Kelvin Fletcher’s farm is a 120-acre working property located in Wincle, a picturesque village near Macclesfield in Cheshire, situated right on the western edge of the Peak District National Park. The former Emmerdale actor and 2019 Strictly Come Dancing champion purchased the farm in 2021 alongside his wife Liz Fletcher, leaving behind their urban life in Oldham, Greater Manchester, to raise their four children in the countryside with no prior farming experience whatsoever. Since then, the farm has become one of the most talked-about agricultural properties in the UK — the subject of two major television series, one BBC documentary special, multiple public open days, a holiday cottage rental, and a growing livestock enterprise that now includes sheep, pigs, cows, alpacas, goats, and chickens. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about Kelvin Fletcher’s farm: its precise location, what the television shows document, which animals they keep, how the farm has grown and diversified, how you can visit or watch, and the full story of how one of Britain’s best-known soap stars became a genuine, full-time farmer in one of England’s most beautiful landscapes.
Where Is Kelvin Fletcher’s Farm?
The Wincle Location
The Fletcher family resides on their expansive farm in Wincle, a charming village situated near Macclesfield in Cheshire, right on the cusp of the stunning Peak District National Park. Wincle itself is a tiny, deeply rural settlement in the far western corner of the Peak District — a landscape of rolling moorland, ancient dry stone walls, and river valleys that feels genuinely remote despite being less than an hour’s drive from Manchester city centre. The village sits close to the River Dane, which marks the historic boundary between Cheshire and Staffordshire, and the surrounding area is characterised by the kind of dramatic, sweeping upland scenery that makes the western Peak District one of the most beautiful regions in the whole of England.
The programme focuses on Kelvin’s 120-acre farm at Wincle, in the far west of the Peak District. The farm occupies a commanding position in this landscape — the land rises and falls across fields, hedgerows, and dry stone wall boundaries that define the working areas of the property. From the higher ground of the farm, on a clear day, the views extend across miles of the Cheshire plain toward the Welsh hills to the west and the moorland ridges of the Peak District to the east. It is, by any standard, a spectacular place to farm and to raise a family.
Getting to the Farm
The farm at Wincle is not signposted as a tourist attraction and should not be visited without prior arrangement or a confirmed ticket for one of the family’s public events. The nearest town is Macclesfield, which is approximately seven miles to the northwest and is well served by rail from Manchester Piccadilly (journey time approximately 20 minutes). From Macclesfield station, the farm is accessible by car via the A537 and minor roads through Sutton and Wincle — a journey of roughly 20 to 25 minutes by road. There is no regular public bus service to Wincle itself, so visitors attending public farm events are strongly advised to travel by car. The nearest motorway junction is the M6 at Holmes Chapel (approximately 10 miles to the west) or the A34 / M60 interchange via Macclesfield. Parking at the farm for public events is provided on the farm grounds.
The Property and Its History
The farm purchased by the Fletchers in 2021 is an 18th-century property — the main farmhouse is a traditional stone-built Cheshire farmhouse with original period features including exposed beams, stone-flagged floors, and thick walls typical of the vernacular architecture of the region. The farm has sheep, horses, goats, pigs and alpacas all roaming the 120 acres of working farm ground. The land encompasses a mixture of enclosed pasture fields, areas of rough grazing, woodland, and traditional farm buildings including barns, sheds, and outbuildings — the latter of which the family has progressively renovated and repurposed as their farming operation has grown and diversified.
In late 2025, the farmhouse suffered significant fire damage while the family was away on holiday, with reports indicating the blaze caused major roof and smoke damage that left the main house temporarily uninhabitable. Repairs were subsequently undertaken, and the family documented their response to the fire across social media, once again demonstrating the openness and authenticity that has characterised their entire public farming journey.
Kelvin Fletcher: From Soap Star to Farmer
Early Life and Emmerdale Career
Kelvin Warren Fletcher was born on 17 January 1984 in Oldham, Greater Manchester. At the age of six, Fletcher started attending drama classes at the Oldham Theatre Workshop and was first seen on television on a Saturday Disney report. His entry into professional acting came early: he appeared in a minor role in Coronation Street in 1996 before being offered the part that would define the first twenty years of his career. He played Andy Sugden in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, a role he played from 1996 until 2016. What was initially scripted as a three-episode appearance as Andy Hopwood — a tearaway schoolfriend of Robert Sugden — developed into one of the most enduring roles in Emmerdale’s history, with the character eventually appearing in 2,134 episodes over two full decades.
During his tenure on Emmerdale, Kelvin Fletcher became one of the show’s most respected and popular cast members, earning a British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance in 1999 and a nomination for Best Actor the same year. His storylines encompassed everything from teenage delinquency and young love to murder, arson, and the deeply contested inheritance of the Sugden family farm — a storyline that, in retrospect, seems richly ironic given what he would go on to do in real life. By the time his character was written out of the show in 2016 following a controversial knife storyline, Fletcher had become one of the longest-serving cast members in the programme’s history, and his departure attracted significant media attention.
Life After Emmerdale
Following his exit from Emmerdale in 2016, Kelvin Fletcher pursued a deliberately diverse range of activities. He had first ventured into motor racing in 2012 after a visit to a motoring show, obtaining a competition licence and winning the Silverstone Classic Celebrity Challenge race that year. He subsequently competed in the Porsche Supercup support race at the 2014 British Grand Prix, signed with Power Maxed Racing for the 2016 British Touring Car Championship season, and moved to the British GT Championship in 2017 sharing a Nissan 370Z Nismo in the GT4 category. He was mentored by FIA World Endurance Championship and Le Mans class victor Martin Plowman, and after three years in GT4, moved up to the GT3 class in a Bentley Continental — a level of motorsport that required serious technical skill and competitive commitment.
