New country ways

Adam Henson on helping struggling farmers, 20 years of Countryfile and loving Jeremy Clarkson’s new show

- HANNAH DAVIES

OUR FAMILY FARM RESCUE

NEW TUESDAY / CHANNEL 5 / 9PM / EP 1 of 4 / FACTUAL

Twenty years ago, Adam Henson rose to fame overnight as the winner of Countryfile’s talent search to find a new presenter, helped by an audition clip featuring a camera-shy chicken and a wayward bull!

Adam has been a staple on the popular BBC1 rural showcase ever since, as well as enjoying hosting duties on various other agricultural programs over the years.

But the grounded star tells us, in his heart, he’ll always be just an ordinary farmer trying to make a living on his tenanted farm in Gloucestershire. And this is why he’s so keen to help struggling British farmers in his new Channel 5 series, Our Family Farm Rescue.

The four-parter sees Adam visit a different farming family each week, following their stories as they risk everything to save their farms, with money-making ideas ranging from transforming an old hay barn into a stunning wedding venue to glamping pods.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Adam, 55, tells TV Times more…

What inspired this series?

Farming isn’t easy – 68% of farmers have had to diversify because they can’t make money out of straight farming, and a number of farms are really struggling across the UK.

My dad [conservationist and presenter Joe Henson, who died in 2015] opened the Cotswold Farm Park, our rare-breeds centre, in 1971, and I’ve been brought up with farm diversification and thinking fairly entrepreneurially in terms of improving income streams.