Milbridge gets TV attention again with ‘Dirty Jobs’ show

MILBRIDGE – It’s not often that popular television shows are shot on-location in Maine. And it’s very likely that two well-known reality shows ever have been shot on the same day in the same small town – until now.

With ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” under way at 328 Wyman Road, Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” is set to roll in today to start filming the slimy operation of processing hagfish at Cherry Point Products Inc.

Not only is Cherry Point located in the same town as the “Extreme Makeover” construction site, the company is owned by Drusilla and Lawrence Ray, the aunt and uncle of Brittany Ray who was chosen to receive a new home courtesy of “Extreme Makeover.”

“It’s quite amazing to think that two diverse operations are going on at the same time,” Drusilla Ray said Sunday at the site where “Extreme Makeover” is filming the construction of her niece’s new home.

The Discovery Channel crew was expected to leave early this morning – around 3 or 4 a.m. – to spend 24 hours on a boat with Ray’s son, Stuart Ray, and three other Cherry Point employees. After spending time on the boat, Discovery Channel will film the processing procedure at the plant.

The hagfish operation appears to be a perfect fit for “Dirty Jobs,” which is known for its close-up look via host Mike Rowe at some of the nastiest occupations around.

“We’re the only one in the state,” Drusilla Ray said.

Cherry Point catches the fish, grades and freezes them, and then ships them to New Gloucester, Mass., where they are shipped to South Korea in 24-pound boxes and made into food products and soft leather, Ray explained.

“It’s a dirty job. It’s a nasty job,” Drusilla Ray said. “It’s just horrid white slime.”