He also took on acting roles in productions including Death in Paradise, Moving On, and The Teacher (2022, alongside Sheridan Smith). In September 2019, the major turning point in his post-Emmerdale career arrived when he was contacted at short notice to join the seventeenth series of Strictly Come Dancing as a replacement for reality TV star Jamie Laing, who had been forced to withdraw due to a foot injury. Fletcher was not on the replacement list and described the call as completely unexpected — he thought Ant and Dec were about to jump out and tell him it was a prank.
Strictly Come Dancing Victory
In 2019, Fletcher won the seventeenth series of Strictly Come Dancing with his professional partner Oti Mabuse. His victory was celebrated by fans and critics alike as one of the most deserved and popular wins in the show’s recent history. Despite having no formal dance training, Fletcher displayed a natural rhythm, athleticism, and competitive focus that impressed the judges from the outset, and his partnership with Oti Mabuse generated some of the most visually spectacular and emotionally engaging performances of the series. His Couple’s Choice routine and Showdance in particular were cited as amongst the finest in the show’s history.
The Strictly win boosted Fletcher’s profile significantly beyond his soap opera fan base and opened up new media and commercial opportunities. It also, crucially, gave him the confidence and the public platform to pursue the major life change that had been forming in his mind since at least 2019 — moving his young family to the countryside and becoming a farmer. In interviews in the years that followed, he consistently described the Strictly experience as a catalyst that clarified what truly mattered to him: not fame or career advancement, but family, fresh air, land, and the deep satisfaction of working with his hands.
The Farm Purchase and Early Years
Why They Bought the Farm
Kelvin Fletcher purchased the 120-acre property to start a new life with his wife Liz, leaving their Oldham home behind, instead of pursuing a Hollywood dream which had originally been his plan A following his Strictly Come Dancing win. The decision to buy a farm rather than pursue the entertainment industry opportunities that the Strictly victory opened up reflects a deliberate re-ordering of priorities that both Kelvin and Liz have spoken about extensively in interviews. For Kelvin, the desire to raise his children on working land — with animals, seasons, physical labour, and a direct relationship with the natural world — connected to something he had felt viscerally since playing a farm family character for twenty years on Emmerdale. The irony that he had more experience of farming as a fictional character than as a real person was not lost on him.
Despite growing up on a farm as an actor in Emmerdale, in real life, the star has “zero farming experience” as he revealed: “At the start of all this, Gilly [the farmer next door-turned-teacher] assumed a level of knowledge that I just didn’t have. Bless her, but I spent a lot of time saying: ‘Can we just rewind. What is a ewe? Is it a boy or a girl sheep?’ She’d just laugh, but seriously, she needed to break it down to basics.” This frank admission of ignorance — and the willingness to learn from scratch, to ask basic questions without embarrassment, to accept the guidance of experienced farmers in the region — became one of the most appealing qualities of the Fletcher family’s farming story. They were not celebrity farmers playing at rural life; they were genuinely committed to doing this properly, even if doing it properly meant making plenty of mistakes along the way.
First Livestock and Early Challenges
The Fletchers’ first livestock on the farm included sheep, pigs, alpacas, and goats — animals selected partly for their relative manageability for beginners and partly for the genuine enthusiasm of the family’s children. The sheep, in particular, became central to the farming operation from the start: managing a flock through pregnancy, lambing, shearing, and the various veterinary interventions required through the year is one of the most demanding and educational experiences available to a first-generation farmer, and the Fletcher lambing seasons — with their combination of elation, exhaustion, and occasional heartbreak — became some of the most emotionally affecting content in the television series.
The physical demands of the farm were considerable even before the weather and the financial pressures of agricultural life were factored in. Kelvin and Liz were simultaneously learning to farm, raising four young children (their twin boys Mateusz and Maximus were born in 2022, joining older children Marnie and Milo), managing the farmhouse and its extensive land, and dealing with the considerable public attention generated by the farm’s television exposure. Kelvin shared: “It has been everything we wanted and more. It’s chaotic but we thrive on it. I’ve always loved the outdoors and countryside and I always had a bit of a dream and a vision of bringing up our family on our own farm. Who would have thought it? Playing a farmer and now here I am.”
The Television Shows
Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure (BBC, 2022)
The first television programme to document the Fletchers’ farming journey was Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure, a documentary series that aired on BBC One in January 2022. The programme followed Kelvin and Liz as they attempted to bring their recently purchased farm back to a state of working order from something approaching wilderness condition — clearing overgrown fields, repairing fencing, acquiring their initial livestock, and learning the absolute basics of animal husbandry from their neighbours and from agricultural advisors. The BBC series was warmly received by viewers, attracting strong ratings and generating significant media interest in the family’s story.
The success of Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure established the appeal of the Fletcher farming format and demonstrated that audiences were genuinely interested in following a first-generation farming family through the real experience of building an agricultural enterprise from nothing. It also confirmed that Kelvin and Liz’s natural on-screen chemistry, combined with their unaffected willingness to show both successes and failures, could sustain long-form factual television in a way that more polished or artificially dramatic farming shows could not.
