The Farmer Wants a Wife – how it all began

Back in August 1999 Country Living magazine began a lonely hearts campaign for Britain's farmers. As the original article (right) said: ‘The typical lonely farmer is in his 30s and has suddenly realised that, without help, he has no chance of finding the right person with whom to share his life. He has a small circle of acquaintances and knows that, if he goes to a nightclub in a distant town, he is unlikely to come across a partner who has a genuine interest in the countryside.'

The feature asked eligible country men and women to send brief personal details to the magazine offices...

The ‘country loving' campaign was a phenomenal success. By May 2000, three weddings were on the cards. Trevor Ham from Cornwall was engaged to Karen Sandy from Dorset. They got married in 2008 and have three children. Back in May 2000, Trevor described Karen's first visit to his farm: ‘I sent her out to feed the pigs. I handed her a broom to clean out the dung and put down fresh straw. Then I asked her to feed the bullocks. Nothing was a problem to her so I knew she was a genuine country lover.'

And by September 2000, with three weddings being planned from the first campaign, the magazine ran the campaign again.

By October 2001, the campaign had resulted in four weddings and a baby. The 30 bachelors featured that year attracted over 2,0000 letters and a bran dance was held in London for them all to get together.

[quote]The rural romance idea was so compelling that a TV series was made to follow the second matchmaking campaign. The ITV series started in November 2001. Dianne Nelmes, the ITV controller of documentaries and features who commissioned the show, said: ‘I followed the first group of farmers in Country Living last year and loved the feature. It was an obvious vehicle for television which I know will be entertaining and give a real insight into the stresses and demands of farming life.'

As editor Susy Smith commented at the time: ‘When we launched The Farmer Wants a Wife we never expected such an amazing response. During the current crisis in the countryside, farmers need a reason to smile more than ever. The stories which unfold will make truly riveting TV.'

The presenter of the series was Catherine Gee, who worked at the magazine as head of the shows department, and was also overseeing the management of the matchmaking service.

In the seven episodes, we met the farmers who'd been chosen to participate. At a barn dance held at The Hop Exchange, near London's Borough Market (shown in episode 2), the famers met a blind date selected for them, from some of the 2,000 letter-writers eager to meet them. After that evening all the responses were passed to all the farmers to peruse.

'The Farmer Wants a Wife' was nominated for a Best Feature Bafta award, and its success launched Catherine Gee's TV career. She went on to present programmes such as BBC2's 'Escape to the Country', 'Through the Keyhole' and 'Fantasy Homes'.

Made by Fremantle, local versions of the series have been broadcast in 14 countries, including the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Australia and Estonia. And the good news for UK fans of the show is that a new six-part series of 'The Farmer Wants a Wife' is currently in pre-production by Talkback Thames and will be shown on Five in September.

Ten years on, the magazine's campaign has resulted in a total of 18 marriages and 11 babies - an astounding success.

Country Living would love to hear from farmers and anyone else who took part in the campaign. Send your stories to FWAW Country Living, 72 Broadwick Street, London W1F 9EP, or email features@countryliving.co.uk

And if you'd like to share your memories of the series, a reader has already started a discussion on the Allaboutyou forums. Click here to join in

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