Behind Closed Doors: The little slice of Greece tucked away in Torquay

  • Watch as Claire Manning finds a little slice of Greece in Torquay


Torquay may be known as a quintessential British seaside town, but it does in fact hold a little slice of Greece.

St Andrew's is the town's oldest church but around 50 years ago, converted to a Greek Orthodox church.

ITV News West Country's Behind Closed Doors series takes a look inside places and locations people pass every day, but don't know what happens inside or why they exist.

As part of the series, Claire Manning was given a tour of this historical building by elder Robert Skrivanos, who is the church's president.

Elder Robert Skrivanos is the president of the Greek Orthodox church of St Andrew.

Elder Robert Skrivanos said: "We are very, very proud of our church. We are proud to look after it and keep it beautiful. I myself, have a great feeling and love for the church.

"The services are done in a range of languages - Greek, English, Bulgarian, Romanian.

"We have Russian, Indian and Chinese speakers - so it's a mixture of languages and cultures."

The church's conversion to Greek Orthodox is just the latest chapter in its rich history.

He added: "Torquay isn't just buckets and spades, it has real culture. The church has such an interesting history and there are some great opportunities to get involved.

  • If you would like to see behind the doors of a place or location anywhere in the West Country, please let us know by emailing westcountry@itv.com