Fletchers’ Family Farm: Series 1 (ITV, 2023)
Building on the success of the BBC documentary, ITV commissioned a full series from Leeds-based production company Daisybeck Studios (now part of Lionsgate Television UK). Fletchers’ Family Farm Series 1 premiered on ITV1 on 15 October 2023, comprising eight hour-long episodes that followed the family through a full year on the farm. The documentary-style series is made up of eight 60-minute episodes following Kelvin, wife Liz and their children as they navigate life as first-generation farmers. The show aired on both ITV1 and ITVBe, and was made available on the ITVX streaming platform.
Series 1 documented the family’s expanding livestock operation, their first forays into public events at the farm, the challenges of managing a working farm alongside raising four young children (including infant twins), and the growing confidence with which Kelvin and Liz approached agricultural challenges that had seemed completely alien to them just a year earlier. It introduced the farm’s key animal characters — including pigs, sheep, alpacas, and pygmy goats — and established the format of intimate family storytelling combined with genuine agricultural content that would prove so successful with audiences.
The show was an immediate hit, attracting strong ratings and generating significant viewer loyalty. ITV commissioned a second series before Series 1 had even completed its broadcast run — a clear indication of the programme’s commercial and audience success.
Fletchers’ Family Farm: Series 2 (ITV, 2024–2025)
The second series promises even more adventures as the family extend their livestock, Kelvin finally welcomes a herd of pregnant cows to the farm, they tackle an emotionally charged lambing season and they step into the showring as the kids try their luck at the county fair. Series 2, comprising ten episodes plus a Christmas special (eleven episodes total), began broadcasting on ITV1 on Sunday 24 November 2024 and concluded in January 2025. The pair are now into their third year as farmers and they will be seen tackling a tricky and emotional lambing season with their new flock of Lleyn sheep. Meanwhile, they face the fresh challenge of rearing their first cows and the chickens, pigs and pygmy goats on the farm also keep them on their toes.
The 11-part season, which includes a Christmas special, airs weekly from Sunday, November 24 at 11.30am on ITV1 and at 8pm on ITVBe. It is also available on streaming service ITVX. The introduction of cows — specifically a herd of Lincoln Red cattle, a traditional dual-purpose native breed — marked a significant milestone in the farm’s development. Kelvin Fletcher said: “We’re now the really proud parents of cows! We’ve chosen a native breed, a Lincoln Red, which was a ‘dual purpose’ cow when it was first reared, as it would have been for beef and for milk. It’s amazing. I instantly bonded with the cows, that connection is unique, and different from the one we’ve had with any other livestock.”
A key emotional thread in Series 2 is the family’s participation in the Royal Cheshire Show — one of the region’s most prestigious agricultural competitions. The Fletcher family prepares for a big day at the Royal Cheshire Show, especially as they showcase their beloved cows, Cherry and Sonic. Milo steps into the spotlight as he participates in the young handler contest and his hard work pays off when he wins a rosette and a cash prize, filling the family with pride and joy. This episode — one of the most warmly received of the entire series — illustrated how genuinely the Fletcher children had embraced farm life and how rapidly they had developed the skills and confidence to compete at a real agricultural show.
Series 3 and Beyond
A third series of Fletchers’ Family Farm was confirmed and began airing on ITV in October 2025, with a fourth series already reported to be in development. The show has established itself as one of ITV’s most reliable and well-loved factual entertainment properties, and Daisybeck Studios has continued to develop it with increasing production ambition. Kelvin Fletcher said: “It’s been so good, people are on this journey with us. When I was in Emmerdale, guys wouldn’t admit to watching it! But with this, the amount of men who have said, ‘I love your show’, is amazing.” The show’s capacity to engage viewers who might not typically watch factual or farming television — including men, younger audiences, and urban viewers with no direct connection to agriculture — has been one of its most notable achievements.
The Livestock and Animals
Sheep: The Foundation of the Flock
Sheep were among the Fletchers’ first livestock and remain central to the farm’s identity and income. The family initially built their flock with a mixed selection of breeds before introducing a specific flock of Lleyn sheep — a hardy Welsh breed well-suited to the upland landscape of the western Peak District — in Series 2. Lleyn sheep are particularly valued for their good mothering instincts, prolific lambing rates, and adaptability to challenging weather conditions. The lambing season, which typically runs from late February through April, has become one of the most emotionally intense and viewer-loved sections of both series — with its combination of 3am barn vigils, unexpected complications, and the overwhelming joy of new life countered by the occasional heartbreak of a lamb that cannot be saved.
In Series 2, Kelvin faces a devastating loss when a young lamb breaks its leg. Scenes like this are treated with genuine gravity by the programme — neither sensationalised nor softened — and they reflect one of the most important truths the Fletcher farming story communicates to its audience: that farming involves a direct and ongoing relationship with death as well as life, and that accepting this reality is a fundamental part of the farmer’s experience. Daughter Marnie has developed her own flock of Jacob sheep — a distinctive black-and-white breed with impressive curved horns — and has been seen attending livestock markets to select animals for her own enterprise, a remarkably grown-up undertaking for a child still in primary school.
Cows: The Lincoln Reds
The most significant livestock development at the Fletcher farm in recent years has been the introduction of Lincoln Red cattle in Series 2. Lincoln Reds are a native British breed with a long history in the East Midlands, valued for both their beef and — historically — their milk production. They are known for their docile temperament and good maternal instincts, which made them particularly suitable for a farming family still building their confidence with larger animals.
