Jimmy Doherty (born 24 May 1975) is an English television presenter and farmer. Doherty is known for the show '' Jimmy's Farm'', detailing the operation of the Essex Pig Company that he and his wife Michaela Furney own in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

Early life

Born in

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

, Doherty moved to Clavering in Essex at the age of three. A childhood friend of

Jamie Oliver Jamie Trevor Oliver Order of the Star of Italy, OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and o ...

, he attended Clavering Primary School and then studied at Newport Free Grammar School. Whilst at Newport Grammar School Doherty ran a magazine called 'The Natural Choice' sparking his love of nature and animals. From the age of 13 he worked in the tropical butterfly house at Mole Hall Wildlife Park in Saffron Walden, assisting with the menagerie of different animals ranging from otters to chimpanzees. Doherty left Mole Hall, aged 24, to focus on his academic commitments. He has a degree in animal biology from the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

and studied for a PhD in

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

department.

Career

Doherty served for five years in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

. In 2002, he appeared as a friend and guest on '' Oliver's Twist'' in the episodes "Painting Party in 2002 "Flash in the Pan" in 2003. He then trained as a pig farmer, where, in 2002, he met runner Furney, when

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's filming for ''

Jamie's Kitchen ''Jamie's Kitchen'' is a five-part British documentary television series that aired on Channel 4 from 5 November to 10 December 2002. It follows chef Jamie Oliver as he attempts to train a group of 15 unemployed youths, who will—if they complet ...

'' took it to the

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

n farm where he was working. After returning to

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

to run his own farm, Doherty and Furney set up The Essex Pig Company using

free range Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals can roam freely outdoors for at least part of the day, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, th ...

meat production practices. Doherty gained the funds to set up the farm using the proceeds from his first book ''On The Farm'' which formed a diary of his farming ventures. The Essex Pig Company, based in Ipswich, Suffolk, raised various rare breeds, most notably the endangered

, and now the

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, Gloucestershire Old Spots, middle Whites, and Norfolk Horn sheep among many others. People were eager to visit the farm to see the native domestic animals and buy fresh produce so, Doherty and Furney opened the doors to the farm in 2002. To enter the farm a sign read 'Jimmy's Farm' and when

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

followed their efforts with a series of

fly-on-the-wall Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, ...

documentaries the name stuck. In 2008, Doherty presented a series for BBC2 called ''Jimmy Doherty's Farming Heroes'' which aired from July 2008 to August 2008, followed by various other series and single documentaries for the BBC. Notably, ''Jimmy's Food Factory'', in which he demonstrated the industrial techniques used in the production of processed foods, ran for two series on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. When the Controller of

at the time, Jay Hunt, left to become

chief creative officer The title Chief Creative Officer (CCO) typically describes the highest-ranking position of a creative team within a media company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, ...

at the end of 2010, she signed up Doherty to present exclusively for Channel 4. Doherty's last series for the BBC, ''A Farmer's Life for Me'', was broadcast in February and March 2011. Since 18 June 2011, ''Jimmy's Food Factory'' airs as ''ProSieben BBC Spezial – Jimmy's Food Factory'' every Saturday on German TV channel

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

. In 2011, Jimmy's Farm 'Cambridge Sausage' was named in the top 10 sausages in the UK by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. The sausage contains 93% pork from the farm and the recipe dates back to 1917. In December 2012, Jimmy and Jamie Oliver presented the Channel 4 series ''Jamie & Jimmy's Food Fight Club''. Since 2014, Doherty has co-presented the prime-time

series '' Jamie & Jimmy's Friday Night Feast'' alongside

. Doherty and the team ensured conservation was at the forefront of their decisions and created areas at the farm for nature to blossom. As well as a flair for farming Doherty holds a passion for non-native species and, with a great team behind him, the farm applied for zoo status to help endangered species further afield. On 5 October 2016 Jimmy's Farm was awarded its zoo license from the local authority and Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park was born. The first three exotic species they welcomed were

Reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

Tapirs Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a Suidae, pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk (proboscis). Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, South and Centr ...

and

Meerkats The meerkat (''Suricata suricatta'') or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-b ...

. In 2016 Jimmy became the youngest ever President of the

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation (ethic), conservation charity whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the native farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1973 b ...

a charity closely linked to his work and passions. In 2019 he became a patron of the

British Beekeepers Association The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales that was founded in 1874, by Thomas William Cowan and Charles Nash Abbott. It held its first meeting on 16 May. It is made up of 75 associat ...

