Jimmy Doherty (farmer)

Jimmy Doherty
Born (1975-05-24) 24 May 1975
Essex, England
Occupation Farmer, television personality
Known for Jimmy's Farm, Jimmy's Food Factory, Jamie & Jimmy's Food Fight Club, Food Unwrapped
Spouse(s) Michaela Furney (2009–present)

Jimmy Doherty (born 24 May 1975) is a Suffolk based farmer and television presenter formerly for the BBC and now for Channel 4, famous for the show Jimmy's Farm, detailing the operation of the Essex Pig Company that he and his wife Michaela Furney owned.

Biography

Born in Ilford he moved to Clavering in Essex at the age of three.[1] A childhood friend of Jamie Oliver, he studied at Newport Free Grammar School, has a degree in animal biology from the University of East London [2] and studied for a PhD in entomology at Coventry University's zoology department. [3] He is of Irish descent.

In 2002, He appeared as a friend and guest on Jamie Oliver's show, Oliver's Twist in the episode entitled "Flash In The Pan" (Season 2 Episode 4).

He then trained as a pig farmer, where, in 2002, he met runner Furney, when Channel 4's filming for Jamie's Kitchen took it to the Cumbrian farm where he was working. [4]

After returning to Essex to run his own farm, Doherty and Furney set up The Essex Pig Company utilising free range meat production practices. The operation raised various rare breeds, most notably the endangered Essex, together with the Berkshire, Gloucester Old Spot, large and middle Whites; Soay and Jacob sheep and Red Poll cattle. Jimmy's farm is in Suffolk near Ipswich. There are currently 20 full and part-time staff. Their efforts were followed by a series of fly-on-the-wall documentaries which aired on BBC Two. [5]

In 2008, Doherty presented a series for BBC2 called Jimmy Doherty's Farming Heroes which aired from July 2008 to August 2008, followed by various other series and single documentaries for the BBC. Notably, Jimmy's Food Factory, in which he demonstrated the industrial techniques used in the production of processed foods, ran for two series on BBC One. When the Controller of BBC One at the time, Jay Hunt, left to become chief creative officer at Channel 4 at the end of 2010, she signed up Doherty to present exclusively for Channel 4. Doherty's last series for the BBC, A Farmer's Life for Me, was broadcast in February and March 2011.

Since 18 June 2011, Jimmy's Food Factory airs as ProSieben BBC Spezial – Jimmy's Food Factory every Saturday on German TV channel ProSieben.[6]

In December 2012 Jimmy and Jamie Oliver presented the Channel 4 series Jamie & Jimmy's Food Fight Club.

Jimmy and Michaela Furney were married on Saturday, 22 August 2009. The reception was held at their farm, Pannington Hall in Wherstead Suffolk. [4][7]

They have two daughters, Molly Rose (born 4 August 2010) and Cora Mae.[8]

In August 2014, Doherty was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[9]

Television series

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Jimmy's farm life - Celebrity Interviews - Essex Life Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  2. ↑ "UEL press release 2009".
  3. ↑ "Farming's unlikely hero, FW interviews Jimmy Doherty". Farmers Weekly Interactive. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  4. 1 2 Celebrity farmer Jimmy gets hitched, 24 August 2009
  5. ↑ Boyle, Audrey (16 June 2006). "From City girl to Essex girl!". East Anglian Daily Times.
  6. ↑ "Jimmy Doherty zeigt Jimmy's Food Factory". ProSieben. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Down on the farm with Jimmy - Celebrity Interviews - EADT Suffolk Magazine Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  8. ↑ "Jimmy's Biography". Jimmy's Farm.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". theguardian.com. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  10. ↑ Daily Telegraph

External links

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