Our RIVAL Yorkshire Farm: TV shepherdess Amanda Owen's ratings war

Our RIVAL Yorkshire Farm shows: How TV shepherdess Amanda Owen is in ratings war with ex-husband Clive and son Reuben after pair launched their own CH5 reality series

  • Our Yorkshire Farm stars Amanda and Clive Owen confirmed their split in June
  • Their eldest son Reuben has since teamed up with his father in a new series 

The Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen and ex-husband Clive are quickly becoming TV rivals following their split last year, with one of their nine children already teaming up with his father in a brand new Channel 5 production. 

The couple rose to fame thanks to their hit show Our Yorkshire Farm, which tracked the couple and their children’s everyday lives working and living in the demanding industry. 

The farming reality show star and best-selling author Amanda, 48, issued a joint statement with Clive, 68, on social media in June which said the couple have made ‘the difficult decision to separate’.

But now son Reuben has teamed up with his father for a brand new Channel 5 show called Beyond The Yorkshire Farm: Reuben and Clive.

Reuben’s mother Amanda Owen (left) has split from his father Clive, but despite opting for his father’s help on his new series, he continues to share snaps taken with his mother online

Reuben has teamed up with his father for a brand new Channel 5 show called Beyond The Yorkshire Farm: Reuben and Clive

After five series of Our Yorkshire Farm, Reuben is now 18 and keen to start a trade of his own. 

The new show premiered last month and sees Clive launch a digging business with his son – but it is not Reuben’s first appearance on television outside of his parents’ own series. 

Reuben has teamed up with his father just months after his parents announced their split last year. 

His social media accounts show a strong commitment to his new aim, with him continuing to work throughout this year’s freezing winter, arriving at dig sites covered in ice with temperatures at -7C.

It comes as his mother Amanda has landed her own new show on rival Channel 4, Amanda Owen’s Extraordinary Farming Lives.

In the series she travels around the UK to meet other inspirational farmers, whose farms have had to diversify in order to stay open. 

The first episode saw her travel to the seaside to meet two sisters who overcame personal loss to keep their farm going. 

Amanda said: ‘This series will show what life’s really like for farmers in 2022. To the outside world, it might seem like some farmers have it made, with large plots of land and expensive machinery but, as ever, the truth is much more complex.

‘I want to explore just what it means to be a farmer today, in a world where so much more is expected of us than ‘just’ being food providers. 

Amanda also has a brand new show on Channel 4, which premiered last night and sees her visit farms around the country

As well as pursuing his digging business, it seems the 18-year-old is still helping out around the farm too

Reuben has teamed up with his father (left) just months after his parents announced their split last year

‘Along the way I know I’m going to meet some extraordinary, dedicated people and hear some incredible stories in the most beautiful of settings.’

Jayne Stanger, commissioning editor for Daytime and Features at Channel 4, said: ‘Amanda brings all of her farming and TV experience to this fascinating and celebratory new show. 

‘I’m delighted she is bringing her charm and warmth to More4 where I’m sure our audience will adore following her adventures on amazing farms around the country.’

The show debuted on Channel 4 on Wednesday night.

In a statement they said: ‘This hasn’t been easy, but we both believe it’s the right choice for the future of our family.

‘Although we are no longer a couple, we continue to work on the farm and co-parent together with our number one priority the happiness and well-being of our children.’

The couple added that they would like to thank everyone for their support and asked for privacy as they ‘work through this difficult time’.

Reuben, who has more than 58,000 followers on Instagram, previously appeared as a special guest on Channel 5’s This Week on the Farm.

Although his new show sees Reuben spend more time with his father, he did share a snap of him with mother Amanda shortly before Christmas, captioning it with a heart emoji. 

It comes after months of speculation about the couple’s marriage which had become the talk of the village in Swaledale.

The couple, known as the ‘Kardashians of the Countryside’, had been said to be ‘battling to save their marriage’ after more than two decades.

Mr Owen, who was previously married to another woman for 13 years, was described as ‘desperate’ to repair their relationship amid ‘fears’ their marriage would end in divorce.

Amanda visits farms around the UK during the six part series, and gets stuck in with helping out

Amanda Owen was known with her ex-husband Clive as the ‘Kardashians of the Countryside’

Candid: Amanda Owen has opened up on her split from her husband Clive in a new interview with the Radio Times

Split: In June, following months of rumours regarding the state of their marriage, Amanda and Clive issued a joint statement saying they had made ‘the difficult decision to separate’ (pictured in 2020) 

She told the publication: ‘Look, there are two simple facts: if he thought I was brilliant, and I thought he was brilliant, then we wouldn’t have separated.

