How we swooned on the sensual hip motion that Kelvin ‘Versatile’ Fletcher showcased on Strictly, en path to successful the glitterball.
The actor (whom most of us had remembered solely because the considerably puny younger lad ~who’d performed Andy Sugden in Emmerdale) gave the entire nation a jolt when he peeled off his shirt to disclose an astonishing six-pack.
Week after week, he proved he had the strikes to match the muscle groups. Think about being held by these arms!
Right now, lower than two years on, one fortunate woman is. Alas, that woman is a sheep, being straddled by Kelvin in a area within the Peak District.
The sheep will not be thrilled. Nor — hilariously — is Kelvin’s teacher, who will not be Oti Mabuse however as a substitute a straight-talking sheep farmer referred to as Gilly.
As an alternative of pursuing the Hollywood dream (which had been Plan A after his Strictly triumph, he reveals at the moment), he purchased a 120-acre farm and began a brand new life. With a tractor. Please don’t get him began on how a lot he loves that tractor
Gilly has already referred to as Kelvin a ‘blinkin’ wuss’ — which isn’t an outline any of the Strictly judges ever used — as he makes an attempt to manage a worming remedy to the animal.
‘Are you making an attempt to experience it?’ she asks, as Kelvin — or Farmer Kelvin, as we should now consider him — dismounts.
There’s swooning at the moment, but it surely comes from 37-year-old Kelvin himself. In addition to having to grapple with worming, he has needed to take care of sheep foot rot, which includes scraping out putrid blood and maggots. Kelvin hates maggots (‘it is why I’ve by no means fancied fishing’).
‘Are you going to faint?’ Gilly asks him, as he slides to the ground in a transfer that, frankly, may have been extra elegant.
The scenes — funnier than something seen on Emmerdale, and fewer attractive than something on Strictly — are performed out in Kelvin’s newest TV undertaking, which includes studying easy methods to run his very personal farm.
We are saying TV undertaking however, truly, it is greater than that. Farming is now Kelvin’s life, and his day job. Lots of people went a bit crazy in lockdown, by way of taking up new life instructions, however he appears to have gone extra off-piste than most.
As an alternative of pursuing the Hollywood dream (which had been Plan A after his Strictly triumph, he reveals at the moment), he purchased a 120-acre farm and began a brand new life. With a tractor. Please don’t get him began on how a lot he loves that tractor.
So what does he find out about farming? Effectively, he pitched up for his first correct day of farm work sporting trainers, since he did not personal a pair of wellies.
‘Initially of all this, Gilly [the farmer next door-turned-teacher] assumed a degree of data that I simply did not have. Bless her, however I spent lots time saying: ‘Can we simply rewind. What’s a ewe? Is it a boy or a woman sheep?’ She’d simply snigger, however critically, she wanted to interrupt it right down to fundamentals.’
How we swooned on the sensual hip motion that Kelvin ‘Versatile’ Fletcher showcased on Strictly, en path to successful the glitterball. He’s pictured above with Oti Mabuse
We will solely pray that he has labored out his boy sheep from his woman sheep. He and his spouse, Liz (additionally an actor), inform me that they’ve 28 sheep, however hope to have a flock of ‘about 80’ by subsequent 12 months.
In addition they have three pigs, three alpacas, two rabbits. Oh, and two kids (Marnie, 5, and Milo, three), with one other on the best way.
‘Will probably be a busy spring,’ says Liz. ‘We may have lambing season, pigs being born, and this child . . .’
The phenomenon of celebrities embarking on a Good Life journey is nothing new. A slew of them have been laborious at it.
Presenter Matt Baker give up The One Present to run his household farm, documenting each cough and spit in a extremely profitable TV collection. Former Strictly skilled Flavia Cacace and her husband, former Corrie actor Jimi Mistry, purchased a smallholding and at the moment are largely to be discovered on Instagram holding chickens. Blur’s bass participant, Alex James, famously makes cheese.
Most extremely, Jeremy Clarkson turned maybe probably the most well-known farmer in Britain, when he turned the cameras on and began getting concerned within the farm he had owned quietly for years.
So is Kelvin hoping to develop into the brand new Clarkson? ‘Effectively, if the BBC wish to pay me what Amazon are paying Clarkson, that might be high-quality with me,’ he agrees.
Kelvin insists his personal TV present —he was signed up by the BBC for a six half fly-on-the-wall documentary collection — happened fully by likelihood.
‘We have been speaking to the BBC, about different issues solely and this got here up,’ he says. ‘There’s an enormous urge for food for this type of present they usually’re all very completely different in their very own methods.’
A minimum of Clarkson and Baker owned farms earlier than. Kelvin had solely ever been on a fictional one and even that did not present as a lot coaching as you’d anticipate.
In the course of our interview, his spouse turns to him and asks, in all seriousness: ‘Did you truly contact an animal whenever you have been doing Emmerdale?’
However what’s instantly apparent is that Kelvin is an bold man who is not afraid of a slog. He got here into Strictly late within the day, as a alternative (for the Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing, who was injured). What occurred shocked everybody — Kelvin included.
The darkish horse, born and bred in Oldham, rapidly confirmed that he had not solely dance expertise, however common attraction. ‘I really feel a bit cringey once I say it, however for folks to put money into you want that, to be bothered sufficient to vote, is so humbling,’ he says.
The Strictly expertise was additionally a lesson in excelling in a world for which you haven’t any coaching.
‘It is extraordinary, actually. You begin on the Monday, considering: ‘I can not do that — we’ll must make it simpler.’
