Kelvin Fletcher’s defiant clapback after being accused of ‘ripping off’ Clarkson’s Farm

‘I’m not copying anyone, I’ve got no need to’

Kelvin Fletcher previously clapped back following claims he copied Jeremy Clarkson’s series on Amazon Prime about his farm.

Actor Kelvin and wife Liz bought a 120-acre farm in the Peak District back in 2020 – despite having no farming experience. The pair – who are parents to four children – have since been documenting their new farming life for several programmes.

One of these included the 2022 show, Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure, on the BBC. However, Kelvin faced backlash as viewers accused him of “ripping off” Jeremy Clarkson’s show on Amazon Prime about his Diddly Squat Farm.

But Kelvin – who is on screen today (December 14) with wife Liz for Fletchers’ Country Workshop – was quick to fire back at the criticism and insisted his show is not the same and noted that it is “completely different”.

Kelvin Fletcher and family on the farm
Kelvin bought a farm five years ago (Credit: ITV)

Kelvin Fletcher’s clapback to Jeremy Clarkson comparisons

Back in 2022, Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure aired on BBC. However, some disgruntled viewers at the time claimed that the programme was similar to Jeremy Clarkson’s Amazon Prime show.

“On BBC1 right now is a @PrimeVideo Jeremy Clarkson the Farm rip off with Kelvin Fletcher,” said one person on X. Another added: “Great work from the BBC ripping off Clarkson’s Farm.”

Following the backlash, Emmerdale star Kelvin defended his show and insisted that it is “different” to Jeremy’s programme.

“It’s a bit unfair, I think. There’s a whole host of that type of show – I can think of half a dozen straight away,” he said on the Netmums podcast Sweat, Snot & Tears.

Jeremy Clarkson
Kelvin spoke about the Jeremy comparisons (Credit: Amazon Prime / YouTube)

‘It’s a completely different show’

He continued: “So to be compared exclusively to Clarkson I think is a little random. As people can see, it’s a completely different show.”

Talking about their filming schedule, Kelvin explained: “We were already three months into production when Clarkson’s came out.

“So to suggest that we’ve, and we did get a lot of suggestions, that we just ripped it off or copycatted it – don’t forget there’s probably a three-to-four month development process.

“There’s a pitching process, a commission process, we were three months down the line into filming, then Clarkson came in the summer.”

Kelvin Fletcher and wife Liz on their farm
Kelvin and Liz swapped city life for farm life (Credit: ITV)

Kelvin insisted ‘I’m not copying anyone’

Kelvin then revealed that he and Liz were fans of Jeremy’s show and said: “We love the show, we binged watched it.”

He concluded: “I’m not copying anyone, I’ve got no need to. I’m confident in who we are, as a family, what we represent. It’s just us.

“All we are doing is being ourselves. Watch our show and make your own conclusions. If you love it great, if not watch something else.”