MILLIONS have followed the highs, lows and hilarious moments of TV's most charming farmers, The Nicholson family.
Their hit shows Springtime On the Farm, This Week on the Farm, Cannon Hall: A Yorkshire Farm and, most recently, Winter on the Farm have become staples of feelgood comfort TV.
Presented by Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson, they offer an unprecedented peek into Barnsley's Cannon Hall Farm, showing what it is like to live with hundreds of unruly animals at the foot of the Pennines.
Now, as we await the next Channel 5 series, brothers Robert, Dave and Richard, with parents Roger and Cynthia, have revealed some of the funny and uplifting tales from the family's 70 years in charge in a book called Cannon Hall Farm: Past, Present and Future.
Today, in an exclusive extract, Rob and Dave, who grew up on the farm, reveal what we do not see on screen from dyeing sheep and randy rams to the hidden dangers of competitive welly-tossing...
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/0106272627.jpg]
DAVE ON: Helen Skelton and the randy sheep pageant
When the most recent series got the go-ahead, the annual Westmorland Show was on the horizon.
It's one we'd had an eye on for a while. Plus, we knew Helen Skelton was a local girl. "How about we get her in the show ring, see if she can't win us a rosette or two?" I suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Rob agreed.
For Helen to be in with a chance, the sheep had to look absolutely perfect. So when it came to the day, Rob had booked a chap to give them a haircut.
By the time he'd finished with our little flock they looked ready for the ball.
We had a last-minute tidy of the lambs, using oil to smooth the wool on their heads. Somehow it squirted all over one of them, making for a very slippery lamb. Then we applied a little hair dye to the knees of another, to cover up scuff marks. "It says here it's suitable for human use," Helen said, scanning the label.
"It's probably David's," my brother said. "Look at him, he could do with it!"
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/0670164649.jpg]
Next it was time to give Helen some pointers. "Now, Helen, when you go into that ring," said Robert, "I want you to channel your inner meerkat."
"Meerkat?!" "That's right. No matter how much that sheep wriggles, keep your eyes locked on the judge. You might feel like a duck struggling to stay afloat but you've got to look like a swan."
Helen nodded, ticking off a mental checklist. "Try and stand your sheep like a table - very square," I explained. "With a leg in each corner, and its head up."
"Right," Helen nodded. "A table."
All this talk of swans, meerkats and furniture must have been confusing the hell out of her but Helen took it all in her stride, buttoning up her white show coat and leading our ram, Ghost, into the ring lambs. He was making a fairly decent like a seasoned pro.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/2997029092.jpg]
For the most part, you have to keep a tight hold on your animal and encourage it to stand in a way that shows off its best attributes. But the judge also wants to see how the sheep moves, which means letting it go for a walk around.
Unfortunately, these rams don't have much sense about them when it comes to telling the difference between a male and a female, and there's definitely an element of seizing the opportunity...
Ghost wandered off and decided to try to mate with one of the other male effort at it, to the point where the judge said, "Helen, would you mind catching your sheep please?"
As it turned out, this little faux pas did Helen no harm at all. She won best ram.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/9209744717.jpg]
ROBERT ON: A not-so teetotal tea-picking trip
When the studio suggested sending us to a tea plantation for an episode of This Week on the Farm, I jumped at the chance. This was my opportunity to cure my little brother David of a tragic, lifelong affliction - he must be the only Yorkshireman on the planet who doesn't like a brew.
I thought seeing how tea was grown might make a real man of him, and there was no need to fly halfway across the world to visit a plantation. The Jersey Tea Company, just outside St Helier, has been growing organic tea for a decade.
The trip was a go. The joke, however, would be on me. We were fresh out of lockdown and it was the first time either of us had been abroad since before the pandemic. Our great pal, Tim Bilton, was coming along to film a feature on Jersey oysters. With the three of us together, it was a real lads-on-tour vibe, and it's fair to say that we let over-excitement get the better of us.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/2424907409.jpg]
I arrived at Manchester Airport with a warning from Springtime's series producer: "Don't let me down on this, Rob! It's cost us a fortune. It needs to be good!" "It will be," I said. "You can rely on us!" However, my eyes lit up at the sight of the airport bar and my promise went straight out of the window.
"Who's for a breakfast pint?" I said, clapping my hands together. We followed up with a couple more, then arrived in St Helier, had a few pints and a curry, and then a few more pints. We were like three schoolkids let loose in the sweetshop.
Finally, I was ready for bed. However, Tim had other plans. "I think I'll watch the match," he said.
image [https://cdn.ma...
