Our Yorkshire Farm star Clive Owen, whose husband is ‘Yorkshire Shepherdess’ Amanda, reminisced about the day he brought 11-year-old daughter Violet home from hospital in last night’s episode of their Channel 5 show
Fans of the show are more used to seeing Clive, 67, working on the farm rather than spending time with the younger children, yet last night shined a spotlight on the father-of-nine’s more sensitive side.
In a sweet moment, Clive reminisced about going to pick Violet, now 11, up at the hospital when she was born, as the family marked her birthday.
The episode, filmed over the summer, aired amid continued rumours surrounding the state of his and Amanda’s marriage, with neighbours telling MailOnline they had been ‘living apart for months’.
Clive Owen, 67, pictured left, took centre stage in last night’s episode of Our Yorkshire Farm. This comes at a times were rumours of a potential split has been plaguing the couple
Violet, pictured with her mother, had her 11th birthday in last night’s episode, and received lots of gifts – and homemade cakes – from her family
In last night’s show, the family gathered to throw Violet a surprise birthday party at Ravenseat Farm.
Amanda baked two cakes with her youngest, Nancy, four, Clemmie, five, and Annas, seven, while Owen took Violet on a trip to town for her big day.
As the family sat-down to watch his daughter blow her candles, he reminisced: ‘Violet was born in hospital, I can always remember going there to take her home, and they wouldn’t let me take her home because she hadn’t had her ears checked.
‘And I always said there was absolutely no need because you could see she was absolutely perfect, and of course, Violet was perfect and of course, Violet was perfect and we came home.
One of Violet’s favourite afterschool activities is to look after her pet cow, pictured. In last night’s show, Violet turned tenn
Clive spent more time with his younger children in last night’s epidde, including Annas, seven, left, Violet, Clemmie, six, second right and Nancy, four, right
‘And she’s listened to me ever since,’ he laughed, as Violet joked she could not hear what he was saying.
Owen also shared a very sweet moment with Edith, who is two years older than Violet, and well on her way to become a teenager.
The father-of-nine gathered his six youngest children, aged four to 12, and told them to close their eyes before stepping into the family barn and emerging with a Border Collie puppy in his arms.
Edith, 12, was also gifted a new puppy, whom she named Sally, by her father in the sweet episode, pictured
He then put the puppy in Edith’s arm, because she was going to be the one looking after the puppy’s care.
Encouraged by her siblings, Edith decided she would be calling the puppy Sally – which can be shortened to ‘Sal.’
Viewers said they loved to see Clive’s paternal side with the children.
‘It’s been a great episode Clive & his family instead of Amanda Amanda Amanda,’ one said.
‘I’ve enjoyed this episode – it’s been nice to see Clive with the kids more,’ another said.
Neighbours have claimed Amanda and Clive, pictured, have been living in separate homes for months
The episode comes as rumours of marital woes have been plaguing the couple since it surface they have been living apart for months.
Last week, the couple’s neighbours told MailOnline the pair had been living apart for months after she ‘got caught up in the spotlight’ of her Channel 5 programme.
Amanda moved into their rental property down the road from Ravenseat Farm in Swaledale, where Clive has been staying in the farmhouse, villagers said.
The couple, known as the ‘Kardashians of the Countryside’, are said to be ‘battling to save their marriage’ after more than 21 years.
Clive, who was married to another woman for 13 years, is understood to be ‘desperate’ to repair their relationship and ‘fears’ their marriage will end in divorce.
It was feared they had recently started living apart but their neighbours claim it was common knowledge months ago. This is despite the Yorkshire Shepherdess still plugging her new book about family life on TV shows.
The couple live on Ravenseat Farm with their nine children. Pictued from left to right: Annas, seven, Violet, ten, Editth, 12, Raven, 20, Amanda with Nancy, four, Clive with Clemmie, six, Reuven, 17, Miles, 15 and Sidney, nine
In a joint statement given to MailOnline, Amanda and Clive Owen said: ‘With the TV show and the books we’ve always aimed to show the reality of life on the farm, and just like any marriage we have our stresses and strains, coupled with all the complexities of what we do on the farm and bringing up nine kids.
‘We’re a normal family, and we’ve never said our marriage is perfect.’
They added they were going through a ‘rocky patch’ in their marriage.
It’s thought Amanda has moved into their holiday home The Firs, which is at the top of Upper Swaledale, in a valley and surrounded by five acres of meadows and pasture.
The six-bedroom cottage is accessed by a private road behind three gates and dates back to at least the seventeenth century.
It has a number of original features, including stone flagged floors, beamed ceilings, whitewashed walls and a traditional black Yorkshire range.
The couple rent Ravenseat Farm and its land from billionaire Robert Miller, who is the co-founder of DFS (Duty Free Shops) and is the father of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Princess Alexandra von Fürstenberg, and Pia Getty – the ‘it’ girls of the 1990s.
Amanda met her husband in 1996 when he was already divorced with two children, after she arrived at his farm as a 21-year-old trainee shepherdess.
Amanda grew up in a traditional three-bed house with her parents and one sibling in the large market town of Huddersfield.
At 6ft 2in, the blonde was encouraged to follow the same career path as her model mother, but she hated the clothes and make-up that she had to wear.
She left her comfortable town life to work on farms around the country, but it’s when she knocked on the door of Ravenseat Farm that she found her calling.
Many of her children help out on the farm when they are not at school – or travelling to and from as the journey takes one-and-a-half hours each way.
‘In order to make a big family work they all need to tow the line. It’s not about child labour – it’s about pulling together,’ Amanda told the Daily Mail in an article in 2018.
With the nearest shop so far away – and the risk during winter that they could be snowed in for weeks – the TV star buys food in bulk, and manages to feed her large family for just £130 a week.
Their water is free, channelled from the stream on the moor, and they heat the house and water with a roaring fire, which burns every day no matter what the weather.
Our Yorkshire Farm airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 5.