Amanda Owen and Our Yorkshire Farm: How Channel 5's Yorkshire documentaries shone a spotlight on farming

One of the leading shows was Our Yorkshire Farm which took viewers behind the scenes at Ravenseat Farm at Whitsun Dale at the top of Swaledale.

It turned Amanda and Clive Owen, hill shepherds living on one of the most remote farms in Britain, into celebrities.

As well as taking care of their shepherd and farm life duties, they are raising nine children on their farm.

Channel 5's`Our Yorkshire Farm follows the Owen family and their remote hill farm's day-to-day life through the seasons. Each episode spans a single season in the farming calendar, showcasing their remarkable family working together, from Sidney helping to mend farm machinery to Reuben saving his siblings from a blizzard.

It even sparked a follow up called Beyond the Yorkshire Farm: Reuben and Clive. This followed the father and son as young Reuben made the transition from boy to businessman.

The Owens won supporters across Yorkshire and beyond. One enthusiast on social media was typical saying: “This is such an amazing programme and should go on forever. This Family is so fantastic and I have (fallen) in love with all of them, Amanda and Clive are the best ever parents, and all nine children are absolutely wonderful, well behaved, polite, very intelligent and know so much more about real life than other children of the same age elsewhere”.

Farming is a rich vein for television, as Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley in South Yorkshire proved. This traditional farm cum tourist attraction has been featured in a number of reality programmes on Channel 5 with farmer brothers Rob and David Nicholson adding authenticity to the mix.

Friday on the Farm was presented by Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson also featured pop star turned farmer JB Gill and stars of The Yorkshire Vets Julian Norton and Peter Wright. It followed This Week on the Farm and Springtime on the Farm.

Vets, it seems, make for popular television as the James Herriot books illustrate.

The Yorkshire Vet documentary series follows veterinarians Peter Wright and Julian Norton as they attend to animals in need at their practices based in North Yorkshire.

Peter's practice in the town of Thirsk, Skeldale Veterinary Centre, has historical significance, as it is the surgery where British veterinary surgeon James Herriot (in reality, James Alfred Wight) worked and found his inspiration for his collection of semi-autobiographic writings.

Julian's practice in nearby Boroughbridge may be comparatively new, but it is bustling with animal patients, and together with their capable teams, Peter and Julian work hard to save and improve the lives of all creatures great and small.

Another series, Our Great Yorkshire Life, was launched last year featuring a collection of characters and stories from across England’s biggest county, on Channel 5.