Their hit shows Springtime On the Farm, This Week on the Farm, Cannon Hall: A Yorkshire Farm and, most recently, Winter on the Farm have become staples of feelgood comfort TV.
Presented by Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson, they offer an unprecedented peek into Barnsley's Cannon Hall Farm, showing what it is like to live with hundreds of unruly animals at the foot of the Pennines.
Now, as we await the next Channel 5 series, brothers Robert, Dave and Richard, with parents Roger and Cynthia, have revealed some of the funny and uplifting tales from the family's 70 years in charge in a book called Cannon Hall Farm: Past, Present and Future.
Today, in an exclusive extract, Rob and Dave, who grew up on the farm, reveal what we do not see on screen from dyeing sheep and randy rams to the hidden dangers of competitive welly-tossing...
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/0106272627.jpg]
DAVE ON: Helen Skelton and the randy sheep pageant
When the most recent series got the go-ahead, the annual Westmorland Show was on the horizon.
It's one we'd had an eye on for a while. Plus, we knew Helen Skelton was a local girl. "How about we get her in the show ring, see if she can't win us a rosette or two?" I suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Rob agreed.
For Helen to be in with a chance, the sheep had to look absolutely perfect. So when it came to the day, Rob had booked a chap to give them a haircut.
By the time he'd finished with our little flock they looked ready for the ball.
We had a last-minute tidy of the lambs, using oil to smooth the wool on their heads. Somehow it squirted all over one of them, making for a very slippery lamb. Then we applied a little hair dye to the knees of another, to cover up scuff marks. "It says here it's suitable for human use," Helen said, scanning the label.
"It's probably David's," my brother said. "Look at him, he could do with it!"
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/0670164649.jpg]
Next it was time to give Helen some pointers. "Now, Helen, when you go into that ring," said Robert, "I want you to channel your inner meerkat."
"Meerkat?!" "That's right. No matter how much that sheep wriggles, keep your eyes locked on the judge. You might feel like a duck struggling to stay afloat but you've got to look like a swan."
Helen nodded, ticking off a mental checklist. "Try and stand your sheep like a table - very square," I explained. "With a leg in each corner, and its head up."
"Right," Helen nodded. "A table."
All this talk of swans, meerkats and furniture must have been confusing the hell out of her but Helen took it all in her stride, buttoning up her white show coat and leading our ram, Ghost, into the ring lambs. He was making a fairly decent like a seasoned pro.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/2997029092.jpg]
For the most part, you have to keep a tight hold on your animal and encourage it to stand in a way that shows off its best attributes. But the judge also wants to see how the sheep moves, which means letting it go for a walk around.
Unfortunately, these rams don't have much sense about them when it comes to telling the difference between a male and a female, and there's definitely an element of seizing the opportunity...
Ghost wandered off and decided to try to mate with one of the other male effort at it, to the point where the judge said, "Helen, would you mind catching your sheep please?"
As it turned out, this little faux pas did Helen no harm at all. She won best ram.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/9209744717.jpg]
ROBERT ON: A not-so teetotal tea-picking trip
When the studio suggested sending us to a tea plantation for an episode of This Week on the Farm, I jumped at the chance. This was my opportunity to cure my little brother David of a tragic, lifelong affliction - he must be the only Yorkshireman on the planet who doesn't like a brew.
I thought seeing how tea was grown might make a real man of him, and there was no need to fly halfway across the world to visit a plantation. The Jersey Tea Company, just outside St Helier, has been growing organic tea for a decade.
The trip was a go. The joke, however, would be on me. We were fresh out of lockdown and it was the first time either of us had been abroad since before the pandemic. Our great pal, Tim Bilton, was coming along to film a feature on Jersey oysters. With the three of us together, it was a real lads-on-tour vibe, and it's fair to say that we let over-excitement get the better of us.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/KOg9zbFaC1742014040443/2424907409.jpg]
I arrived at Manchester Airport with a warning from Springtime's series producer: "Don't let me down on this, Rob! It's cost us a fortune. It needs to be good!" "It will be," I said. "You can rely on us!" However, my eyes lit up at the sight of the airport bar and my promise went straight out of the window.
"Who's for a breakfast pint?" I said, clapping my hands together. We followed up with a couple more, then arrived in St Helier, had a few pints and a curry, and then a few more pints. We were like three schoolkids let loose in the sweetshop.
Finally, I was ready for bed. However, Tim had other plans. "I think I'll watch the match," he said.
image [https://cdn.ma...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 15, 2025