Noel Edmonds, 76, opens up on TV return with series about his life in New Zealand – & how it compares to Clarkson's Farm
A LARGER than life showbiz veteran documenting his new life on a farm is a hit TV formula for Jeremy Clarkson.
Now there is another famous face who is also getting in on the action, Noel Edmonds.
7
Noel Edmonds will be back on TV screens documenting his life in New Zealand - but don't expect it to be like Clarkson's Farm
Credit: PA
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Noel's Kiwi adventure includes running a pub – The Bugger Inn near Nelson, just like Clarkson back in the UK
Credit: ITV
7
Noel's House Party inspired Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway – and made Mr Blobby a TV icon
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
However the quirky host insists his new ITV1 show is nothing like Clarkson's Farm — because he's not as funny as the former Top Gear star.
Noel exclusively told The Sun: 'When we were filming our show, some people who knew about Clarkson's Farm said to me, 'Oh, is it like Clarkson's Farm?'
'And I said, 'No, it couldn't be more different.'
'First of all, I'm not like Jeremy in many ways, though I wish I were.
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"He's brilliant.
'He can articulate an argument beautifully and deliver a sharp, humorous line like no one else.'
Noel, 76, is perhaps doing himself a disservice, as he went on to crack a joke about his years in the showbiz wilderness.
His last big gig was on I'm A
Celebrity
in 2018, when he was
Most read in News TV
Noel laughed: 'People still ask, 'Noel Edmonds? Didn't he die? Is he still around?'
'Yes, I'm still here — and living life to the full.'
Noel Edmonds reunites with 90s sidekick Mr Blobby on Good Morning Britain
Noel now lives in New Zealand where he and wife Liz have been based since 2016 after he quit the UK.
'Punishing schedule'
For the first time he will be putting his new life in the spotlight in the ITV1 show,
Unlike Jeremy, the former Deal Or No Deal host is no newcomer to farming.
He's been working in agriculture since the Eighties in Devon, when he was one of the UK's biggest stars.
Noel said: 'Over the years I've known Jeremy.
'If you watch a video called Noel's Le Mans Dream, you'll see Jeremy was part of my boys' team, alongside Nick Mason, Gary Rhodes, and others.
'I entered a two-car team in the Le Mans 24-hour
race
.
'I thoroughly enjoyed that weekend.
'I don't think I saw Jeremy eat any solids.
'He was a regular in the hospitality tents, a great character.'
He continues: 'Clarkson's Farm came along, and I think it's brilliant.
'There are three things in particular I admire.
'First, the production values — the way it's made, the narrative structure — it's exceptional.
'Not contrived, but very well-constructed.
'Second, he's highlighted how mad our relationship is with public servants.
"
'They are meant to serve the public.
'He's shown how difficult they make things.
'Third, and most importantly, he's shown how hard it is to be a farmer.
'I've been farming since the early Eighties and it's always been tough.
"In Devon, the paperwork alone was staggering.
'Constant rules. Constant restrictions. All about control.'
Liz and I allowed the cameras into our lives. The filming followed what we did in September, October, November of 2024, right up to Christmas.
Noel on his new TV show
Noel's series will involve a lot less red tape.
But, just like Jeremy, he's also acquired a pub —
Noel explains: 'The key difference between our Kiwi Adventure, and Clarkson's Farm is that ours is more of a lifestyle narrative.
'Liz and I allowed the cameras into our lives.
'The filming followed what we did in September, October, November of 2024, right up to Christmas.
"It documented our lifestyle - two people deciding to leave the UK and start over in New Zealand.
'And yes, everyone says it: 'Oh, New Zealand, that's a long way away.' And we just say, 'Exactly, that's why we're here.'
'In 2016 we decided to explore our options to move away from the UK and our first holiday was to New Zealand.
'We got a real feel for New Zealand and began to understand the Kiwi way of life.
