1 day Ago By [email protected] (Jen Pharo)
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Busy bee Helen Skelton is taking on a new adventure with the latest series of Springtime on the Farm and might just be expanding her brood even further with two adoptions.
Home is where the heart is, and for Helen Skelton , it's nestled among the lush hills of Cumbria with her trio of children : Ernie, nine, soon-to-be-eight Louis, and toddler Elsie, not forgetting their two playful pooches. From her doorstep, she soaks up uninterrupted country landscapes, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Working mums everywhere will understand the struggle, but Helen is all set to return to her family's embrace after filming.
Despite the challenges of time away, she finds solace in the raw and real moments on set, especially with the anticipation of animal births this series – we're talking a shire horse foal, donkey foals, pygmy goat kids, lambs, and calves! Helen shared her thoughts on the experience: "It's very humbling because we're all busy in our lives and doing what we do and getting lost in the minutiae of stressing out over little things," adding, "But I think when you're on the farm, it is very humbling. It's a massive lesson in that you get out of life what you put in, you reap what you sow..
. if you nurture something, it thrives." Like her loyal fans who can't get enough of the Farm series, Helen is endlessly fascinated by the miracle of birth.
"I never get tired of that," she confessed. "It is such a moment, isn't it? It's life, it's new life and what a privilege to get to be there for that." The downside? She gets so bonded with the furry friends on set that she ponders over adopting them! "I want a pair of donkeys," Helen revealed, concerned about their loneliness without a companion.
Her connection with animals isn't new; since childhood, she's been hands-on with lambing, often caring for an orphaned lamb from her dad's farm. "In Cumbria, for orphaned lambs we had the lamb bank," she shares. "It is essentially an adoption service for lambs so if ewes die or if lambs die then you can try and pair them up.
When we were kids, me and my brother were always given one lamb to be bottle fed, to teach us how to be caring." Reflecting on her childhood, Helen is astonished at the level of responsibility she was given but believes it shaped her into the person she is today. She comments, "That's wild, isn't it? That's brave of our parents to entrust us with a lamb that potentially wasn't going to make it.
"But we always had to look after one lamb that had been orphaned and nurture it through. Varying degrees of success though, that's all I'm going to say!". Amid all the excitement ahead of the new season of Springtime on the Farm, Helen is fresh off a mammoth 24-hour roller-skate for Comic Relief, which saw her and Morning Live pal Gethin Jones skating into the hearts of the nation for a whole day and raising a whopping £1 million.
Just like that, without missing a beat, she traded her skates for hiking boots and climbed a hill – not for charity this time, but in pursuit of some well-deserved mental clarity. At 41, Helen knows full well a dose of green is the perfect tonic post-challenge. Despite the ribbing from colleagues about her boundless energy, Helen remains unapologetic about her love for fresh air and nature.
"We had a busy week doing Comic Relief and they were all laughing at me at work saying, 'Even after roller-skating for 24 hours, I bet Helen is on the top of the hill.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I am, because I'm old enough now to know the stuff that settles my head.'".
She's figured out what makes her tick: active days beneath open skies are her go-to for happiness. "I've reached an age when I know the things that make me feel good, and being outside in fresh air makes me feel good, that's why I make it part of my life." Regarding the continued popularity of Springtime On The Farm, Helen is delighted that viewers nationwide have embraced the show.
"We don't take it for granted," she expresses. "People have been alongside us on this journey for a lot of years now. And it is essentiallythe same thing – it's the celebration of this time of year and all the hard work that farmers do to get us to this point.
We just get to be along for the ride and help out when we can." During Helen's school days, farming wasn't seen as cool, but now she hopes today's younger generations are more interested in environmental issues – and she's proud to have influenced that. "I was a farmer's kid and the farmer's kids were not the cool kids, whereas now I feel like there's a renewed interest in the countryside, nature and sustainability," she shares.
"It's not geeky to be green any more, it's cool to be interested in what's happening in nature and the earth. We're grateful that people are interested in the conversations we're having on telly." Helen knows the value of peaceful moments.
She's juggling a hectic career with being a single mum after her break up with rugby hunk Richie Myler in 2022. With 15 April beckoning, she’ll return to film Springtime On The Farm, working tirelessly at Cannon Hall Farm during the lambing season for five nights. But heading to Yorkshire, Helen’s dedicating her days to baking and batch cooking for her children, making sure they have everything they need while she's gone.
"I'm making all the cakes and stuff for the kids for when we're working," Helen spills amid our chit-chat. "It's what you do isn't it, when you're a mum?". She adds, "I know I've got a busy week, so I try and overcompensate by going, 'OK, I'm going to make cakes and curries' so when I'm feeling bad for lambing for 24 hours, I'll be like, 'Oh, at least the kids have got something nice to eat!'".
Helen reflects on the simple pleasures of life with gratitude: "That's the ultimate life, to be able to see the horizon. You know you've grown up when you appreciate a view but I think that's because we know it makes us feel good and it makes us feel better." Helen's Springtime On The Farm co-star Jules Hudson feels the same.
He says, "Sometimes you have to kick yourself out the door and remind yourself of just how good it makes you feel. Helen's right, we don't need drugs and pills to get that endorphin rush of a lungful of spring air and a lovely view. "It's just taking time to sit down and be a bit selfish and say, 'I'm just going to step out of the hectic madness for a moment and enjoy this view, a view that people have enjoyed for thousands of years through the generations.
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