Countryfile presenter Adam Henson has shared an emotional family insight as he opened up about fulfilling his father’s dying wish. When not fronting the popular BBC show, Adam is either working on his farm or championing agriculture—a passion he shared with his dad, Joe, who started Cotswold Farm Park in 1971, when Adam was just six years old.
Adam Henson’s Emotional Family Insight
Today, the Gloucestershire site attracts around 100,000 visitors each year and is home to 50 rare breeds of sheep. Adam, now 60, took over the farm from Joe in 1999 with his business partner Duncan Andrews. As well as its rare breed sheep, the 650-hectare estate houses a host of other farm animals.
Joe, whom Adam described as his “rock, mentor and hero,” died in 2015 following a battle with cancer. On the Cannon Hall Farm podcast, Adam revealed a dying wish from his father that he fulfilled at the time.
“Shepherds, when they die, should have a lock of wool placed in their hand so when they get to the Pearly Gates they’re allowed in, because they haven’t been to church, they’ve been tending their flock,” Adam explained. “And I got a lock of Cotswold wool from my favourite ewe, with the best fleece, off her shoulder and put it in my dad’s hand in his coffin. He was in a woolen coffin, so I hope he made it. It was something he requested and it was a lovely thing to do, very moving of course.”
Remembering His Father
Talking about his father with The Guardian in 2016, Adam said: “It’s devastating for anybody to lose a parent, but my relationship with Dad was particularly close. Right from my first days, he was my rock, my mentor, my hero. It’s no exaggeration to say he taught me virtually all I know about farming and television.”
He later admitted he thinks he is turning into Joe. In 2019 he told The Mirror: “In a way, I’m turning into my father, which I don’t see as a bad thing. I try to be loving, open and supportive. I’m lucky to be very close to my children. I have a 21-year-old daughter, Ella, and a 17-year-old son, Alfie, and I tell them to learn from the good and the bad things. Learn the way you want to be treated, set a standard, and don’t accept anything less.”
Adam has presented on Countryfile since 2001, when he gained a spot on the show following a nationwide presenter search. Since then, he has appeared on shows such as Countryfile Summer Diaries and Inside Out, as well as BBC Radio 4’s On Your Farm and Farming Today programmes.
Adam returns to screens with Countryfile from 6pm on BBC One this evening (April 26). Along with Sammi Kinghorn, he will be heading to the Vale of Evesham, where the fertile soil and mild micro-climate have made it one of the most productive growing regions. It has a long history of producing food, even in the leaner months. Elsewhere, Charlotte Smith will be learning about how falling milk prices are forcing some dairy farmers to call it quits.