The named cows who featured most prominently in Series 2 were Cherry, Ruby, and Sonic — the latter being particularly significant as the farm’s first beef steer, destined for the food chain. Kelvin said: “People will be eating Fletcher beef for the first time ever. We’ll be eating Fletcher beef for the first time ever. We’ve had Fletcher pork and Fletcher lamb, and next it’s going to be beef. So massive thing for us.” The episode in which Kelvin prepares to send Sonic on his final journey was one of the most viewed and discussed of Series 2, touching on the profound emotional complexity of raising named animals for food — a reality that the show has always addressed with honesty rather than sentimentality.
Kelvin noted: “The kids understand brilliantly the concepts, in such an uncomplicated way, of what the animals become. You know, when we eat animals, they’ve got a very good understanding of that, and it’s uncomplicated, as it kind of should be. It’s celebrated.” This attitude — the celebration rather than concealment of the food cycle — is one of the most distinctive and valuable aspects of the Fletcher family’s public approach to farming, and it has generated significant positive engagement from farmers, smallholders, and food ethicists who appreciate the show’s refusal to pretend that farm animals are simply pets.
Pigs, Alpacas, and Other Animals
Alongside their sheep and cattle, the Fletchers keep pigs, alpacas, pygmy goats, and chickens. The pigs have featured in some of the show’s most educational sequences — including an episode in Series 1 in which Kelvin and Liz attempt artificial insemination for the first time, navigating the complex procedure with a combination of concentration and helpless laughter that made for genuinely entertaining television. The alpacas, with their otherworldly appearance and unpredictable temperaments, have been a consistent source of comedy throughout the series. The chickens, somewhat less glamorously, provide eggs for the family and have attracted the enthusiastic attention of all four children.
The farm’s diverse mix of livestock reflects a deliberate philosophy of building a varied and resilient agricultural enterprise rather than specialising in a single species. This approach is consistent with the traditional mixed farming model that characterised British agriculture before the intensive specialisation of the post-war era, and it provides the kind of year-round activity, interest, and income diversification that is increasingly attractive to farmers seeking financial stability in a challenging agricultural market.
Farm Diversification and Public Events
Fletchers on the Farm: Open Days
One of the most significant developments in the Fletcher farm’s commercial evolution has been its gradual opening to the public for ticketed events. The farm is a private property and isn’t open to the general public on a daily basis. However, Kelvin and Liz have previously organised open days and even held a major Christmas event which was ticketed for public attendance. They’ve decided to throw open their farm gates once more in 2024 for an Easter Adventure.
Situated in the picturesque village of Wincle, near Macclesfield in Cheshire, the Fletchers’ 120-acre farm offers an idyllic setting on the edge of the renowned Peak District National Park. Since 2022, Kelvin and his wife Liz have been managing their farm while also tending to their four young children — Marnie, Milo, and twins Mateusz and Maximus. The Easter event attracted strong ticket sales and generated substantial positive feedback from attendees who appreciated the opportunity to experience a real working farm in one of England’s most beautiful settings. The farm also hosted a “magical” Santa’s Village Christmas event across multiple dates in December 2023 and 2024, offering families a festive farm experience in the run-up to Christmas.
Farm with the Fletchers Experience
Among the most ambitious of the farm’s public offerings is the “Farm with the Fletchers” experience — a concept in which members of the public can pay to spend a day on the farm, working alongside the Fletcher family and their team, experiencing the reality of daily farm tasks first-hand. This initiative reflects both the farm’s growing confidence as a visitor destination and the significant public appetite for agricultural tourism that has developed in the UK in recent years, partly driven by the popularity of shows like Clarkson’s Farm, Countryfile, and the Fletcher family’s own programmes. The experience is particularly attractive to families with children, urban dwellers curious about food production, and fans of the television series who want a more direct connection to the farm they have been following on screen.
Stag Cottage Holiday Rental
The Fletcher farm also includes a holiday rental property called Stag Cottage — a renovated barn conversion offering self-catering accommodation for visitors to the Peak District. The cottage can reportedly generate rental income of up to £1,500 per week at peak times, representing a meaningful contribution to the farm’s diversified income streams. It offers guests a genuinely working farm environment — animals, early mornings, agricultural machinery, and countryside views — combined with the comfort and facilities expected of a contemporary holiday let. Staying at Stag Cottage represents the closest most members of the public will get to the authentic Fletchers on the Farm experience outside of a ticketed open day or Kelvin and Liz’s television programmes.
Liz Fletcher: An Equal Partner
Who Is Liz Fletcher?
Elizabeth “Liz” Marsland Fletcher is as much a central figure in the Fletcher farming story as Kelvin himself — a point the television series has consistently and deliberately reinforced. Liz, who was born in 1987, is an actress and model who has worked in television, advertising, and voiceover throughout her career. She appeared in the BBC Three series In the Club (2016), and has done voiceover work for major brands including Macmillan, Red Bull, Spotify, and the Co-op. She and Kelvin have known each other since they were eight years old, growing up in the same area of Oldham, and they married in a music-themed ceremony at London’s One Mayfair on 28 November 2015.
Her approach to the farm — hands-on, direct, and unafraid of hard work and difficult emotional moments — has made her one of the most respected and liked figures in the show’s audience response. Liz Fletcher said: “They’re beautiful, but you’re dealing with a much bigger animal than sheep and pigs. I was slow to the party, because I had a streak of fear, while Kelvin was just at one with the cows! But they feel so right here now, they were the piece missing on the farm.” Her willingness to acknowledge her own fears and learning curve, while also consistently demonstrating her capability and commitment, makes her an authentic and inspirational presence both on screen and in the broader public discourse around women in farming.
