Gerald Cooper is an English

farmhand A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...

who became famous after appearing on '' Clarkson's Farm''. He is an expert in

dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...

walling and maintains the walls on Clarkson's farm. His other tasks include combine harvesting, which he has done for over fifty years. He has a

West Country English West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of the West Country, an area found in the southwest of England. The West Country is often defined as encompassing the officia ...

accent and, as a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

, the show portrays this as incomprehensible to

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

. Farming broadcaster Adam Henson has met Cooper several times and says that the show exaggerates his speech by overlaying Cooper's conversation with a

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

. Cooper was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

but underwent treatment and was declared cancer-free in 2024. He then started a horse racing syndicate to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. Shares in a

gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

called "The Mullet", after Cooper's mullet hairstyle, were sold for £28,500. The horse is being trained in

National Hunt racing National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racin ...

by Charlie Longsdon and any winnings will also be donated to charity.

References

Living people 20th-century English farmers 21st-century English farmers Participants in British reality television series People from Wiltshire {{UK-tv-bio-stub