Clarkson

Harriet Cowan, who stepped in for Kaleb Cooper on Clarkson’s Farm, has opened up about what Jeremy Clarkson is really like off camera after spending 11 weeks living and working at Diddly Squat Farm

Harriet Cowan has disclosed what Jeremy Clarkson was truly like. Harriet, 25, emerged as one of the standout personalities of series four of Clarkson’s Farm when she deputised for Kaleb Cooper.

She spent 11 weeks residing in a caravan at Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire assisting the former Top Gear host in managing the land. The ex-full-time nurse charmed viewers with her remarkable farming expertise and sharp-witted comebacks to the TV presenter.

Now Harriet, who left nursing behind to concentrate on farming and content creation, has revealed what Jeremy was like away from the cameras. On the Fed By Farmers podcast, she explained: “It was a different dynamic, he was like a father figure when I was there. He was lovely.”

She continued to disclose that people were eager to express their views on Jeremy after discovering she was on the programme. Harriet commented: “He’s like Marmite isn’t he?

“Off the back of the show people would always be like, ‘Oh I hate that guy,’ or ‘I love that guy,’ and I think he just doesn’t care, which is great.”

Harriet has previously stated she knew who Jeremy was before participating in Clarkson’s Farm, but hadn’t watched any of his earlier work. She admits she “wasn’t really into the cars thing” as a youngster.

However, after being approached by Charlie Ireland, Jeremy’s land agent, she was “intrigued” by the opportunity of featuring on the Amazon Prime Video series. She characterises Jeremy as “very much like every other farmer I’ve ever met”.

Speaking to The Times, she revealed that the former Grand Tour presenter was “very much willing to learn”. Jeremy, 66, found his career taking an unexpected turn towards farming in 2019 when the tenant at his farm retired.

He had originally purchased the 1,000-acre plot in 2008, with the-then Curdle Hill Farm being managed by a local resident. After opting to run the farm himself, Jeremy renamed it Diddly Squat Farm and chronicled his experiences on television.

Harriet reveals that it soon became apparent that Jeremy “wanted to do well by the farm”. She also quips that the television personality has the “physique of a farmer”.

While Harriet stopped short of confirming whether she would be returning to Clarkson’s Farm, she did admit to harbouring ambitions of purchasing her own farm in the future alongside partner James Booth.

She went on to say: “I just want somewhere that’s mine that I can just say, you know, I want to grow store cattle and sell them for fat or whatever.

“I want it to be all mine, that I’ve done all that, and look at them and say, ‘I’ve done that’. So that’s the plan, a few very exciting new TV things coming off and YouTube I’m c**p at.”