Television legend Alison Hammond has recently swapped her place on the famous This Morning sofa for a day working on a Gloucestershire farm.
Alison spent a day milking cows at Jess’ Ladies Organic Milk Farm in Hardwicke while filming a new television advert for Natwest, due to premiere on Christmas Day.
She may be used to interviewing some of the biggest celebrities on the planet, but that didn’t stop her from heading up the A38 to chip in on the dairy farm run by third-generation farmer Jess Vaughan and her dad Mike.
Alison is supporting NatWest’sBacking Business campaign, which has been launched in partnership with ITV. NatWest says that the campaign aims to support businesses of all shapes and sizes across the UK, who they describe as “the heartbeat of the local communities they support and serve”.
The “Backing Business” campaign offers Small and Medium Enterprises the opportunity to access discounted TV advertising, match-funded by ITV, to help promote their business.
On her day on the farm, Alison’s first job was to call in the cows, whom Jess fondly call her ‘ladies’, for milking using a special vocal signal.
“Ooh, their coming,” laughed Alison excitedly, clearly surprised that she’d got the call right.
After that early success, she then helped Jess get the cows ready to be milked, and even mucked out their stables and helped with the feeding.
Not only that, but she also spent time in the processing factory on the farm which is where the milk from Jess’ ladies is turned into an array of “award-winning products”.
However, things did not quite go to plan when helping Jess’ sister fill bottles of cream, spilling some over the side.
“Oh no, I dribbled,” cringed Alison, before Jess’ sister then told her reassuringly to not worry as “it does take a bit of practice”.
After her day of hark work, Alison said: “Jess and her family didn’t just inherit a farm from their grandfather; they inherited the love that he had for it too. I mean it’s a gorgeous place and they are rightly proud of it.”
A TV advert featuring Alison’s day pitching in on the dairy farm will hit screens on ITV on Christmas Day, while a mini-documentary of her trials and tribulations is also available on NatWest’s ” Backing Business” webpage.
Jess knows each of her 80 cows by name, many of which are descendants of the three cows her grandfather purchased back in 1955. She uses low-intensity, organic farming methods.
