She’s well-known for her life on Our Yorkshire Farm, but this week Amanda Owen takes a break from her toils for a new adventure in the series Farming Lives.
The 48-year-old mother-of-nine (there’s Raven, Reuben, Miles, Edith, Violet, Sidney, Annas, Clementine and Nancy, aged from 21 to five) and her husband Clive announced their separation last June.
Amanda told the Radio Times that the split was “not unique, it’s just how things are, pressures, all the rest of it. But we have nine kids, with associated friends, girlfriends, and we just have to get on with it.”
For this solo series, she heads off to visit other farmers to see how they’re making things work during these testing times…
Hi, Amanda! Can you tell us about your new show?
I visit different farms and their owners and see what they’re up to, how they’ve diversified and what challenges they’re facing. It was good for me as I’ve been rather confined to my own hill end, so it was nice to get a different outlook.
You stay on each farm for a few nights – how was that?
Eating with them and talking about their lives was important. I keep thinking about having somebody come to stay here with me – I’d have to do some serious tidying!
How are each of the six farms different?
Some of them are first-generation farmers like me, and some are family farms that
have been handed down. They all have different stories. One of the first people I went to was a Ukrainian lady, who was farming pigs. She was inspired by reading the James Herriot books in the Ukraine, just like me, which blew my mind.
You visit two sisters who run their farm in Shetland with their mum. What was their story?
Their dad died suddenly so they were faced with a stark choice, carry on or quit. It was where they were brought up, where their childhood was, so they decided to make things work.
Filming the show meant you spending time away from home. Did the kids cope?
Oh, yes. Years of training means they’re fine. The nature of what we do means there’s always something to be done, so they can bake, cook, even tidy up – usually when I give them a warning that I’m coming back!
We’ve watched your family grow up on-screen. Have things got easier as the children have got older?
It’s never easy, it’s different challenges. But I must admit I do like being a part of their journey as they grow up and seeing them develop. Raven is away at university doing a Masters now, Reuben’s working independently and loving it, Miles has left school and is working at home. It brings in new people and keeps you on your toes. I hope it keeps me young.
You’ve become a well-known face on TV. How has that been for you?
Life has its challenges, whether that’s in media-land or on the farm. You have to adapt and change over time, don’t you?
We always see you hard at work. Do you enjoy the glamorous part of showbiz too?
Of course I do, although I think at the moment I’d need a very big scrub and a manicure! I enjoy being not what people expect. I hate the idea of stereotyping. I might be 6ft 2in and work on the farm, but I can wear heels, stick on false eyelashes and be totally happy talking to a bunch of hill farmers while I’m doing it!
*AMANDA OWEN’S FARMING LIVES, WEDNESDAY, 9PM, MORE4
