Ex-Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher has said farming has "ignited" something inside him after starting a new life in the country.
The former Strictly Come Dancing champion, 37, and his wife Liz Marsland moved from their home in Oldham, Greater Manchester to a farm in Britain's Peak District with their two young children Marnie and Milo.
The family swapped urban life for a 120-acre farm complete with an 18th-century cottage, outbuildings, 20 sheep, three pigs and three alpacas.
Their countryside move has been captured as part of a new BBC One programme Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure, a six-part series that begins on 17 January.
In an interview with Radio Times, Fletcher said it was a "big step" moving the family, but they were ready to "embrace something new" during lockdown.
He added: "Often life is a case of always being on to the next thing, and I guess lockdown was a real pause when you couldn't help but be present and reflect.
"I think both of us were ready for a change.
"Sometimes I do wonder whether we've taken on too much.
"But I can't imagine us not doing this now. It's ignited something inside me, and I love it."
Fletcher, who rose to fame playing Andy Sugden on ITV soap Emmerdale for more than 20 years, admitted his first visit to the countryside was as a teenager when he was cast in the soap.
He said: "I'd never even been close to a sheep before then.
"I always enjoyed the scenes out in nature, but that was in a controlled environment. The minute somebody said, 'Cut', there's a farmer to pick that sheep up.
"I didn't even know what TB was, I was just saying my lines. Now I understand that if you have TB in your cattle, it's devastating."
Emmerdale airs weeknights on Virgin Media One and ITV.
Source: Press Association