The Fletcher Children
The four Fletcher children — Marnie (born 2016), Milo (born 2019), and twins Mateusz and Maximus (born 2022) — are central characters in the farm’s story and have grown visibly and delightfully throughout the television series. Marnie, the eldest, has developed a particular passion and aptitude for livestock, selecting her own Jacob sheep flock and participating in young handler competitions at agricultural shows. Liz Fletcher said: “Milo’s coming into his own and the twins are such outdoor children, it’s lovely. They’re so different though. Mateusz is a real farmer and has no fear and there are no questions asked, but Max weighs things up, checks it’s safe, and then gets involved!”
The children’s authentic engagement with farm life — the ease with which they handle animals, understand the food cycle, and participate in the physical work of the farm — is one of the most compelling and educational aspects of the programme. Their presence has made Fletchers’ Family Farm genuinely accessible to family audiences, and many parents have reported that watching the show with their children has prompted valuable conversations about where food comes from, how animals are cared for, and what farming involves in reality.
Peak District Ambassador and Conservation
Kelvin’s Role in the National Park
Kelvin is ambassador for the Peak District National Park Foundation — a charity which raises money for the National Park. His role as ambassador reflects both his genuine love for the landscape that surrounds his farm and the broader conservation and environmental education mission of the National Park Foundation. The Peak District National Park — the first national park designated in England, in 1951 — covers over 1,400 square kilometres of upland landscape in the north-east Midlands, and its management requires a careful balance between agricultural use, conservation, public recreation, and landscape protection.
As a farmer operating within this landscape, Kelvin has a direct personal stake in the health and sustainability of the Peak District environment. He has spoken publicly about the importance of traditional farming methods — dry stone wall maintenance, native breed livestock, seasonal grazing patterns — in maintaining the landscape character that makes the Peak District so visually distinctive and ecologically rich. His platform as a television presenter and social media personality has allowed him to communicate these messages to audiences who might otherwise have no connection to agricultural conservation issues.
Agricultural Policy and Advocacy
In late 2024, Kelvin Fletcher became one of several prominent farming figures to speak out about the Labour government’s proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief — the inheritance tax arrangement that has historically allowed farming families to pass on agricultural land and businesses without incurring inheritance tax liabilities. Recent protests focused on Labour’s proposed inheritance tax changes that would affect farmers with businesses worth more than £1 million. The controversial plans would impose a 20 per cent inheritance tax on agricultural businesses exceeding this threshold, and have seen thousands of demonstrators fighting against the changes.
His willingness to engage with agricultural policy debates — using his public platform to advocate for the interests of farming families, including first-generation farmers like himself who have invested significantly in land and livestock — reflects the seriousness with which he takes his identity as a farmer rather than a celebrity playing at farming. His contributions to the inheritance tax debate were reported across the national press and farming trade media, adding his voice to a campaign that united established farming families and new entrants to agriculture in opposition to the proposed changes.
Practical Information for Visitors
How to Visit the Farm
The Fletcher farm at Wincle is a private working property and is not open to visitors on a walk-in basis. Access for members of the public is available exclusively through the farm’s ticketed public events — the Easter Adventure, the Santa’s Village Christmas experience, and the Farm with the Fletchers day experience. Tickets for these events are announced via the official Fletchers on the Farm social media channels and website. Events typically sell out quickly, so fans wishing to attend are advised to follow the social media accounts and book as soon as tickets become available.
For those wishing to visit the area without a farm ticket, the Peak District National Park surrounding Wincle offers extensive walking, cycling, and outdoor activities. The Gritstone Trail long-distance footpath passes through the western Peak District, and the market town of Macclesfield offers good visitor facilities including hotels, restaurants, and a railway station. The Roaches — a dramatic gritstone escarpment approximately eight miles south-east of Wincle — is one of the finest rock-climbing and walking destinations in the Peak District and well worth combining with a visit to the area.
Watching the Show
Fletchers’ Family Farm is available to watch on ITV1, ITVBe, and the ITVX streaming platform. New series typically begin in November and run through to January, broadcasting at 11.30am on Sundays on ITV1 and at 8pm on ITVBe. All episodes are available on ITVX immediately following broadcast, and previous series can also be streamed on ITVX. Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure — the BBC documentary that preceded the ITV series — is available on BBC iPlayer. ITVX is free to access in the UK with a registered account.
Stag Cottage: Staying at the Farm
Stag Cottage, the holiday rental barn conversion on the Fletcher farm at Wincle, can be booked through holiday rental platforms including Airbnb and specialist Peak District cottage rental sites. Prices vary by season, with peak summer and Christmas period rates reported at up to £1,500 per week. The cottage offers guests the experience of staying on a working farm in one of England’s most beautiful landscapes, with the possibility of encountering the animals and farm operations that viewers have followed on screen. It is a small property suited to couples or small families, set within the farm’s grounds with direct access to the surrounding countryside.
Following the Fletchers Online
Kelvin Fletcher is active on Instagram, where he posts updates about farm life, family moments, and his television work to a following of well over half a million. Liz Fletcher has a separate and equally active Instagram account, often providing a different perspective on the same events and moments that Kelvin documents. The farm’s public events are announced primarily through social media, and both Kelvin and Liz interact regularly with their online communities, responding to questions about farming, family life, and the television series.
