Kelvin Fletcher and his wife Liz have spoken of their disappointment after their dreams of starting a new life in the United States collapsed, leaving the pair feeling "gutted". The couple appear in the ITV show Fletchers' Family Farm with their four children, as they take on the challenge of running a working farm in the UK.
When the ITV series began, Kelvin was largely a newcomer to agriculture, learning the realities of farming through hands-on experience, plenty of hard work and, inevitably, a fair amount of trial and error. The family live and farm on a 120-acre property in the Peak District, with the programme offering an insight into both their farming life and family life.
Farming life and family involvement
Across the series, viewers see them dealing with sheep farming and lambing, cattle breeding, pigs, chickens and other livestock, as well as harvesting, farm maintenance and the financial pressures of running a business. They also explore ways of developing the farm and opening it up to visitors.
Kelvin and Liz's four children are also an important part of the story. Rather than simply appearing alongside their famous parents, they have become increasingly involved in the day-to-day running of the farm and are developing their own interests in agriculture. Marnie, for example, has developed a particular interest in sheep, while Milo has become involved with cattle and livestock showing.
Plans to move to California
However, before farming life took over, the couple had been hoping to spend a minimum of two years in California, chasing their ambitions as entertainers away from the British spotlight. Kelvin, widely recognised for his 20-year stint as Andy Sugden on Emmerdale and his victory on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019, opened up about how the idea originally took shape.
Appearing on the Sliding Doors podcast, Kelvin said: "We decided - I think it was mid-2018 - to spend about three or four months in California, in LA predominantly. At the time, it was just myself, Liz and Marnie. That was our kind of family setup. I was CrossFitting every morning at 6 or 7 and was like, 'this is the life.'"
"And then it was just that thing of, 'let's just move here.' We didn't have any jobs at the time, we were working actors, and it was just like, 'let's just do it.' Now, those decisions, I admit, for some people it's like, 'you can't just decide that,' but we can. If I want to go and do something, I'll go and do it."
"If I'm 20, 30, 40, 60 - it's sometimes easier said than done - but I'm proof of the pudding that they're the decisions that I make. If I make a decision, then I'll go ahead and do it. If it's what I want to do, then I will do it. But Liz is the same."
Visa applications and the dream ending
The duo then spent a year plotting and testing the concept before lodging their visa applications. Their goal was to take a crack at Hollywood, even if that meant driving for Uber or working in coffee shops, purely for the excitement of experiencing life in another country.
"First and foremost, try it as actors in Hollywood - you know, every cliché - but that's what you want to try and do. I'll work as an Uber driver. I'll work in a cafe, just to reinvent myself, just to go somewhere nobody knows us and just see what it is. Why not?"
"Because in our 40s, 50s, 60s, when we look back, I think, 'I would have loved to have lived abroad.' Well, yeah, I didn't want that to happen. So, like I say, I've got a big fear of regret, and I don't have a big fear of failing. I don't want to fail, I don't set out to fail, but I'm prepared to fail if need be," Kelvin added.
Yet fortune wasn't on their side. Kelvin disclosed that Strictly Come Dancing's success triggered a flood of opportunities in the UK, causing them to delay their move. Then Covid struck, and American visa restrictions eventually made the dream impossible.
"There were no foreign workers allowed for the foreseeable future - I think for at least 18 months you weren't going to be allowed into the country - so that was kind of the American dream over for us," Kelvin said.
Liz also opened up about the emotional and financial toll, saying: "We were gutted. We invested so much money in the visa. This was the plan - we painted the house white, all the carpets were grey so we could sell the house straight away."
Despite the setback, Kelvin took a level-headed view of the situation. "We can sit and cry about it, but ultimately it is what it is," he said.
