Kelvin Fletcher’s Big Farm Adventure: who is ex Emmerdale star’s wife, when’s programme on and where is it set

Actor Kelvin Fletcher has always been synonymous with farm life, given he is best known as Emmerdale farmer Any Sugden.

Since leaving the ITV soap back in 2016, he has revealed he struggled to find work and was knocked back for several acting gigs, so decided he would opt for a career change and run a farm.

The Strictly Come Dancing 2019 winner has now landed his own show with the BBC, set to air this January.

So, what is Kelvin Fletcher’s Big Farming Adventure about - and does he now live on a farm? This is what you need to know.

What is Kelvin Fletcher’s Big Farm Adventure about?

The new BBC One series follows the 37 year old and his family as they up roots and move out to the countryside.

Following his career acting as a farmer, Fletcher decided he wanted to take the bull by the horns and attempt to be one in real life.

Strictly winner Kelvin Fletcher has bought a 120-acre farm in the Peak District. With zero farming experience, he has a baptism of fire as he tries to find ways to make it pay.

As the coronavirus pandemic ignited a need for greenery, space and peacefulness, many Brits began relocating from the city to the countryside.

Fletcher was one of those tens of thousands of other Brits, and he’s taken wife Liz and his two young children Marnie and Milo, as they move to a farm despite having no farming experience.

Luckily, on deck to help is farming veteran and new neighbour, Gilly.

The BBC synopsis read: “Before investing in their own livestock, Kelvin and Liz get some hands-on experience with Gilly’s flock of sheep, but the harsh realities of animal husbandry soon hit home.

“The sight of a sheep’s maggot-infested foot is too much for Kelvin to bear and he starts to wonder if this new life really is for him.”

Where is Kelvin Fletcher’s farm?

Fletcher purchased a 120-acre farm on the edge of the Peak District national park.

Their 120-acre farm has an 18th-Century cottage, outbuildings, 20 sheep, three pigs and three alpacas.

The couple, who announced in December 2021 that they are expecting their third child, moved from Oldham to the farm in an attempt to “embrace something new,” he told RadioTimes.

He added: "Often life is a case of always being on to the next thing, and I guess lockdown was a real pause when you couldn’t help but be present and reflect.

"Sometimes I do wonder whether we’ve taken on too much.

"But I can’t imagine us not doing this now. It ignited something inside me, and I love it."

The dad-of-two admitted it hasn’t been plain sailing, as he told the BBC: "I’d never even been close to a sheep before then.

"I always enjoyed the scenes out in nature, but that was in a controlled environment.

"I didn’t even know what TB was, I was just saying my lines.

"Now I understand that if you have TB in your cattle, it’s devastating."

Who is Kelvin Fletcher’s wife?

Liz Marsland is an English actress best known for her role in the TV series In the Club, which aired in 2016.

She trained at the Manchester School of Acting, as well as the London School of Musical Theatre, and has known Kelvin since they were just eight years old.

The couple married in a secret ceremony at OneMayfair in London back in 2015.

They welcomed their first child, daughter Marnie, in August 2016 and their son Milo followed in December 2018.

When is Kelvin Fletcher’s Big Adventure on TV?

The series begins on BBC One at 8.30pm on Monday 17 January.

The following five episodes will air weekly and will be available on BBC iPlayer.

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