Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess, has offered a candid insight into life behind the cameras, revealing that while her nine children are close-knit, they certainly don’t always see eye to eye.
Amanda, Clem and Nancy lambing at Ravenseat during lambing season (Image: CHANNEL 4)
“Of course they don’t always get on,” she admitted during a recent Q&A, joking that she had just heard Annas “string a lot of swear words into one sentence” after Sidney knocked over a drink.
On another morning, she said, they were “hitting each other with icicles”.
“It’s not always like the Waltons,” Amanda added. “It can be pretty dysfunctional.”
Miles in a tractor near Anty John’s (Image: CHANNEL 4)
Despite the inevitable sibling squabbles, Amanda says the space and freedom of life at Ravenseat in Upper Swaledale allows each child to develop independently.
“Because they’ve got space around them and a zillion things to do, it means they can take off,” she explained.
Raven, Clem and Amanda with lambs and sheep at Ravenseat (Image: CHANNEL 4)
“If you were all trapped under one roof in confined quarters, it would be very, very different.”
The children are already carving out their own interests within farm life.
Annas has a particular affinity with the hounds, Clemmie spends hours with the horses, and Nancy has developed a love of dancing.
Clem, Nancy and Annas at Ravenseat (Image: CHANNEL 4)
Each is beginning to show their own strengths and passions, something Amanda says she finds “deeply rewarding”.
“They are very, very unique characters each and every one of them,” she said.
“You just get to see their independence and their characters and what they absorb and what they take in, and that never fails to surprise me.”
Amanda, Clive and Kids altogether outside Anty John’s (Image: CHANNEL 4)
With viewers often wondering whether the Owen children will follow in their parents’ footsteps, Amanda’s reflections suggest that while farming remains central to their upbringing, there is no expectation that they must all stay on the land.
“They all stick together, but they can also go off and be their own individual selves,” Amanda said.
For Amanda, this current stage, as the children grow more independent and their personalities shine through, is her favourite so far.
“This stage is the best part,” she said.
“You feel rejuvenated. It does make you feel more alive when you’ve got these youngsters bobbing about doing their thing.”