Which celebrities will prove to have the Fferm Ffactor?
THE farmyard will never be the same again as the new series of Fferm Ffactor invites celebrities to compete for the series’ title and a £3,000 donation to their chosen charity.
The celebrities competing in the new three-part series, Fferm Ffactor: Selebs are: singer and radio presenter Elen Pencwm; radio and television presenter Alun Williams; former Welsh international rugby player Nathan Brew; Y Sioe presenter and climber Ioan Doyle; director of Ysgol Glanaethwy performing school Cefin Roberts; star of ‘Run Sbit Linda Brown; author and presenter Bethan Gwanas; BBC Radio Cymru presenter Dyl Mei; actor Llyr Evans; author and presenter Gareth Wyn Jones; comedian and events organiser Stifyn Parri; and weather presenter Siân Lloyd.
Rejoining the Fferm Ffactor family are judges Caryl Gruffydd Roberts, Richard Tudor and Wyn Morgan, plus the series’ presenter Ifan Jones Evans. Here, Ifan gives us a taste of what awaits the contestants. What’s different about this series of Fferm Ffactor? This time we’ve decided to take celebrities way out of their comfort zone! We haven’t made the tasks easier for them either. Some of the challenges are very similar to those of previous series, so we’ll see the celebrities trying out some real farming tasks. What’s different about having celebrities taking part as opposed to experienced farmers? The celebrities are much more communicative and wary when it comes to the tasks of creating a wheelbarrow or a bridge, while the farmers in previous series would rush into things. Does changing the format from experienced farmers to famous faces make light of the agricultural industry? No, I don’t think so! Fferm Ffactor has been on S4C for nine series so far, and I think this change in the format will appeal to people who haven’t watched it before.
But there’s no reason for Fferm Ffactor fans to worry; it’s still the same competition. It’s a family programme and it’s a lot of fun. The celebrities get a taste of the agricultural world and we’ll show their experiences. Do any of the contestants stand out to you? Cefin Roberts. He gets stuck in to all of the tasks – he’ll make a good farmer one day! On the other hand Nathan Brew shocked me because he’s scared of animals!
Before meeting the celebrities you build up an image in your head of what they’re like; I didn’t expect to see a former Welsh international rugby player running scared of a couple of pigs! Has watching inexperienced people farming made you realise how difficult it is? Of course, farming’s in my blood, so having inexperienced people take part has opened my eyes.
The programme is a good opportunity for us to educate the public about what we do and how we do it. Who would you choose for your ideal celebrity team? If I could put together my own dream team, I’d choose comedian Ifan Gruffydd as captain because he’s such an experienced farmer. Tudur Owen would be interesting, because everything Tudur does is funny!
I also think it would be great to see Angharad Mair in her wellies – she’s used to running marathons, so there’s a competitive edge to her! You’ve presented Fferm Ffactor since 2014 – if you had to choose a reality show to take part in, which one would you choose? I think I’d be good on I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here! I wouldn’t be scared of the Bush Tucker Trials or of having to eat disgusting foods – I’ll try anything. Fortunately I’m not afraid of spiders, snakes or bugs. But I am terrified of rats!
The new series of Fferm Ffactor: Selebs begins on S4C on Tuesday, February 6 at 8pm. English and Welsh subtitles available.