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The owner of a new gelato shop Bath is none other than the man who rebooted hit TV show Big Brother on Channel 5.

Dr Gelato, in Orange Grove, has been open for nearly a week now, with TV producer Gavin Henderson at the helm.

The 49-year-old has swapped the TV industry for a more delectable line of work.

Bath Live spoke to Mr Henderson about how he went from humble beginnings to having a hugely successful career in TV and then getting into the gelato business.

(Image: PAUL GILLIS / paulgillisphoto.com)

Life behind the lens:

For a man who has spent nearly three decades in the TV business, you may be surprised to know that Mr Henderson studied philosophy at university.

"It qualifies you for everything and nothing," he said.

He then worked as a runner at a TV company in Winchester, doing unpaid work. From there, he worked his way around the UK, to places like Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, London and Bristol - a place he now resides with his family.

Slowly but surely, he worked his way up the ladder, earning more senior roles as he went.

Mr Henderson went onto become a creative TV executive and was a key member of shows such as: The Big Breakfast, Autumnwatch and Planet Earth Live.

(Image: jondavey.com)

What he is most famous for was being involved in season three of Big Brother, which shot Jade Goody to fame in 2002.

He was then tasked with relaunching Big Brother on Channel 5, something he did as creative director in 2011.

"For the last 25 years I have been a TV producer," said Mr Henderson, who also ran Plimsoll Productions and Highwire Productions.

"I have been very fortunate throughout my career and it was a fantastic time for me.

"Being involved with these projects was an absolute pleasure and reinventing Big Brother on Channel 5 was a really big challenge but one that was very exciting.

"But I wanted a change. I decided to create my own individual script rather than write one for someone else."

A new business venture:

After 25 years in the TV business, Mr Henderson was looking for a new venture.

(Image: Dr Gelato)

Three years ago, Mr Henderson and his wife went on a gelato course in Italy for the day and an idea began to freeze in his mind.

Through his TV contacts he found out about the availability of a shop in Orange Grove becoming available.

A friend told him that a great place to start a gelato business would be in... Orange Grove. So when Mosaics of Design shut on that street, Mr Henderson said the opportunity was too good to refuse.

"I am a huge believer in fate. I had lived in Bath for a while and my sister is here too so when we found this place, I went for it," he said.

"We put an advert out on the shopfront and somehow this brilliant gelato chef called Irene Pezone got in touch with us and asked to come on board."

(Image: PAUL GILLIS / paulgillisphoto.com)

He added: "Irene is from Rome and she used to work in a top gelateria in Leicester for several years but she has moved with her family to Bath and we are so grateful.

"She comes up with the most incredible recipes. She makes it all from scratch. Most of the time she is making it in Bristol but sometimes she will be in Bath too.

"If you want to create a brilliant business, you need brilliant people and she is just brilliant."

Mr Henderson, who is married and has three children, is so excited about this new venture.

"This is right up there in terms of exciting things I have done in my career," he said.

"This is like my own reality show. It is definitely exhilarating. We hope everyone will like it."

(Image: PAUL GILLIS / paulgillisphoto.com)

What Dr Gelato has to offer:

Dr Gelato offers 'seriously chilled' and fresh 'artisan ice-cream'.

There are 18 flavours, six of which are vegan.

All of them are freshly made by gelato chef, Irene Pezone, back in a kitchen they own in Bristol and then they are shipped over to the Bath shop.

According to cooking website, The Kitchn, gelato is the Italian word for ice cream, but the two are very different things.

It starts out with a similar custard base as ice cream but has a higher proportion of milk and a lower proportion of cream and eggs (or no eggs at all).

It is churned at a much slower rate, incorporating less air and leaving the gelato denser than ice cream.

At present, there are a variety of cones on offer, as well as a tub.

The flavours include French vanilla, chocolate, salted caramel, Tiramisu, hazelnut, pistachio, chocolate brownie, rum and raisin, rhubarb and custard, coffee and mint chocolate.

There are also sorbettos such as strawberry, raspberry, mango, lemon and dark chocolate.

(Image: PAUL GILLIS / paulgillisphoto.com)

Regular size cones or tubs cost £2.95 and large ones cost £3.95.

Decorated cones cost an extra 60p as do flakes.

"We want to offer something that nobody else offers," he added.

Got a view on this or another local news story? Email richard.mills@reachplc.com.

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