By james art The 50-year-old Yorkshire shepherd, who rose to fame on the Channel 5 programme, announced in 2022 that she was separating from husband Clive Owen but would continue to work with him on the farm and look after their children together.
The pair star in new Channel 4 show Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids, which follows the couple and their nine children as they renovate a derelict farmhouse.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast alongside her children Clemmie, Nancy and Anna, Mrs Owen said: “We are getting there (with the refurbishment). We love a challenge, don’t we?
“Yes, it was very difficult after the Yorkshire weather caught up with us. Things have moved much more slowly than we would have ever liked.
“Because the building is a monument because it has a lot of history – we have the diaries of the boy who lived and farmed there – it’s really important for us to preserve that legacy and that legacy that he left behind, and preserve it true to what it really is, those roots.
“It’s quite an undertaking, but it’s been fascinating to learn who lived there.”
Reflecting on what it’s like to be farming in 2024, she said: “Times are tough, you don’t know what the future holds.
“You’re always careful, especially when you’re working the land and you have a lot to do with the historical aspect. You are very attentive to the passing of time.
“Even though we’re looking back to what was (on the show), we’re also looking forward, and it’s so interesting to understand and see that a lot of the ideas that we’re championing now about the environment, sustainability and our kind of more holistic way of farming – it’s just a rebrand. We used to do that a long time ago.”
Mrs Owen and her family appeared in Our Yorkshire Farm, launched in 2018, which followed their lives at Ravensit Farm.
She later published a book entitled Celebrating the Seasons with the Yorkshire Shepherd, which included stories and photos from their life in the countryside, along with seasonal recipes.
In Channel 4’s new five-part series, the family work with a team of local tradesmen to help with renovations as they manage the family sheep farm, battling one of the wettest years on record.