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Noel on his new Kiwi Adventure show
Credit: PA
7
Making his name as a DJ on Radio 1 in the early Seventies, Noel went on to host kids show Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, with the late Keith Chegwin
'At the same time, Deal Or No Deal was coming to an end — 3,000 shows over ten years.
'It was a punishing schedule.
'This show tells the story of the challenges we've faced, the joys we've discovered, and all the fun we've had.
'I really hope the fun element of our Kiwi Adventure comes through, and maybe it will make people curious about New Zealand.'
The series also shows them enjoy some of the country's hot spots, including a helicopter flight above the South Island's glacier and some fun on a boat in the balmy north.
But it is not all fun and games and the series will show the brutal side of farming.
He said: 'We have a fair amount of land here and we practise what I call ethical farming.
'Some call it regenerative farming, that's the buzzword.
'For me, ethical farming means treating livestock with respect.
'We know why we're farming them and what the final outcome is.
'I don't like that part.
"I really don't.
'I'm a hypocrite.
'I'm a coward.
'I don't want to be involved in that final journey.
'But we try to give them the finest feed, structured water, and as much dignity as possible.'
Making his name as a DJ on
Radio
1 in the early Seventies, he went on to host kids show Multi-Coloured Swap Shop,
'Hippies in yurts'
Later he presented Channel 4 gameshow Deal Or No Deal from 2005 to 2016 — which was recommissioned in 2023 with Stephen Mulhern taking over as host.
It was thanks to Deal Or No Deal that Noel met Liz, his wife of 17 years, as she worked as a make-up artist on the show.
Aside from his
It's so beautiful here that I'll walk my land and just stop for an hour, admiring the view and not get any work done. The landscape is sensational.
Noel on his New Zealand home
Noel and Liz, his third wife, were initially based in Auckland but Noel decided the city was too busy so they moved to the remote Tasman region instead.
He laughed: 'It was so busy it began to feel like the UK or Europe.
'I even called it Euro Zealand.
'It's so beautiful here that I'll walk my land and just stop for an hour, admiring
the view
and not get any work done.
'The landscape is sensational.'
However, it's not all peace and tranquillity, and that's mainly down to the extreme weather they experience.
He added: 'The weather here has attitude.
'I lived in Devon for 20 years and there you'd get grey days with drizzle drifting in from the Atlantic. But here?
'When it blows, it really blows — trees come down.
'When it rains, it's tropical stair-rodding rain.
'You get landslips. And the sun?
'It'll burn you within ten minutes in peak season.
'Oh, and earthquakes.
'We've had three.
'During the first one, we were sitting outside with a glass of wine, and I noticed the surface of the wine rippling.
'That was a mild one.
'The biggest one really shook the house — the cutlery drawer rattled, and Liz and I each grabbed a dog and ran outside.
"No structural damage, thankfully.
'But yes, earthquakes - and a dormant volcano just up the way.
'At least, we hope it's dormant.'
Another big factor as to why Noel has settled so well in New Zealand is the people.
He said: 'They love a good time, a good laugh and they don't take themselves, or their politicians, too seriously.
'I love that.
'Especially here, in this area, which became a kind of haven for the hippies in the Sixties and Seventies.
'There are still people living in yurts up the valley, and good on them.
'What we found was overwhelming kindness.
'We were living in Matakana during the flu outbreak and, suddenly, our mailbox was full of avocados, chocolates, home-cooked things - little gifts from locals who wanted to look after 'the two Brits up the way'.
'It was heartwarming.
'If a Kiwi invites you to their home, you always say: 'Thanks, what can I bring?' In the UK, you might show up with a bottle or a bunch of flowers from the petrol station.
'Here, it's expected that you contribute.'
But if anyone knows how to throw a good house party, it's Noel.
Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure airs later this month on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Noel has nothing but praise for Jeremy Clarkson's TV work
Credit: Adrian Sherratt
7
Noel and his wife Liz have been based in New Zealand since 2016 after he quit the UK
Credit: PA
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