. He is also the patron of the British Hen Welfare Trust. In May 2019 Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park became accredited by the

British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) (formerly the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland) is a registered charity and the professional body representing over 100 zoos and aquariums in United Kin ...

(BIAZA) who represent the best zoos and aquariums in Britain and Ireland that pride themselves on their excellent animal welfare, education, and conservation work. In July 2021 Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park became the first recipient of the Rare Breed Survival Trust's new Rare Breeds Approved Associate accreditation. This has been awarded in recognition of the farm's excellence in education about the importance of Britain's endangered native livestock and equine breeds and its work to conserve their unique genetic characteristics.

Personal life

Jimmy and Michaela Furney were married on 22 August 2009. The reception was held at their farm, Pannington Hall in Wherstead, Suffolk.Celebrity farmer Jimmy gets hitched
24 August 2009 They have four daughters, born between 2010 and 2018. In August 2014, Doherty was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. Doherty has close links to Ipswich Town Football Club and follows their campaigns. In 2013 Jimmy's Farm created an Ipswich 'Super Blue' sausage named in honour of The Blues. The sausage, like all their sausages, was made with pork from the farm and this one included stilton and garlic.

Academic awards

* Certificate of Fellowship from Harper Adams University College (September-2010) * Honorary Graduate a
University of Suffolk
(October-2010) * Honorary Degree of Doctor of the university from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

and the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

(November-2010) * Certificate of Associateship from the Council for Awards of Royal Agricultural Societies in recognition of distinguished achievement in the agricultural industry (August-2011) * Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (Hon DBA) from

in recognition of contribution to food production and science by promoting responsible, sustainable farming (2014) * Chancellor of

Writtle University College Writtle University College was a university college located in Writtle near Chelmsford, Essex. It was founded in 1893 and obtained University College status in May 2016. In July 2023, Writtle University College announced a merger with Anglia ...

in Essex (from 2022)

Awards

* Outstanding Communicator from

Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and was known as the English Agricultural Society until it received i ...

(July-2009) * Duly Elected as Member of the Institute of Meat (October-2013) * Elsie M J Evans Award from

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

for his work to raise the profile of farm animal welfare (March-2014)

Charities supported worldwide

* The Ghurka Welfare Trust *

(RBST) * Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative * Animal Advocacy and Protection (AAP)

Books

* ''On the Farm'' (2004) * ''A Taste of the Country'' (2007) * ''A Farmer's Life for Me'' (2011)

Television series

* ''Jimmy and Shivi's Farmhouse Breakfast'' (ITV1 2024) * ''Jimmy’s Taste Of Florida'' (ITV1 2024) * ''Jimmy Doherty's New Zealand Escape'' (Channel 4 2023) * ''Builds on Wheels'' (discovery+ 2021) * ''Jimmy's Farm'' (Channel 4, 2020–present) * ''Escape to the Wild'' (Channel 4, 2017) * '' Jamie & Jimmy's Friday Night Feast'' (Channel 4, 2014–present) * '' Food Unwrapped'' (Channel 4, 2012–present) * ''Jamie & Jimmy's Food Fight Club'' (Channel 4, December 2012) * ''Jimmy and the

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

Whisperer'' (Channel 4 2012) * ''Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket'' (Channel 4 2012) * ''A Farmer's Life for Me'' (BBC 2011) * ''Museum of Life'' (BBC 2010) * ''Jimmy's Global Harvest'' (BBC 2010) * ''The Private Life of... (BBC 2010) * '' Jimmy's Food Factory'' (BBC 2009) * ''Jimmy Doherty in Darwin's Garden'' (OU & BBC 2009) * '' Jimmy's GM Food Fight'' ( BBC Horizon 2008) * ''Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters'' (BBC 2008) * ''Jimmy's Farming Heroes'' (BBC 2008) * ''Crisis on Jimmy's Farm'' (BBC 2007) * ''Jimmy's Farm Diaries'' (BBC 2007) * '' Jimmy's Farm'' (BBC 2004–2006) * ''

Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

'' (Channel 4 2004 & 2006) * ''Back on Jimmy's Farm'' (BBC 2004)

References

External links

*
Jimmy's Farm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Jimmy 1975 births Living people People from Ilford People from Clavering, Essex People from Babergh District British people of Irish descent People educated at Newport Free Grammar School Alumni of Coventry University Alumni of the University of East London 21st-century English farmers English television presenters English television personalities Military personnel from the London Borough of Redbridge Military personnel from Essex Royal Corps of Signals soldiers 20th-century British Army personnel 21st-century British Army personnel