Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen has humorously suggested that 'social services' might be interested in her family's unconventional new living arrangements, after her children revealed one of them will be sleeping in a cupboard.
Creative Bedroom Solutions for a Large Family
The mother-of-nine appeared on ITV's This Morning on Monday with daughters Clementine and Nancy to discuss the ongoing transformation of their dilapidated farmhouse in Ravenseat, Swaledale. The renovations, filmed for her Channel 4 series Our Farm Next Door, which returns for a new series tonight, have required inventive thinking to accommodate her large brood, aged from nine to 24.
Amanda, 51, explained the challenges of the project to hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley. 'It was a derelict house, we bought it during the Covid lockdown and it's a renovation project,' she said. The farmhouse is both in a national park and a listed building, imposing strict parameters that have made the work a 'very slow job.'
The goal, she emphasised, is to restore the property's historical integrity while making it liveable for her modern family. '[My children] are all involved in it - talk about keeping them busy,' Amanda added.
The Infamous Cupboard Bed
The conversation soon turned to the unique bedroom designs. Daughter Clementine explained, 'We're helping design our cupboard bed,' prompting Ben Shephard to ask who would occupy it. Youngest daughter Nancy, nine, eagerly claimed it, stating, 'Me! I want the most strange bed.'
Amanda quipped, 'It'll be the strangest place to be,' as Nancy chimed in, 'I mean, who wouldn't want to sleep in a cupboard?' Looking at the hosts, Amanda then joked, 'Um, social services!' before praising her children for their practical help with painting and tidying during the renovation.
A History of Unconventional Choices
This is not the first time Amanda Owen's pragmatic approach to family life has raised eyebrows. She previously revealed she didn't call an ambulance when going into labour with her eighth child, Clementine, describing the 69-mile journey to hospital as something she 'could not be a***d' to undertake.
Instead, she gave birth on the farmhouse floor. 'A few cushions and a rug and a terrier over there under the settle. Best birth partner ever,' she recalled on a podcast.
Amanda and her ex-husband Clive Owen, 70, separated in June 2022 but continue to co-parent and run their farm together, with the children moving between their two homes. The family's unique life continues to captivate audiences, with Our Farm Next Door returning to More4 tonight.
