Fitzwilliams wealth was coal-based made Catherine doubly intrigued with the project.

Catherine was involved in a long-running and BAFTA nominated comedy TV series for BBC 2 called Double Take. It involved using lookalikes of royals, politicians and celebrities, placing them in hilarious but realistic situations. But Wentworth House remained an abiding interest. Following a meeting with a literary agent in 2003 TV work was turned down and over a three month period a book proposal was compiled. The agent was enthused by the result, successfully presenting it to a major international publishing group: Penguin. The basic idea was for a book about a great house, family and estate in the second half of the twentieth century, set therefore within an immense period of social change.

As mentioned, the main research was not easy but uncovering information, what Catherine called ‘the challenge of trying to unlock some of the mysteries of Wentworth House’ was laborious though enjoyable. I remember meeting Catherine in London when I had been working at the British Library’s newspaper library at Colindale in 2006, a place that she had also used as part of the research. Catherine recently completed a major draft of the book and I was really surprised how much writing she had already done. Writing can be euphoric on occasions but can be equally very frustrating when you can’t work out what you want to say. One important section took no less than fifteen drafts. Catherine mentioned two parts of the book that gave her the most satisfaction. One related to whether Billy (the 7th Earl) was an impostor (a changeling) or not was singled out, as was her writings about the mining community of Denaby Main and the Cadeby pit disaster.

Black Diamonds was given a launch party in London, at the Reform Club, courtesy of friends from Catherine’s old college. It was a very well attended event and a very successful. The guests included Hugh Grant, the famous actor and film producer who first achieved international fame in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

However, Catherine told me that the public response to her book has been the greatest thrill, ‘really touching’, especially when she has attended book signings in South Yorkshire, so many people telling her how much they had enjoyed reading the book, and even enriching their lives. Such direct praise means so much to a writer believe me. Penguin must be immensely pleased too. The first hardback edition went out of print within a few weeks and there have been numerous reprints. The current paperback version reached first place in The Independent newspaper’s History book chart, shortly after publication, based on data supplied by Waterstones. There may be a special edition and I do think that a talking book version would work very well too.

Born and brought up in London, the daughter of an architect, Catherine read history at Oxford. She had several jobs before starting a successful career in television. One was working as a receptionist and waitress at Chelsea Arts Club, a popular venue for painters, writers and musicians. A break came when she got a job as a chauffeur and junior researcher for Roy Jenkins who was then leader of the SDP. This gave her a fascinating insight into the world of politics, listening to conversations and meeting people of national importance. Jenkins was ‘a fascinating chap, absolutely charming and considerate’, taking her along to some of his parties.

The breakthrough into television came when Catherine got a job as a researcher with Central TV in Birmingham, working on documentaries ‘when there were great directors around who had made wonderful films during the 1960s’. Among them was Ken Loach, ‘a lovely man’, well known of course in South Yorkshire for his much acclaimed film Kes, based on Barry Hines’s book about a boy growing up in a mining community. Then Catherine got the chance to direct her own documentary film, The Money Slaves, based on a week in the life of corporate bankers. Her luck was in, for the first day of filming coincided with the stock market crash known as Black Monday. Teasingly her colleagues now called her ‘Scoop’ after the character in Evelyn Waugh’s novel.

I asked Catherine about a later project, a documentary that she had produced about the House of Lords. This involved working with Molly Dineen, one of the UK’s most respected female film directors. My interview with Catherine took place in March, on the morning after the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (Bafta) ceremony in London. Very modestly, she mentioned that she had been on stage receiving a Bafta in the Single Documentary category, for producing Lie of the Land, a film broadcast on Channel 4 in 2007, about the demise of farming due to the import of cheap food from abroad. Again, Catherine worked with Molly Dineen on the project, along with Justin Krish and Mark Firth.

Currently, Catherine Bailey is researching another book, this time based on a country estate during the Great War. Early days, but if it has the same appeal as Black Diamonds, it will be another best seller, I’m sure. But keep coming to South Yorkshire Catherine, you will always be welcome here.