Harriet Cowan, known for her role on Clarkson's Farm, has reached a significant milestone a year after launching her YouTube channel, 'Harriet on the Farm'. The channel has attracted over 35,000 subscribers and accumulated more than one million views, with regular uploads documenting life on the farm.
New Career Venture
Cowan joined the cast of Clarkson's Farm in its fourth season, stepping in to help at Jeremy Clarkson's 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire while farm manager Kaleb Cooper was away. Her down-to-earth attitude and no-nonsense responses to Clarkson quickly won over fans, despite her admitting she had never watched the Amazon Prime series before appearing on it.
Last August, Cowan announced her new venture with the launch of her YouTube channel. Her first video, published on August 31, featured a Q&A answering questions from Clarkson's Farm fans.
Leaving Nursing Behind
In that video, Cowan confirmed she had left nursing to pursue farming full-time, saying: "It's true. I am no longer nursing because it appears I got the bug. The farming bug. And I've always had it, but before I didn't really have any other incomes."
In April, Cowan took a playful swipe at her former co-star Clarkson, telling The Times: "If a bloke thinks he knows better than me and starts talking s***, I’ll tell him so." She added: "When I was on Clarkson's Farm telling Jeremy what I thought, that was the real me. It wasn't put on for the cameras."
Challenging Stereotypes
During her introductory scene on Clarkson's Farm, Cowan admitted she had never watched a full episode of the series, saying: "Well, you know on YouTube you get those 'shorts' where it's like funny moments? I've seen them. I ain't got time to watch all that." Clarkson then gave her a tour of the farm, pointing out a Neolithic fort that was "4000 years old", prompting Cowan to quip: "Nearly as old as you."
Since appearing on the show, Cowan has been praised for challenging sexist and outdated stereotypes about women in farming. Last summer, she shared an exchange with a "60-year-old bloke" who responded to her being a farmer with: "Wait, you're a woman farmer? You mean you’re a farmer's wife?" She responded: "I am a farmer."
Speaking to the BBC, Cowan previously shared: "I think when you talk to somebody and ask what they stereotypically think of when someone says farmer they say '60-year-old man with a checked shirt and a beer belly', and a lot of the time that is it, but us women are out here and farmers too. Just because I'm a small blonde who likes to curl her hair and wear make-up, it doesn't mean I can't be a farmer. I'm trying to change the norm of the man being the farmer and the woman being the stay-at-home wife and cook. When the war was on, women did all the farming, so we have always farmed - it's just changing that stereotype."
