Motorhome enthusiasts David and MeShell Berry, from Castletown, have starred on the Channel 5 TV show ’Motorhoming with Merton & Webster’.

MeShell is originally from Oklahoma but moved to the island in 1997 to meet David, describing them as ’the original internet couple’ in the Isle of Man, having met in an online chatroom.

She said she had seen a post in a motorhome Facebook group asking people to get in contact if they owned one, and were into their ’gadgets’.

When MeShell emailed the woman, who turned out to be a representative from the show, she responded they would like to have a Zoom meeting with the production because they ’looked like exactly the kind of couple’ that they wanted.

MeShell believes that they were picked for the show with TV couple Paul Merton and Suki Webster because David is a ’gadget buff’ and they share an interest in off-grid living.

’David’s really interested in trying to boost our wifi on the motorhome, we’ve got an inverter which converts the battery [power] so I can blow-dry my hair, that kind of stuff - so we told them [the producers] about that,’ she said

Filming took place in Colchester, Essex, where the crew shot inside their motorhome and asked if they could share any tips or tricks.

MeShell explained how to use tension rods, which hold items in cupboards in place to prevent them sliding around.

And David showed how to use a leveller winch, which cranks down levelling stabilisers at the back of the motorhome - to reduce movement when moving about inside it.

’It was so intimidating to have the film crew there, though they said we did really well,’ MeShell told us.

’[And] trying to give them the content that they wanted to do - it was just a bit daunting, but it was fun.’

They had decided to buy their Peugeot motorhome (nicknamed ’Karma’) just before the pandemic last year, but due to the border restrictions have only just been able to take it off island.

Michelle agreed that it was a coincidence how they decided to get into motorhoming on a whim, right before it took off as a pandemic craze - with the rising popularity of domestic staycations across the UK and the island.

She explained that when they picked out their motorhome last February they had 150 homes for sale on the lot, and when they stopped by the dealership recently there was only about ten for sale.

MeShell and David now run an Instagram page documenting their travels, called ’AmeriManx’ - and even have clothes with a customised logo, a Three Legs of Man surrounded by a stars and stripes pattern.

MeShell, who worked as an executive offer with the Manx government, said that one of the reasons she retired was because she was diagnosed and treated for stage 2 endometrial cancer, with the resulting operations leaving her unable to work. She also lives with ’multiple autoimmune diseases’ and fibromyalgia/ME.

Because of this, she says that the Youtube channel they plan to start will partly be about ’living with chronic illness and trying to live a travelling/normal life - If one can’.

The programme is still available to watch on Channel 5’s internet catch-up service.