‘It’s a fact, isn’t it? But, you know what, that’s not unique, it’s just how things are, pressures, all the rest of it. 

‘But we have nine kids, with associated friends, girlfriends, and we just have to get on with it.’

The couple were together 21 years and share children, Raven, 21, Reuben, 19, Miles, 16, Edith, 14, Violet, 12, Sidney, 11, Annas, 9, Clemmy, 7, and six-year-old Nancy.

‘Pressures’: The Yorkshire Shepherdess, 48, explained that the couple had succumbed to ‘pressures’ but that they ‘just have to get on with it’

When asked if the couple were co-parenting, Amanda said: ‘Call it that if you want, but it’s just a buzzword, really. It just means we take it in turns to shout at the kids.’

Speaking on her children, she said: ‘I loved having babies about, but I wasn’t ‘goo-goo, ga-ga’. I couldn’t wait for them to find their own feet and run off.

‘Someone once said to me, ‘Oh, my God, you’ll really regret having all these kids when they’re teenagers.’

‘And now I’ve probably got about four or five teenagers, and it’s great. I love it. I feel like it keeps me young. And I love seeing their characters and how different they all are.’

Amanda made her first TV appearance alongside Clive, 68, in 2011 on ITV’s The Dales, before they landed their own Channel 5 show Our Yorkshire Farm in 2018.

Amanda met her husband in 1995 when he was already divorced with two children, after she arrived at his farm as a 21-year-old trainee shepherdess.

When asked if the couple were co-parenting, Amanda said: ‘Call it that if you want, but it’s just a buzzword, really. It just means we take it in turns to shout at the kids.’ 

It didn’t take long for the couple get hitched, with their nine children quickly following.

The public were quick to fall for the couple and their unusual love story, dubbing them the ‘Kardashians of the Countryside’ with their hit show Our Yorkshire Farm. 

The shepherdess began making solo appearances on a variety of TV shows, becoming a regular guest on programmes such as Lorraine and This Morning to offer comment on parenting and life on the farm.

In November last year, neighbours told MailOnline she and Clive had been living apart for months after she ‘got caught up in the spotlight’ of her Channel 5 programme.

Family: The former couple have nine children together;  Raven, Reuben, Miles, Edith, Violet, Sidney, Annas, Clemmie, and Nancy

Over: The couple shared a joint statement on social media confirming they had split in June

Amanda moved into their rental property down the road from Ravenseat Farm in Swaledale, where Clive has been staying in the farmhouse, villagers said.

Clive was understood to be ‘desperate’ to repair their relationship and ‘feared’ their marriage would end in divorce.

Meanwhile, Amanda has exciting prospects also on the horizon as factual boss Daniel Pearl told The Mirror: ‘The Owens have become everyone’s favourite farming family and millions have enjoyed watching their unique way of life. It’s fantastic that we can now all follow Reuben and Clive on their next adventure.

‘We remain absolutely committed to the whole wonderful Owen family and hope to announce new projects with Amanda very soon.’

It comes after Amanda told ITV talk show Lorraine that she has her ‘ups and downs’ as she continues to work on the 2,000-acre hill Ravenseat Farm in Swaledale, co-parent their nine children and take care of about 1,000 sheep. 

‘Life carries on on the farm. Obviously there is a whole raft of things to do – nine children, a whole heap of animals,’ Ms Owen said. ‘We are just working away same as before.’

Asked if life had continued as normal in terms of the family and farm, she replied: ‘It does. That is reality. It is really tough and it is a really difficult aspect of it to get across.

‘But when you do reality it has to be just that. That means it covers the ups and downs and that can be on any level.

‘Because at the end of the day our priority remains, of course, to keep everything going.

‘There you go, that’s how it is. I felt like that needed to be out there so that people know. There are new projects going on. There are exciting projects going on.’

Children: Amanda (on right) was also asked by presenter Christine Lampard (left) whether their children had been affected by finding themselves in the spotlight

Ms Owen was also asked by presenter Christine Lampard whether their children had been affected by finding themselves in the spotlight.

She said: ‘They remain very, very unaffected. Because at the end of the day they don’t see their lives as anything out of the ordinary. Who does? We are literally just doing our thing.

‘Yeah, we get more opportunities, we meet more people, there are people coming to the farm. They have even been out and about with me when I have been going to theatres, doing talks.

‘In real terms, it’s made us a whole lot busier.’

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