The Farming Year at Fletcher Farm
Spring: Lambing Season
Spring on the Fletcher farm is defined by lambing — the most demanding, most emotional, and most rewarding period in the shepherd’s calendar. The Fletchers’ Lleyn sheep typically begin lambing in late February, and the season runs through March and into April, requiring round-the-clock monitoring of pregnant ewes and rapid response to births, complications, and orphaned lambs. For a first-generation farming family, the lambing season is the most accelerated learning experience the agricultural year has to offer: each birth is different, complications can arise without warning, and the margin between a successful delivery and the loss of a ewe or a lamb can be razor-thin.
The lambing sequences in Fletchers’ Family Farm have generated some of the series’ most affecting moments. Viewers watched Liz spend a sleepless night in the barn with a ewe struggling through a difficult labour; watched Kelvin bottle-feed an orphaned lamb that would not thrive; and watched both of them navigate the exhaustion and grief of losing animals despite their best efforts. These scenes work because they are completely genuine — the emotion is real, the stakes are real, and the skill being developed by both Kelvin and Liz under intense pressure is entirely their own, earned through experience rather than performance.
Summer: Shows, Shearing, and Open Days
By early summer, the farm’s rhythm shifts to shearing, show preparation, and the intensive maintenance work — fence repairs, dry stone wall restoration, field management — that forms the backbone of any pastoral operation. Sheep shearing day, featured prominently in Series 2, is one of the farm’s most visually spectacular operations, requiring professional shearers and the efficient handling of an entire flock in a compressed period. The fleeces produced are sold through the agricultural wool board, contributing to farm income while ensuring the welfare of the animals through the warmer months.
Summer also brings the agricultural show season — the network of county and regional shows at which farmers exhibit their finest livestock and compete for the championship rosettes that provide both financial reward and professional reputational value. The Fletcher family’s participation in the Royal Cheshire Show, one of the north-west’s most prestigious agricultural events, was a defining storyline of Series 2 — with young Milo winning a rosette in the young handler contest and Kelvin’s cow Sonic emerging as a show champion. These competitions have become increasingly meaningful to the family as their farming confidence and livestock quality has improved.
Autumn: Harvest, New Arrivals, and Preparation
Autumn on the farm is a time of consolidation and preparation — the last grass growth of the year must be made into silage or hay to sustain the livestock through winter; breeding decisions must be finalised and rams or bulls introduced to the flocks and herds to achieve the desired lambing and calving dates the following spring; and the farm’s buildings, equipment, and fencing must be checked and repaired before the first frost makes maintenance impractical.
The autumn is also when the family’s television series typically returns to screens — a carefully chosen timing that reflects the agricultural calendar and brings viewers back to the farm just as the new season’s challenges are beginning to unfold. Series 1 of Fletchers’ Family Farm premiered in October 2023, and Series 3 began in October 2025, maintaining a pattern that connects the broadcast calendar to the real rhythms of the farm. The family has also used the autumn period for their “Farm with the Fletchers” public experience days, allowing visitors to participate in practical farm tasks during one of the most active periods of the agricultural year.
Winter: Feeding, Maintenance, and Christmas Events
Winter on a Peak District farm is the most physically testing season — short days, freezing temperatures, persistent rain and snow, and the constant labour of feeding, watering, and checking livestock that cannot be left to fend for themselves in exposed fields. The Fletchers’ Christmas events at the farm — the Santa’s Village experience that has become an annual fixture since 2023 — provide a significant boost to both income and morale during what would otherwise be the most commercially quiet period of the farming calendar.
For Kelvin and Liz, winter also represents a period for reflection, planning, and television production work — the interview sequences and voiceovers that frame the series’ narrative are often recorded during quieter winter periods, and the editing and production process for each series takes place through the winter months before the following season’s broadcasts begin. The family has described winter on the farm as both the hardest and in many ways the most rewarding season — the animals are entirely dependent on human care, the relationship between farmer and flock is at its most intimate, and the farm’s quiet, frost-covered landscapes are at their most visually spectacular.
Kelvin Fletcher’s Other Interests and Projects
Motor Racing Career
Kelvin Fletcher’s passion for motor racing — which he pursued seriously and at a high competitive level between 2012 and 2019 — represents a fascinating parallel strand to his more well-known careers in television and farming. He obtained a competition licence in 2012 after a visit to a motoring show with his father, and won the Silverstone Classic Celebrity Challenge race in his first competitive season. Over the following years he competed in the Porsche Supercup support race at the 2014 British Grand Prix, signed with Power Maxed Racing for the 2016 British Touring Car Championship, and moved up through GT4 to GT3 level in the British GT Championship, ultimately racing a Bentley Continental GT3 in the most senior class of British GT.
The discipline and competitive focus that motor racing demanded of him clearly influenced the approach he has brought to farming — both pursuits involve accepting failure as a necessary part of learning, committing to improvement through practice and experience, and finding satisfaction in the process as well as the result. Fletcher has spoken about the similarities between the two in interviews, noting that both farming and racing require you to be completely present and engaged with what you are doing, with no room for distraction or half-measures. His racing career effectively ended when farming became his primary focus, though he has remained connected to the motorsport world through occasional media appearances and his ongoing interest in the sport.
Acting: Selected Roles Since Emmerdale
Since leaving Emmerdale in 2016, Kelvin Fletcher has been selective rather than prolific in his acting work, choosing projects that interest him rather than pursuing sustained television presence for its own sake. He appeared in Death in Paradise — the BBC One drama series set on a fictional Caribbean island — in a guest role that demonstrated his ability to perform convincingly in material very different from the long-running soap format he was most associated with. He played a major supporting role in The Teacher (ITV, January 2022), a drama starring Sheridan Smith as a teacher falsely accused by a student, in which he played a character called Jack. He has also appeared in Moving On — the ITV anthology drama series — and in the war film We Go in at Dawn (2020).
