Kelvin Fletcher has opened up about how his two decades playing a farmer in Emmerdale did not give him a head-start when he decided to take on the challenge in real life.
Kelvin Fletcher has said ‘there was nothing I learned’ after switching Emmerdale for farming (Image: Dave Benett, Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Former Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher has offered a glimpse into his life after leaving the soap, revealing the challenges of becoming a farmer.
In an open discussion with BBC Countryfile magazine, he reflected on the stark difference between his acting role and real-life farming: “I spent 20 years playing a fictional farmer, but nothing was transferable. Very rarely would we talk about farming on the show. The focus was more on murder and affairs.”
He shared that despite his long stint as a soap farmer, he had to learn farming from scratch: “So there was nothing I learned from Emmerdale that I’ve taken into my real-life farming world. The irony now is that life is very much imitating art.”
The 41-year-old, who portrayed a farmer for two decades on ITV’s Emmerdale, decided to take on actual farming by purchasing a 120-acre plot in the small Peak District village of Wincle. Alongside his wife Liz Marsland and their four children, he embarked on this new venture.
Their journey into farming was documented in the BBC series Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure in 2022, followed by the Fletchers’ Family Farm on ITV in 2023, showcasing the family’s adventures and challenges on their farm.
Kelvin Fletcher’s acting career began in 1994 with a role in the gripping ITV crime drama, Cracker. Despite a brief stint on Coronation Street, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Andy Sugden in Emmerdale from 1996 to 2016.
Over two decades, Kelvin took centre stage in some of the soap’s most significant storylines including the dramatic death of his on-screen wife, Katie, after she was pushed to her death by Andy’s brother, Robert Sugden. Meanwhile Andy’s huge contributions to the soap, over the course of his 20 year stint, were recognised when he won Best Best Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards in 1999.
While his acting days may be behind him, Kelvin surprised fans of Strictly Come Dancing in 2019 by winning the Glitterball trophy alongside his professional dance partner, Oti Mabuse.
