Jimmy Doherty (born 24 May 1975) is an English television presenter and farmer. A childhood friend of

Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reache ...

, 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 of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Early life

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

, he attended Clavering Primary School and then studied at

Newport Free Grammar School Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport, formerly Newport Free Grammar School, is a school in Newport, Essex, England. It was founded in 1588. The school is a mixed secondary school with a sixth form. It previously existed in different forms includin ...

. 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 , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

and studied for a PhD in

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

Coventry University , mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = , type = Public , endowment = £28 million (2015) , budget = £787.5 million , chancellor = Margaret Casely-Hayford , vice_chancellor = John Latham , students = () , undergr ...

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

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 or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

. In 2002, he appeared as a friend and guest on ''

Oliver's Twist ''Olivers Twist'' is a 2002 television series featuring chef Jamie Oliver. The name of the program is a play on the title of Charles Dickens' novel ''Oliver Twist''. Following the popularity of his first TV series, ''The Naked Chef'', Oliver be ...

'' 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 Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

Furney, when

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

'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 disadvantaged youth, who will—if they comp ...

'' took it to the

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

n farm where he was working. After returning to

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

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, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, ...

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 ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Gloucestershire Old Spots The Gloucestershire Old Spots (also "Gloucester, Gloucester Old Spot, Gloucestershire Old Spot" or simply "Old Spots") is an English breed of pig which is predominantly white with black spots. It is named after the county of Gloucestershire. T ...

middle White The Middle White is a British breed of domestic pig. It originated in Yorkshire, and derived from the Large White and the now-extinct Small White. It was recognised in 1852, and the first herd-book was published in 1884. It is a porker, rear ...

s, 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 broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

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 network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. When the Controller of

at the time, Jay Hunt, left to become

chief creative officer A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated with ...

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 name 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 Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

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

and

Meerkats MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilo ...

. In 2016 Jimmy became the youngest ever President of the

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a 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 by Joe Henson to prese ...

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 organization, charitable organisation registered in Charitable organisation (England), England and Wales that was founded in 1874. It is made up of 75 associations in England & Wales plu ...

. He is also the patron of the

British Hen Welfare Trust The British Hen Welfare Trust (formerly the Battery Hen Welfare Trust) is the United Kingdom's first registered charity solely for laying hens. It was founded in April 2005 by Jane Howorth, and was established in order to raise awareness of th ...

. 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 Britain and ...

(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 Wherstead is a village and a civil parish located in county Suffolk, England. Wherstead village lies south of Ipswich on the Shotley peninsula. It is in the Belstead Brook electoral division of Suffolk County Council. It is an ancient settl ...

, 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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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 Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

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 Degree of Doctor of the university from

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

and

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

(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 is a university college located in Writtle near Chelmsford, Essex. It was founded in 1893. Writtle obtained University College status in May 2016. Its countryside estate features a wide range of facilities, includin ...

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 received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1840. RASE is bas ...

(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 that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...

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

Charities supported worldwide

* The Gherka 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

* 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 ''Food Unwrapped'' is a British television series broadcast by Channel 4 featuring Jimmy Doherty, Kate Quilton, Matt Tebbutt, Helen Lawal, Amanda Byram, Andi Oliver, Briony May Williams and John Whaite. The show is based on the original Dutc ...

'' (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 placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

Whisperer'' (Channel 4 2012) * ''Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket'' (Channel 4 2012) * ''A Farmer's Life for Me'' (BBC 2011)Daily Telegraph
/ref> * ''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 ''Horizon'' is an ongoing and long-running British documentary television series on BBC Two that covers science and philosophy. History The programme was first broadcast on 2 May 1964 with "The World of Buckminster Fuller" which explored the ...

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)

Bibliography

Farm Life

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 English farmers English television presenters English television personalities