Fleece Scotland
Former cop who became a sheep farmer lands dream job as TV host
Let’s be having ewe – meet the ex- detective turned sheep farmer who has just landed a job as a TV presenter.
After 12 years on the force, Cammy Wilson swapped nicking criminals for herding livestock and last week made his debut on BBC Scotland’s farming programme Landward. Cammy, 32, who left Police Scotland 18 months ago, said: “It’s just mental but I’m loving every minute. I feel very lucky. When I was growing up, I never dreamed I would be a cop or a farmer but I’m glad I’ve done both.
“They may be very different careers but they are similar in that they both involve a lot of hard work and early rises es
– but I much prefer r chasing sheep around a f ield than running after criminals. “And if it wasn’t for the sheep, I would d never have landed a job as a TV presenter. I can’t quite believe it. I’ve got a lot to thankhank my woolly family for.”
The former detective constable, who bought four sheep seven years ago and stuck them in his mum’s front garden, now has more than 1600
Heather Greenaway
lambs and ewes on farmland in Earlston, Ayrshire.
He decided to document his career change and became a social media star on his YouTube channel The Sheep Game, which has over 140,000 subscribers from all over the world. Cammy, whose dad was a shepherd, said: “I heard Euan McIlwraith was retiring from Landward so I dropped them a line which read, ‘I don’t know if you are looking for someone else but here’s what I do on YouTube and, if you want to do something on sheep, I’m here.’ As luck would have it, they were doing a sheep special and said I could do the presepresenting myself.
“It seems folk can’t get enough of all ththings farming witwith TV shows like ClaClarkson’s Farm, Our Yorkshire Farm and This Farming Life. JeJeremy Clarkson has givgiven farming a massive lift. WWhen a farmer tells you farming is hard, you take it with a pinch of salt. But when a multimillionaire TV star tells it like it is, folk tend to listen more.
“Beautiful landscapes, cute animals and lots of drama – there’s a lot to like about life down on the farm.”
Cammy joined the police at 18 straight out of school and spent eight years as a beat cop in Glasgow before being promoted to CID as a detective.
He said: “The Government were advertising for 1000 more cops on the street then and it was either that or go to university to study maths and I chose the former.
“Never in my whole life had it crossed my mind that I wanted to be a police officer but I stuck in an application and a few weeks later I was on my way to the police training college at Tulliallan.
“I was a boy from Ayrshire who thought I knew everything but going up to Glasgow opened my eyes to the real world.
“I did enjoy my time as a cop to begin with. I spent a year-and-a-half riding about the city centre on a mountain bike. But then the red tape came in and when I turned 30 my body and mind said enough was enough. The night shifts were killing me and I decided it was time for a change.”
Cammy had started shearing sheep when he was 23 as a way of getting extra money and two years later bought his first four sheep. He said: “My dad was a shepherd. He died when I was 25. I bought four Texel sheep as a coping mechanism for my grief and as a tribute to him.
“The farmer let my mum stay on in their shepherd’s cottage, so I stuck them in her front garden and that’s how my life as a sheep farmer started.
“I spent my annual leave and spare time while in the police shearing and helping with lambing. Before I knew it, I was working day and night and realised I didn’t need the police any more.”
Cammy now has 900 breeding ewes and 700 lambs which he manages with the help of his champion shearer partner, Lizzy Thomson, 31. The couple, who have a one-year- old son Jock, are expecting their second son in December.
He said: “Lizzy loves sheep as much as I do. She has won sheep shearing championships and can do 300 a day.”
Cammy, who is on Landward on BBC Scotland at 8.30pm on Thursdays, added: “I am keeping everything crossed they will be back for another series.”
I much chasing prefer around sheep a field than after running ls crimina