Kelvin Fletcher, best known for playing Andy Sugden in Emmerdale, has made a dramatic career shift from acting to farming and motor racing. The 42-year-old star, who left the ITV soap in 2016 after 20 years, now runs a 120-acre farm in the Peak District with his wife Liz and their children, documented in the TV show Fletcher's Family Farm.
Fletcher's acting career began in 1994 with a role in the CITV children's drama Three Seven Eleven, but his breakout came at age 12 when he joined Emmerdale as tearaway teen Andy Hopwood, later adopting the surname Sugden. He left the soap in 2016, citing an "appetite to try something else."
After leaving Emmerdale, Fletcher pursued motor racing, a hobby he took up in 2012. He competed in the Porsche Supercup support race at the British Grand Prix in 2014 and made his professional debut in 2016. In 2019, he won the Pro-Am title in the British GT Championship with Beechdean AMR. That same year, he won Strictly Come Dancing with Oti Mabuse as a late replacement for Jamie Laing.
In 2021, Fletcher bought a 120-acre farm in the Peak District, marking a major life change. The family suffered a devastating fire in 2024 while on holiday, which he described as "the stuff of nightmares." The third series of Fletcher's Family Farm documents their recovery, including taking delivery of a new lodge to return to living on the farm after a year of renting.
