When Kelvin Fletcher was a cast member at Emmerdale, his character Andy Sugden would spend the day looking after animals, cleaning barns and riding tractors. Now, a normal day in Kelvin’s life really isn’t too dissimilar.
Shortly after winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2019, Kelvin, wife Liz and their children had plans to move to Los Angeles. The world then came to a halt due to Coronavirus, which meant swapping England for the USA became a distant memory.
It was Kelvin spotting the 120-acre farm on Rightmove that changed the Fletcher family forever. They took the plunge, purchased the farm, headed to the Peak District and, as corny as it sounds, the rest is history.
Now, Kelvin, Liz and their children – Marnie, Milo, Mateusz and Maximus – are gearing up for the launch of the second series of their ITV show Fletchers’ Family Farm.
‘There’s a lot that goes on in farming, it’s even more jam packed with challenges, adventures, what we’re doing next, growing the farm, the kids are growing, we’ve gone from six episodes to eight’, Liz Fletcher told me, discussing what’s ahead.
‘It really shows you how day one, we’re back on the farm, there are so many ups and downs, highs and lows.’
Sat next to Liz was Kelvin, who smiled and said: ‘We’re very much in new territory. Every episode we’re doing something new and that itself brings an extra dimension and the farm, it’s continuing to evolve, we’re getting better but we’re still learning!
‘We make a few little mistakes but that’s all part of it really and it still very much feels like it’s only just beginning. There’s a real sense of adventure and who knows where this will go. To have the audience with us is a real joy really.’
One of the main thoughts I had about becoming a farmer was adapting your life around the animals. The thought of waking up at 6am – or even earlier – in the middle of November to spend the entire day outside wasn’t exactly an appealing thought to me, but Kelvin and Liz take it in their stride.
‘Our early mornings are not that early anyway because of the kids. They are the first jobs we have and that’s never too early. I think, being in the middle of a freezing cold field, it does become a bit more challenging’, Kelvin said.
‘But to be honest, it’s that seasonal change! It was only a couple of months ago when it was the summer, but these are the days we love as well when it is freezing, and we don’t really feel like getting out into the fields and your hands are freezing cold, the water troughs need cleaning, fences need to be put in, but that’s also the bit I love.’
Growing up in the countryside myself, something I absolutely love are the views – and Kelvin couldn’t agree more.
‘There are moments, the landscape and the backdrops are like postcards. There are so many times, just the other day, we had a really tough day with the animals and we had cows in for pregnancy testing, some had escaped, it was a whole day of everything going from bad to worse. Everybody gets those days but amid all of that, once Liz had gone home, I was in the woods and a family of deer were there, and I just sat and watched them for 20 minutes. That was amazing, it’s all worth it.
‘You forget all the mess before that! The sunrise, the sunset, whatever it might be and it’s all nature as well! They are the moments when you really appreciate the seasons and, like you say, those moments really make it all worthwhile.’
Alongside the animals, Kelvin and Liz are also looking after their four children. Luckily, they’re absolutely loving their new home.
‘They have jumped in feet first’, Liz smiled.
‘They’re obsessed with the animals. Our youngest twin wants to be within the animals, Marnie has her own flock of sheep and she even wants to own her own field! She wants her own little take on everything, Milo has a love for the engineering side so he’s always tinkering with a gate or a bike or a car, he loves to focus on fixing everything, and Max loves being involved in everything, the joy they get filling a bucket up with feed and taking it to feed the animals. They love it.’
On Amazon Prime’s farming show Clarkson’s Farm, the backlash Jeremy Clarkson and his team have faced over running a farm within a small community has been highlighted multiple times.
Fortunately, this hasn’t been the case for Kelvin and Liz:
‘As a whole, as new farmers, everyone’s been nothing but accepting and welcoming and forthcoming with advice and help. It’s just been a fantastic experience so far. It’s tough whether you’ve got a small farm or a huge one, the consistency is challenging and a real commitment. You are all kind of sharing that and it’s just been…a real whirlwind at times!
‘We’re only three years in so you can only imagine what it must be like. It’s the responsibility of rearing livestock as well, the paperwork, the movement forms, so much to contend with as well as running your own little family!’.
Reflecting on the pressures the farming community face every single year, Kelvin pondered:
‘As food producers, which essentially farmers are, the impact that has, you might only ever see that if the prices have gone up on the shelves. There’s a real disconnect between consumer and producer and hopefully we’re shining a light on that. We’re demonstrating what we do and the importance and pride you can take in it all, whether that’s the milk or the bread, whatever it may be, I think we should all take a responsibility and at least investigate as to how it ends up here.
‘That’s when we can all make informed decisions. I’m a firm believer that once you get an understanding of the process, the decision you make will be the right one and then the right type of farming will flourish.’
Ultimately, amid the daily challenges these new farmers face, Kelvin and Liz are very proud of themselves and their children for everything they’ve achieved in such a small space of time:
‘We don’t tend to reflect that much because we’re always enjoying the moments. We watched the show, and that’s when you reflect and you do feel a sense of pride because you think wow, we’ve come along way and we’re so proud. The TV show, we’re very proud of that and then we look at that and think about the kids, and how much they’ve just…three years ago they had never step foot on a farm! Now they’re living with animals and they’ve just done amazing.
‘We don’t go into anything with fear’, Liz added.
‘Although there might be some reservations, us and the kids embrace whatever moment we’ve got, we try our absolute best. I’ve got some friends who wouldn’t want to take the risk and do anything we do on the farm! They wouldn’t want to feel exposed and vulnerable and that’s absolutely fine, but we do it and our kids do it. We show the kids not to be scared of anything and they follow in our footsteps, they jump in feet first and take it really seriously. They know what we need to do on a day to day basis, they’ve been very reactive on this whole farming journey.
‘I think that’s key. We’ve got balls of steel to do farming! I think there are so many challenges you’ll face on a day, your whole day could change so quickly. You’ve got to be able to quickly respond and we’re good at that, and I can see the kids are getting good at it as well. Marnie, who’s 8 now, she’s the eldest of them all and she’ll be…it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s lambing on her own next year.’
I couldn’t speak to Kelvin and Liz without asking Kelvin about the prospect of returning to Emmerdale. He played Andy Sugden from 1996-2016 and while he has a lot of love for the show, he’s firmly focused on his real-life farm right now.
‘I sit back from afar and admire that show. I admire it selfishly for the experience it gave me. 20 years I was there, 20 unbelievably happy years and I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity.
‘As a young actor who just loved the thought of, you know, the fame bit and the personality bit is a by-product and it’s not something I ever chased as a kid. I just wanted to act, that was my thing and to be given that opportunity for 20 years in an iconic show, playing a fantastic character who was, you know, who resonated with an audience.
‘So that is something I’ve always, you know, felt immense sense of pride. And so I look back with a fondness of memories, but the show is doing fantastic. It won an NTA recently. Does it need me? It’s doing very well.’
