What did Harriet Cowan say when asked about TV star Jeremy Clarkson?
Harriet Cowan has spoken out on working with Jeremy Clarkson, while discussing the host’s agricultural techniques. During a frank conversation, Harriet, who has emerged as Clarkson’s Farm’s newest breakout star, disclosed how she secured her position working with Jeremy on the hugely popular Amazon Prime programme, which has now reached its fourth series.
The emerging talent had already started cultivating her following before her small-screen debut, amassing an remarkable 40,000 TikTok followers (now climbing to 730,000) with her tractor-centred content. Her path onto Clarkson’s Farm also commenced through social media when the production crew made contact.
Harriet disclosed how they were searching for someone to “come and help,” reports Gloucestershire Live, reports the Mirror.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Harriet explained: “Charlie (Ireland, Clarkson’s land agent) let me know they were looking for someone to come and help. I think they were keen for it to be a woman who could do that role and show they could do it well.”
The farming specialist then offered her thoughts on Jeremy, admitting she wasn’t especially familiar with his earlier projects, though she knew who he was, noting that she wasn’t “really into the cars”. She portrayed Jeremy as being “very much like every other farmer I’ve ever met” and “very much willing to learn. He wanted to do well by the farm.”
In a particularly cheeky remark, she joked that “he’s got the physique of a farmer.” The 24-year-old nurse and farmer, Harriet, stepped in for Jeremy Clarkson’s regular companion, Kaleb Cooper, from the famous Diddly Squat farm in the Cotswolds, whilst he was away on a live tour.
Derbyshire-born Harriet pursued twin career routes, motivated by her parents. Her mother, a nurse, wished she would follow the same path, whilst her father runs the family farm.
Following her graduation from the University of Derby in 2023, Harriet now balances full-time nursing with assisting on the farm, utilising social media to highlight the truths of agricultural life.
Her time at Diddly Squat Farm involved her handling duties from livestock management to mending fences. She has also stated that she would be “very open” to returning to the farm should Jeremy need her help once more.
Writing in his Sunday Times Magazine column, Jeremy Clarkson revealed details about his agricultural experience, identifying what he considers the most “difficult thing” in the sector, acknowledging there remain aspects he struggles to understand.
Despite his extensive experience as a presenter on The Grand Tour, Clarkson admitted that particular elements of food production puzzle him, including not understanding how to “turn a pig into a sausage” and describing it as “even worse” with cattle. However, he singled out one task as the “most difficult” for him: “But by far and away the most difficult thing would be turning my wheat into bread. This is something that has fascinated me for years because how on earth did anyone figure it out?”.