By Wednesday, you’re nonetheless failing. Then, on Thursday, one thing falls into place. By Saturday, you’re doing the dance in entrance of the nation.’
There have been downsides to all of a sudden turning into the most well-liked man in Britain. His marriage to Liz — the primary woman he had ever kissed, aged eight — got here beneath scrutiny. They’d gone their separate methods after faculty however reunited and married in 2015.
When Kelvin was photographed ingesting along with his Strictly companion Oti at 3am, the hearsay mill went into overdrive.
‘I used to see farmers with a rip of their jackets and suppose: ‘Why do not you simply purchase a brand new one?’. Now I’ve rips throughout mine and I believe ‘that’ll do me’, as a result of I am blissful. Liz is blissful, the children are blissful. We’re all simply mucking in’
Liz was reportedly livid and far was manufactured from the truth that she was photographed with out her wedding ceremony ring.
Nothing to see right here, the couple mentioned on the time (she defined the actual fact she wasn’t sporting her ring by saying it was a ‘faux tan day’).
Given the buying-a-farm improvement, and the upcoming arrival of a 3rd child, it is secure to say all is properly within the marriage now.
As Liz factors out, their new life has offered valuable household time. ‘We have all the time lived individually actually and needed to battle for time collectively. For the primary time, we now have it.’ she explains.
They begin to joke right here about {couples} who, in lockdown, have found they really hate each other. ‘Do you want me?’ he asks her. ‘I do,’ she replies.
The actual fable is that every one the showbiz doorways are flung open after a Strictly win. This was not the case for Kelvin. There was a string of ‘no’s’ and not-quite-right affords as he waited for the correct undertaking to come back alongside.
He was decided to capitalise on his Strictly success and a transfer to California was a calculated danger.
‘I might left Emmerdale for that type of freedom — to take a danger,’ he says. ‘Each budding actor thinks: ‘Let’s have a look at if I could make it massive in America.’ Nonetheless dreamy which will sound, we thought ‘why not?’ We have been in place financially, we have been each comparatively free. We may take the children.
‘We would sourced someplace to dwell. We would received the visas. We have been prepared for this massive journey . . . then the pandemic hit and we received an e mail from the embassy saying they have been placing a maintain on all alien staff coming in. From there, we needed to reconfigure.’
Shopping for a 120-acre farm is sort of a reconfiguration! ‘It’s, but it surely’s additionally an journey and it was the journey I used to be after,’ Kelvin says. ‘One thing completely different, a problem.’
He says he is not averse to danger. ‘You would possibly fail. I am used to failing. I do not thoughts the concept of it, however if you happen to do not take the chance . . .’
They have been residing in Macclesfield on the time, however he says he’d all the time hankered after someplace extra rural. In the course of the primary lockdown he noticed, on Rightmove, the farm that’s now dwelling.
‘I wasn’t considering of being a correct farmer, not then. I assumed perhaps we might let different folks hire the land.’ Liz thought he’d taken depart of his senses. ‘I mentioned: ‘It is all very good, Kelvin, but it surely’s a farm, and we aren’t farm folks.’ ‘
She additionally identified that in addition to having no ‘nation garments’, she was allergic to horses and probably different animals as properly, however she agreed to go and have a look. She, too, fell in love.
Nearly a 12 months after they’d put in a suggestion, they moved in and since final spring they’ve been quietly taught the ropes from Gilly, selecting up the fundamentals from her flock of sheep earlier than shopping for their very own.
The educational curve has been steep. Kelvin talks lots about fences and easy methods to set up them. Additionally about rotavators. He’s a harrow trailer nerd (it turns over soil, because you ask).
On Christmas Day, he was to be discovered trekking out to deal with a lame sheep.
As a money-making enterprise, although, it is insanity, absolutely? So far, they’ve bought solely two sheep, so presumably they are not but rich farmers? And even breaking-even farmers?
‘Not when you think about the price of shopping for the place, however you virtually must take that out of the equation,’ Kelvin says. ‘The unhappy factor is that the majority younger farmers — or new farmers, like us — cannot afford to simply purchase a farm like this.
‘That mentioned, we do not wish to be interest farmers. It may be a business concern. There’s by no means going to be nice cash in it as a result of we can’t be doing it on a scale to produce the supermarkets.
‘Once you take a look at the figures, in the meanwhile I might make extra as a joiner, however the problem is doing it correctly and having satisfaction in what we’re doing.’
The longer-term plan is for each he and Liz to proceed to behave, taking up showbiz jobs once they can.
So, no, the Hollywood dream has not been put to relaxation fairly but.
‘I would like all of it!’ he admits. ‘To date it is doable. It suits spherical household life and appearing jobs.’
What do his outdated showbiz mates consider this life change? He’s nonetheless in contact along with his Strictly friends, and there have been some jokes about him having ample area for barn-dancing.
‘However a few of our pals do not even know but — we needed to preserve it quiet due to the TV present,’ Kelvin admits.
‘They’ve seen footage of us and have mentioned, ‘Are you out for a stroll?’, not realising it is our land.
‘Of those that do know, some suppose we’re loopy.’
He’s actually dressing extra like a correct farmer nowadays, proudly owning ‘an entire vary of overalls and hi-viz pants’. They’re as proudly worn as his sequins was once.
‘I used to see farmers with a rip of their jackets and suppose: ‘Why do not you simply purchase a brand new one?’. Now I’ve rips throughout mine and I believe ‘that’ll do me’, as a result of I am blissful. Liz is blissful, the children are blissful. We’re all simply mucking in.’
Actually.
Kelvin’s Large Farming Journey begins on BBC1 at 8.30pm on Monday, January 17.