Adam Henson has previously acknowledged that his explanation of all aspects of agriculture and that it can be “difficult” when presenting the show can cause some controversy from Countryfile viewers.
Countryfile star Adam Henson has addressed viewers’ “frustrations” as he fears they could switch off the show. The 60-year-old has fronted the popular BBC One series for almost 25 years now.
He balances running Bemborough Farm near Guiting Power with his presenter duties. The site doubles as Cotswolds Park Farm, which receives around 180, 000 visitors annually.
The attraction was founded by Adam’s dad Joe in 1971. Adam however took over the operation of the site in 1999 with his business partner Duncan Andrews.
And Adam admits to frequently finding himself “dumbing down” the way he discusses farming when presenting Countryfile, despite being well-versed in rural life. He acknowledges that some viewers may become “fed up” with this.
He said, “I am quite Marmite, I think,” in a December interview with FarmED. We are a magazine show with a wide range of topics, which is why I’m primarily a farmer and have been doing it for 24 years.
“It used to be the farming programme and farmers watching it get frustrated that we’re not robust enough in some of our communication about farming, the technology, the finances, the struggles. And we’re not championing British farming enough.
“There are others who congratulate me for everything I do on the programme and talking about what I talk about, so there’s a bit of both. What I say to those who are critical or don’t quite understand what we’re trying to deliver is that the BBC aren’t making a programme to champion British farming, they’re making a programme to get viewing figures, and whatever drives that viewing figures they’ll make more of.”
Adam highlighted the format of The Great British Bake Off, which has since been replicated with the likes of The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throwdown. He explains that Countryfile is the “most watched factual programme” on TV.
He continued, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, what do you mean if I say, “Right, I’m going to move a lot of steers up the paddock, we’re going to put them in the handling pens, we’re going to put them in the handling pens, then down the race into the crush and we’re going to TB test them”?
Adam insists that he must explain everything clearly so that his audience can understand, but acknowledges that this may leave farmers without a voice in the process. He said, “I have to say, Right, I’m going to move this bunch of cattle; they’re castrated males, not steers.” We’re going to put them in a handling system so we can handle them safely, we’ll put them in a race, which is a narrow corridor, so they’ll go into a crush so we can watch them on a Bovine TB documentary, and then I’ll explain everything.
The farmer is frustrated when it listens to me, says it in a much more simplified, dumbed-down manner, and turns over. I’m trying to reach those people because that farmer has forgotten that there is a child in a flat in Birmingham who has never seen a sheep before.
Adam has previously stated that while presenting Countryfile, he “gets a little stick” from farmers. He stated on The Tweedl Pod in 2024 that it was difficult for him to be biased against anyone. Within the BBC, you must be balanced with your point of view, and you can’t campaign for anything.
“We’re talking to an audience of three and a half million people, some of whom are farmers, rural residents, gamekeepers, and others who reside in apartments in Hackney or Coventry, wherever it is,” he continued.
