Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5: Where is it filmed and who stars in the show?

Springtime on the Farm returns to television screens for a second series this week.
Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5 for a second series this week, produced by the makers of The Yorkshire Vet. Picture by Gary Longbottom.Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5 for a second series this week, produced by the makers of The Yorkshire Vet. Picture by Gary Longbottom.
Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5 for a second series this week, produced by the makers of The Yorkshire Vet. Picture by Gary Longbottom.

Starting on Monday and running throughout the week, the Channel 5 show features guest appearances by some of rural Yorkshire’s most recognised names, such as Yorkshire vets Julian Norton and Peter Wright, and Yorkshire Shepherdess, Amanda Owen.

Here’s everything you need to know about the show, including an episode by episode guide.

What is Springtime on the Farm about?

Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5 for a second series this week, produced by the makers of The Yorkshire Vet. Picture by Gary Longbottom.Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5 for a second series this week, produced by the makers of The Yorkshire Vet. Picture by Gary Longbottom.
Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5 for a second series this week, produced by the makers of The Yorkshire Vet. Picture by Gary Longbottom.
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Springtime on the Farm celebrates the “real, raw and rural life” of farming at the busiest time of the year.

Farming stories from across the nation will be shared with viewers during the programme’s five-day run this week.

The programme also explores some of the challenges facing Britain’s farmers.

Expect moments of frantic action, including a breaking emergency as a newborn lamb fights for its life as the cameras roll.

Famous faces involved in Springtime on the Farm. Back (left to right): Kelvin Fletcher and JB Gill. Front (left to right): Peter Wright, Lindsey Chapman, Adam Henson and Julian Norton. Picture by Gary Longbottom.Famous faces involved in Springtime on the Farm. Back (left to right): Kelvin Fletcher and JB Gill. Front (left to right): Peter Wright, Lindsey Chapman, Adam Henson and Julian Norton. Picture by Gary Longbottom.
Famous faces involved in Springtime on the Farm. Back (left to right): Kelvin Fletcher and JB Gill. Front (left to right): Peter Wright, Lindsey Chapman, Adam Henson and Julian Norton. Picture by Gary Longbottom.

Who stars in Springtime on the Farm?

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The show is the work of Daisybeck Studios, the Leeds-based production company behind hugely successful series The Yorkshire Vet which has so far documented veterinary life in rural North Yorkshire for seven series.

Former JLS member and farm owner, JB Gill, returns alongside Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher. Joining them as hosts are Countryfile presenter Adam Henson and Springwatch’s Lindsey Chapman.

Brothers David (left) and Robert Nicholson who farm at Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley where Springtime on the Farm has been filmed for Channel 5. Picture by Gary Longbottom.Brothers David (left) and Robert Nicholson who farm at Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley where Springtime on the Farm has been filmed for Channel 5. Picture by Gary Longbottom.
Brothers David (left) and Robert Nicholson who farm at Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley where Springtime on the Farm has been filmed for Channel 5. Picture by Gary Longbottom.

Also set to feature as special guests are North Yorkshire vets, Julian Norton and Peter Wright - stars of The Yorkshire Vet. Julian writes for The Yorkshire Post every weekend. Read his latest column here.

Amanda Owen - the Yorkshire Shepherdess - stars in Monday's and Tuesday's episodes.

Where is Springtime on the Farm filmed?

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Three Yorkshire farms are featured during the second series.

The show is filmed ‘as live’, with the presenters based at Cannon Hall Farm - the multi-award-winning family-owned visitor attraction in Cawthorne near Barnsley.

The farm is celebrating a landmark in 2019 - it is 30 years since the farm gates were first thrown open to the visiting public. Today, it has a farm shop, reptile house and indoor play area, among many other attractions and facilities. It turns over more than £7m a year and employs over 250 people.

Cannon Hall Farm was named Rural Tourist Attraction of the Year in The Yorkshire Post’s 2017 Rural Awards.

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A working farm as well as a magnet for visitors, it is run by the Nicholson family. The head of the family Roger Nicholson and sons Robert and David Nicholson will also feature throughout this week’s show.

On Tuesday, there will be a focus on Toft Gate Farm in Pateley Bridge, run by Chris and Caroline Prince and Minskip Farm Shop in Boroughbridge appears as part of Thursday's episode.

Episode guide

On Monday, Adam Henson and Lindsey Chapman experience the highs and lows of British farming with JB Gill and Julian Norton.

Tuesday's episode sees JB Gill puts in a 24-hour shift in a sheep farm in South Wales and viewers are told of how hard-working farming families simply cannot make ends meet.

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Midweek, on Wednesday, Peter Wright and Julian Norton join Adam Henson and Lindsey Chapman, while Kelvin Fletcher learns how to work a shire horse. Meanwhile, there's an emergency operation on a cow who has a twisted stomach.

Episode four, on Thursday, features a family in the Peak District at the height of lambing time and Kelvin Fletcher has a date with 6,000 free range hens at Minskip Farm Shop in Boroughbridge.

The series draws to a close on Friday, when Adam Henson and Lindsey Chapman meet TV vet soap star Dominic Brunt, while Kelvin Fletcher is involved in lambing in the barn.

Recap

“We had a plan for the show and the moment we started those plans went completely out of the window because we had lambings galore," series producer Simon Pass told The Yorkshire Post during a visit to the show's set ahead of the first series of Springtime on the Farm in April 2018.

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"What we want people to see is a snapshot of what farming is like," Mr Pass said. "People have an understanding but this is a real honest depiction of what it’s like on a farm at this time of year. It’s very busy, very hectic, everything is going on."

How to watch Springtime on the Farm

Springtime on the Farm returns to Channel 5 from 8pm Monday to Friday.