Kelvin Fletcher emotional after ‘bittersweet’ farm farewell ‘it’s difficult’

Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher and his wife, Liz, faced an emotional goodbye on Sunday’s Fletcher’s Family Farm

Kelvin Fletcher was forced to make a heartbreaking farm decision

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Kelvin Fletcher was forced to make a heartbreaking farm decision(Image: ITV)

Kelvin Fletcher and his wife, Liz, bid farewell to their cherished cow, Sonic, in an emotional yet “bittersweet” moment on Fletcher’s Family Farm. In the previous week’s episode, Kelvin mentioned he was preparing Sonic for slaughter, hence he had brought him into the barn.

However, during this week’s segment, it was time for the couple to say goodbye to their beloved cow, whom they had raised since he was a calf.

Sharing the poignant moment, Kelvin explained, “The day has arrived to say goodbye to our first-ever calf, Sonic, who’s heading off on his final journey. This morning, we’re taking Sonic to, well, there’s no best way to say, I guess, to slaughter really. Sonic is going. So, yeah, bittersweet, really. It’s a bit of a weird one,”

“I was thinking about this last night, and I woke up this morning feeling a bit… it is different to a sheep.” The former soap actor continued, “I think it makes it even more difficult because we have got seven cows, and he was our first. You know, his tag number is 001, he’s our first cow. So, I guess we’ll always remember this one.”

Kelvin Fletcher prepared to say goodbye to Sonic

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Kelvin Fletcher prepared to say goodbye to Sonic(Image: ITV)

“We’ll always remember Sonic,” Kelvin said before adding, “They say the first is always the hardest, and then, who knows.” The farmer said that because Sonic was their first calf, the day was “especially emotional.”

As Kelvin went on to explain how he and Luz had to prepare Sonic for slaughter, he reflected, “There’s a lot of pride. You know, we’ve reared him, and he’s had a great life. We feel that we’ve done really well with him; he’s in fantastic condition, he’s a show winner, and we’ve experienced a lot with him, being our first calf, taking him to the Cheshire show, and performing so well.”

“We’ve got so many amazing memories from him and it’s a privilege when you get to see the full circle, really, and, yeah, it’ll be a real appreciation of when you do have the meat, and not only do we sell that meat, but we’re selling it to people you know, with cared and love for that animal.

Kelvin Fletcher and his wife Liz were "devastated" when there was a fire at their farmhouse home last year.

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It was a bittersweet moment for the couple(Image: ITV).

“And that’s what you want. You want to have a connection with your food. You want to honour your food and honour the work that’s got into that, and honour the life that’s provided that food.”

As Sonic was loaded onto the trailer, Kelvin confessed to “feeling really anxious”. He said, “Just talking about it, that was one thing, and then loading him in and getting him in for the final time is a bit surreal.”