Kelvin co-hosts a soap podcast for ITV with his wife Liz, discussing Emmerdale and Coronation Street — a project that keeps him connected to the soap world that made his name while allowing him to engage with it in a relaxed and conversational format rather than as a daily professional commitment. This balance between continued television presence and the primacy of the farm in his working life reflects a deliberate and thoughtful approach to his career at a stage when he clearly has enough professional options to be genuinely selective about what he takes on.
Social Media and Brand Partnerships
Kelvin Fletcher’s social media presence — primarily on Instagram, where he has accumulated over half a million followers — is an important part of both his personal brand and the farm’s commercial operation. His Instagram content mixes farm updates, family moments, television promotion, motorsport content, and brand partnerships in a way that reflects the genuine breadth of his interests and activities. His engagement rates are strong, reflecting the warmth and authenticity of his relationship with his audience — he is perceived as a genuine person sharing his real life rather than a curated celebrity persona projecting an image.
Brand partnerships for Kelvin Fletcher include collaborations with outdoor clothing and countryside lifestyle brands whose values align naturally with his public positioning as a farmer and Peak District ambassador. His and Liz’s combined social media reach — representing a farming family with national television exposure and a combined audience of well over a million — makes them attractive to brands seeking authentic, engaged audiences in the premium rural lifestyle, family, and food categories.
Estimated Net Worth
As of 2026, Kelvin Fletcher’s net worth is estimated to be around £3 million to £5 million, accumulated through his diverse careers in acting, presenting, brand partnerships, and his successful move into farming and reality TV with his family. His primary historical income source was his twenty-year tenure on Emmerdale, during which he appeared in over 2,100 episodes and built the sustained public profile that has powered his subsequent career transitions. His 2019 Strictly Come Dancing victory opened significant new commercial opportunities, including brand partnerships, presenting work, and the television series that have followed.
His current income is derived from a diversified portfolio: presenting fees for Fletchers’ Family Farm and other television appearances, the farm’s own commercial activities (livestock sales, open day ticket revenue, holiday cottage rental), brand partnerships, social media sponsorship, and occasional acting roles. The farm itself represents a significant capital asset as well as an ongoing business enterprise, and its television exposure has increased its commercial value considerably beyond its agricultural worth alone.
The Farm as a Business
The Fletcher farm at Wincle operates as a genuine agricultural business — selling lamb, pork, and beef produced on the property, generating income through its public events programme, and developing the Stag Cottage holiday rental as an additional revenue stream. The farm’s diversification strategy reflects broader trends in British agriculture, where a single commodity income (from sheep, cattle, or arable crops alone) is rarely sufficient to sustain a family farm at the scale of the Fletcher operation, and where complementary income from tourism, direct sales, and other rural enterprises has become essential.
The television exposure has been commercially valuable in ways that extend beyond the direct presenting fees: the “Fletcher beef,” “Fletcher lamb,” and “Fletcher pork” brands have genuine consumer recognition and could support a direct-to-consumer meat sales operation; the farm’s open events attract paying visitors from across the north-west of England; and the Stag Cottage rental benefits from association with a television family that millions of viewers regard with genuine warmth and interest.
FAQs
Where is Kelvin Fletcher’s farm?
The Fletcher family resides on their expansive farm in Wincle, a charming village situated near Macclesfield in Cheshire, right on the cusp of the stunning Peak District National Park. The farm is approximately 120 acres in size and sits in the far western edge of the Peak District. It is not open to the public as a daily visitor attraction but has hosted ticketed public events including Easter and Christmas experiences since 2023.
How big is Kelvin Fletcher’s farm?
Kelvin Fletcher’s farm is 120 acres in size. The land encompasses enclosed pasture fields, rough grazing, woodland, and traditional farm buildings. The property includes an 18th-century stone farmhouse, multiple barns and outbuildings, and a renovated holiday cottage known as Stag Cottage. The farm runs a mixed livestock operation including sheep, cattle, pigs, alpacas, goats, and chickens.
When did Kelvin Fletcher buy the farm?
Kelvin Fletcher and his wife Liz purchased their 120-acre farm in Wincle, Cheshire, in 2021. The purchase came shortly after Kelvin’s 2019 Strictly Come Dancing victory and represented a deliberate choice to leave urban life in Oldham behind and raise their growing family in the countryside. He and Liz had no prior farming experience at the time of the purchase.
What TV shows has Kelvin Fletcher made about farming?
Kelvin Fletcher has made three major farming television series. Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure aired on BBC One in January 2022. Fletchers’ Family Farm Series 1 premiered on ITV1 in October 2023. Fletchers’ Family Farm Series 2 began broadcasting on ITV1 on 24 November 2024 and ran through early 2025. A third series of Fletchers’ Family Farm aired on ITV from October 2025. All series are available to stream on either BBC iPlayer (Series 1) or ITVX (subsequent series).
What animals does Kelvin Fletcher keep on his farm?
The Fletcher farm at Wincle keeps a diverse mix of livestock including Lleyn sheep, Lincoln Red cattle, pigs, alpacas, pygmy goats, and chickens. Sheep were among the first animals the family kept and remain central to the farm operation, with daughter Marnie also developing her own Jacob sheep flock. Lincoln Red cattle were introduced in Series 2 of Fletchers’ Family Farm, with a herd of pregnant cows joining the farm and producing some of the series’ most emotionally memorable episodes.
