Clarkson’s Farm star Harriet Cowan makes sad admission after sharing downside to show
Clarkson’s Farm star Harriet Cowan has opened up about the sad realities of life as a farmer. Best known for stepping in as Jeremy Clarkson‘s farm hand, Harriet went from having 8,000 to 500,000 Instagram followers overnight following her appearance on the show and has since been inundated with multiple job offers.
But while the show has opened many doors for her, Harriet recently admitted that adjusting to her newfound fame and leaving behind her nursing career has been difficult. She also shared how, away from the show, farming can be an incredibly lonely job.
“Being a farmer can be quite lonely so catching up with friends is important,” she shared. “Most of the time at work, I’m on my own on the tractor for around 12 hours.
“It does get lonely, so I speak to my friends who are in the same situation,” the 25-year-old told Closer Magazine.
“Nearly all of my friends are from farming backgrounds, so most of them will also be sat on a tractor all day! We talk for hours on the hands-free,” she added.
Harriet’s comments come after the former nurse admitted she misses the anonymity she once enjoyed as part of her local Young Farmers community. “I want to just be that girl in Young Farmers that nobody knows and I’m never that, I’m never going to be that again,” she shared, according to Heart.co.uk.
Nevertheless, Harriet said she has thoroughly enjoyed her time on the show, having particular praise for Jeremy and his team.
“It went really well,” she recalled. “I was two and a half hours away from home… but it was great and I got to work with the whole team and they were lovely. And it got me into the public eye.”
Becoming a popular face on the show has led to some “insane” job offers — so much so that she eventually decided to step away from her nursing career.
She told Hello! Magazine: “When the show first came out, I turned my phone off for a while because I was like, ‘This is insane’.
“I was being recognised by patients, and you’ve got to be professional [as a] nurse. You could be [at someone’s house] for a really serious reason, and someone says ‘I saw you on the telly’, making it hard to be professional,” she explained.
“I was starting to get deals coming in. I couldn’t take any more annual leave and I was turning down crazy, big opportunities. I was like, this isn’t working anymore.”
Harriet first appeared on the show during series four, stepping in for Kaleb Cooper while he was away on tour. She made a brief return in the latest season alongside her farmer boyfriend, James Booth.
Over the past year, she has been giving fans regular glimpses into her life as a farmer on her own YouTube channel, with her latest episode documenting the “chaotic days of barley harvest as we race against the weather”. As well as this, she is set to release her brand new book, titled Life on the Farm, next month.
