The usually quiet town of Gulgong was abuzz with excitement after news broke that former Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins was going to be making a surprise visit.

Miss Hawkins, who is a host of The Great Outdoors on Channel 7, made a stop off at the renowned Cudgegong Gallery to film a segment for a drive show.

Miss Hawkins said it was her first visit to Gulgong and she would have liked to spend more time exploring the historic town.

However, her hectic schedule required her to be back in Sydney by late Friday afternoon.

Miss Hawkins travelled from Bathurst to Sofala before arriving in Gulgong.

The gallery visit was to view work by Susan Bridgeford, the coordinator of the ceramics focus group.

Mrs Bridgeford was more then happy to star alongside the former Miss Universe.

“It is fantastic coverage for the gallery and the whole community, it has been an honour to be a part of it,” she said.

“Jennifer was lovely. She made the whole experience a lot more relaxed and easy going, she really is a lovely person.”

The topic was ‘white gold,’ a type of clay used for ceramic pieces, which is currently on show at the gallery.

Mrs Bridgeford and the focus group select pieces from local ceramic artists to be the stars of the exhibition.

“There are a number of very talented ceramic artists in the local area and this was a fantastic opportunity for them to showcase their work,” she said.

Mrs Bridgeford has been doing ceramics for only seven years and attends Mudgee TAFE completing her Certificate IV in Ceramics.

The episode will go to air some time between April and August.