Can you visit Kelvin Fletcher’s farm?
The farm is a private working property and cannot be visited without a prior booking or ticket. Kelvin and Liz Fletcher have organised various public events at the farm, including Easter Adventure days, Santa’s Village Christmas experiences, and “Farm with the Fletchers” day experience sessions. These events are announced through the Fletchers on the Farm social media channels. Stag Cottage — a holiday rental barn conversion on the farm — can be booked through holiday rental platforms for guests wishing to stay on the farm property.
Is Kelvin Fletcher a real farmer?
Yes. While Kelvin Fletcher began his farming journey in 2021 with no prior agricultural experience, he and Liz have progressively built a genuine working farm operation over several years. They manage a diverse livestock enterprise, participate in agricultural shows, sell produce from the farm, and engage with farming organisations and agricultural policy debates. Kelvin is also an ambassador for the Peak District National Park Foundation. The television series that document their farming life show real farming work — including lambing, shearing, livestock sales, show preparation, and the difficult decisions involved in sending animals to market.
What breed of cows does Kelvin Fletcher have?
Kelvin Fletcher’s cows are Lincoln Reds — a traditional native British breed originally developed in Lincolnshire and valued as a dual-purpose animal for both beef and milk production. Kelvin Fletcher said: “We’ve chosen a native breed, a Lincoln Red, which was a ‘dual purpose’ cow when it was first reared, as it would have been for beef and for milk. It’s amazing. I instantly bonded with the cows, that connection is unique.” The cows were introduced to the farm during the filming of Series 2, with a herd of pregnant Lincoln Reds arriving and producing calves during a particularly emotional period of the series.
What is Stag Cottage at Kelvin Fletcher’s farm?
Stag Cottage is a self-catering holiday rental barn conversion located on the Fletcher farm at Wincle. It offers guests accommodation within the working farm environment, with direct access to the Peak District countryside. The cottage can reportedly earn up to £1,500 per week at peak times and represents one of several diversification income streams the family has developed alongside the farm’s core livestock operation. It can be booked through holiday rental platforms including Airbnb and specialist Peak District cottage rental agencies.
How many children does Kelvin Fletcher have?
Kelvin Fletcher has four children with his wife Liz. Their eldest daughter, Marnie, was born in 2016. Their son Milo was born in 2019. Twin boys Mateusz and Maximus were born in 2022. All four children appear in the Fletchers’ Family Farm television series and have grown visibly through the programme’s run, with Marnie in particular demonstrating a genuine aptitude for livestock handling and showing that has been one of the series’ most delightful recurring storylines.
What is Kelvin Fletcher’s net worth?
Kelvin Fletcher’s net worth is estimated at approximately £3 million to £5 million as of 2025–2026. His wealth has been accumulated through his twenty-year acting career on Emmerdale, his 2019 Strictly Come Dancing victory, subsequent television presenting work on Fletchers’ Family Farm and other programmes, brand partnerships, social media sponsorship, and the farm’s diversified commercial activities including livestock sales, public events, and holiday cottage rental.
How did Kelvin Fletcher get into farming?
Kelvin Fletcher’s transition into farming was a deliberate life choice made following his exit from Emmerdale in 2016 and his Strictly Come Dancing victory in 2019. Having spent twenty years playing a farming family character on television, he had developed a deep personal interest in and affection for rural life that he had never been able to act on during his decades as a soap actor. In 2021, he and Liz purchased their 120-acre farm in Wincle with the explicit intention of building a genuine agricultural enterprise and raising their family in the countryside — despite having, as he freely admitted, absolutely no practical farming knowledge at the point of purchase.
Is Fletchers’ Family Farm returning for another series?
Yes. Fletchers’ Family Farm returned for a third series on ITV from October 2025, and a fourth series has been reported to be in development. The show has established itself as one of ITV’s most reliable and well-loved factual entertainment series, consistently attracting strong ratings across both ITV1 and ITVBe, with all episodes available on ITVX. The show’s broad appeal — extending to viewers who do not typically watch farming or factual content — has made it commercially attractive to ITV, and Daisybeck Studios has confirmed ongoing production relationships with the Fletcher family.
Final Thoughts
Kelvin Fletcher’s farm in Wincle, Cheshire — 120 acres of Peak District countryside that he and Liz purchased in 2021 with no farming experience and an enormous amount of determination — is one of the most remarkable stories in contemporary British television and agriculture. In just a few years, the former Emmerdale star and Strictly champion has built a genuine, diverse farming enterprise from the ground up: a mixed livestock operation running Lleyn sheep, Lincoln Red cattle, pigs, alpacas, and goats; a public events programme that brings hundreds of families to the farm each year; a holiday cottage providing additional income and visitor connection; and a television series that has introduced millions of viewers to the realities, challenges, and deep satisfactions of farming life in one of England’s most beautiful landscapes.
What makes the Fletcher farming story genuinely compelling — beyond the celebrity novelty and the gorgeous scenery — is its honesty. Kelvin and Liz have never pretended that farming is easy, romantic, or glamorous. They have shown the dead lambs alongside the living ones, the financial pressures alongside the county show rosettes, the exhausted 3am barn vigils alongside the golden summer mornings in the fields. And in doing so, they have created something that resonates far beyond the world of celebrity television: a genuine, warm, and inspiring account of what happens when two people decide to change their lives completely, embrace the unknown, and build something real in the countryside.
Read More on Manchesterreporter