Harriet Cowan has revealed what Jeremy Clarkson was really like. Harriet, 25, became one of the breakout stars of series four of Clarkson’s Farm when she stood in for Kaleb Cooper.
She spent 11 weeks living in a caravan at Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire helping the former Top Gear manage the plot. The former full-time nurse won over audiences with her impressive farming knowledge and witty putdowns to the TV presenter.
Now Harriet, who stepped away from nursing to focus on farming and content creation, has opened up about what Jeremy was like off-screen. On the Fed By Farmers podcast, she said: “It was a different dynamic, he was like a father figure when I was there. He was lovely.”
She went on to reveal people would be keen to share their thoughts on Jeremy after learning she was on the show. Harriet added: “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 said she was aware of who Jeremy was before taking part in Clarkson’s Farm, but hadn’t seen any of his previous work. She says she “wasn’t really into the cars thing” as a youngster.
But after being contacted by Charlie Ireland, Jeremy’s land agent, she was “intrigued” by the chance of appearing on the Amazon Prime Video series. She describes Jeremy as “very much like every other farmer I’ve ever met”.
In an interview with The Times, she explained that the former Grand Tour presenter was “very much willing to learn”. Jeremy, 66, saw his career pivot towards agriculture in 2019 when the tenant at his farm retired.
He had originally bought the 1,000-acre plot in 2008, with the-then Curdle Hill Farm managed by a local resident. After deciding to run the farm himself, Jeremy changed the name to Diddly Squat Farm and documented his journey on television.
Harriet says that it became clear that Jeremy “wanted to do well by the farm”. She also jokes that the star has the “physique of a farmer”.
And while Harriet didn’t confirm whether she would be making a return to Clarkson’s Farm, she did admit she wants to buy her own farm in the future with partner James Booth.
She added: “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.”
