EXCLUSIVE: Amanda Owen, is a farmer and Channel 5 star of Our Yorkshire Farm but her journey from suburban Huddersfield to remote Ravenseat Farm is more remarkable than many fans realise19:27, 04 Jul 2026Amanda Owen has delighted fans for years now with her hit Channel 5 reality series set on Ravenseat Farm, giving an insight into farming in Britain and her wonderfully rambunctious, freewheeling family life.‌As she is presented with an OK! Beauty Box at the recent TRIC Awards, she laughs, “I need a beauty box – you wouldn’t believe how much I need one being on the farm. Everything that is usable for an animal, is usable for me. There are some things that you just cannot disguise.”‌After college, Amanda escaped her suburban upbringing in Huddersfield to build a new life in the country, calling herself The Yorkshire Shepherdess as her profile rose on social media.‌Then Amanda, her then husband Clive and their brood came to fame in the popular Channel 5 series Our Yorkshire Farm , which was followed by the More4 reality show Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive And Kids .The show focuses on her life with now ex-husband Clive and their nine kids as they renovate a derelict Dales farmhouse.‌Fans have grown to love Amanda’s no-nonsense attitude, her openness about the chaos of raising so many children – whose ages range from nine to 25 – and her deep connection to her farm animals, treating them like members of the family, not merely livestock.And many have also dubbed Amanda a bit of a sex symbol, given her ruggedly glamorous, non-traditional take on rural life, even coining her a ‘rural icon’. But when we remind her of this, the 51-year-old takes a beat and giggles.“Sex symbol? Is that what you think?! Look, I’ve got nine children, a farm to run and it’s chaotic. People get to see behind the scenes in our programme, and I think you reach an age where you just have to be yourself.”‌But she’s the first to admit that she relishes ditching the wellies to glam up for the odd showbiz outing. “Letting people into our lives is a privilege because it shows how important this way of life is. Honestly, it’s a wonderful experience and I’m overjoyed to be here today instead of throwing hay bales.”Amanda, who is coming back down to earth after a recent hospital dash with son Miles due to his type one diabetes, presented another much-loved farming show, Prime Video hit Clarkson’s Farm, with the TRIC Award for Best Factual Entertainment at the event.It seems clear the public has a bigger appetite than ever for shows about the rough and the smooth of farming life, and the people and stories bringing those realities to life.‌Amanda says, “I think it goes to show what people are actually interested in and what they really want to see on screen. It’s great to be able to get across a way of life that plays such an important part in all our everyday lives – the countryside, nature, food on the plate and everything else.“If you can educate people through entertainment, that’s exactly how you should do it. What more can you ask for?”But of course, amid the wholesome scenes of newborn lambs, horse riding through the countryside and the kids becoming the “little workforce” during school holidays, Amanda has had to contend with the hit show meaning more attention on her private life.‌She and Clive tied the knot in 2000 and spent more than two decades building their farming business before announcing their separation in 2022. Nonetheless, the pair, who live close to each other, have been praised for co-parenting amicably, and collaborating on major farming and renovation projects.At the time, she said in her typical no-fuss manner that it was “business as usual without the romance”.She said, “People assume that because I’m separated from my husband Clive, things are harder, but in fact it’s the opposite. We have two farms that are basically next door to each other, so it’s close enough for it to be useful, but far enough to have space.”‌Amanda has admitted that single parenting is tough. But how hard has it been having her personal life play out on TV?“That’s the price you pay,” she says, with a shrug. “You can’t have it all one way, you have to take the rough with the smooth. If there’s one thing farming teaches you, it’s resilience.“I used to think resilience was about dealing with the weather, the mud and the blood. But you also have to be resilient when it comes to social media and living life in the public eye.”‌Like anyone in the public eye, Amanda has dealt with a certain amount of negativity online, but she has a lot of loyal fans.Article continues below“I get support, I get negativity and everything in between. I just ask myself whether I’m proud of what we’re creating, and I am.“I’ve got nine children who are all independent souls, working hard, and that’s what the whole programme is about. It’s about the next generation, and it oozes positivity. That’s what we’ll keep doing.”Speaking on a recent podcast, she said her children will tell her what’s been written about her. She says she’ll reply, “What now? I’ve ridden a horse in a bikini? Yes, I did and I put it up online and I am proud!”