sheep thrills

‘In the first episode, we visited swaledale sheep in a farm high up the Yorkshire dales during lambing season. i really wanted this to go well because my grandfather and his father were shepherds, plus this was the first animal birth we filmed.

‘But it didn’t exactly go to plan! one ewe was struggling and we had to intervene. i’m a zoologist, not a vet, so i’d never had hands-on experience like this, but i ended up delivering the little lamb myself. My hands were shaking! it was so emotional, i was overwhelmed by the experience.

‘That was just the start, though – every birth i encountered after that had some level of drama to it. i discovered that unless you’re a pig, it never goes smoothly!’