THE VIEW
and although it wasn’t exactly to our style we saw lots of potential. We did some renovations and it is the perfect family home. It has around 11 acres of land and so we have about an acre or so as our garden and turned the rest into a smallholding. We started off rescuing a pig from the RSPCA and built up to having five or six working sows and a couple of boars and specialised in free-range Tamworth pork. Then, after lockdown we decided to scale back with the pigs and started breeding free-range award-winning KellyBronze turkeys especially for the Christmas market. We have been doing this for around 10 years and it works very well indeed. We also have some chickens and wild deer and it is a wonderful place to live.” JB is currently a guest presenter on BBC's flagship prime time programme The One Show . He is also a lead presenter on CBeebies’ BAFTA-nominated Down on the Farm and stars in the RTS award-winning family series Cooking with the Gills . He said, “I am on The One Show five days a week and we cover lots of different topics including current affairs so I have to be up- to-speed with everything that is happening. It’s a live show so there is no room for anything to go wrong but it’s great fun as well. I have also appeared on Countryfile , Springwatch and On the Farm specials. I really enjoyed doing Songs of Praise and visited a lot of different people which was so interesting and of course I loved all the music as it took me back to my days of singing in the church choir. I was also a finalist on Strictly Come Dancing which was very hard work but lots of fun. I have written two children’s books called Ace and the Animal Heroes, which are really an extension of my own personal experiences as a boy living in the city and moving to the countryside. It’s basically the story of Ace who lives on a run-down farm and when he tries on some magical wellies he realises he can talk to the animals! The second book was published last year." JB also works at Hits Radio on the Hits UK Charts and he presents Tractor Ted , which is aimed at young children to teach them about farming and the countryside. "It’s not just for children who actually live on a farm but to show all children the importance and joy of what the great outdoors and being on a farm is all about.” Chloe is also super-busy and she said, “Our diaries are always full as we both have so many different commitments and projects we are working on. Apart from helping to run the farm, both the children lead very active lives. Ace has just been signed by a professional football club which is great but involves a lot of travelling and we have just returned from North Yorkshire as he worked on the CBeebies’ Football
"I WAS ALWAYS INTO MUSIC AND SANG IN A CHOIR AND LEARNED HOW TO PLAY THE FLUTE, PIANO AND RECORDER AND EVEN TRIED MY HAND AT PLAYING THE GUITAR"
rights and wellbeing. Like JB, this work is so fulfilling and works well with my life on the farm and looking after the children.” They have some great advice for first time buyers and said, “Trust your instincts. You will know the moment you walk into a property if you get that special feeling that this is the home for you. It is really important that you can imagine living there and making it into your dream home. It is also a good idea to take somebody with you when you are viewing as it’s nice to have their valued opinion too. Make sure it ticks all your boxes and has what you are looking for.” Chloe added, “My mum brought me up to always save and was adamant that I put something aside. I used to put some money in an envelope and save it up so I could buy something I really wanted at the end of the year. It made it much more special and we have taught our children to do the same. It is important that children understand the value of money. Of course, nowadays we don’t use cash like we used to, but a little savings account is a good idea and it’s amazing how your savings build and grow.” As we finish our chat I was truly humbled to meet a family who are so happy and fulfilled and though they are so busy with work they manage to fit in all the other projects they get involved with – they are making a huge social impact as well as being fabulous entertainers.
Fantastic second series. Chiara adores performing and dancing and has been in TV commercials so I spend a great deal of my time being a taxi driver! It is as if I have had two careers as before I had the children I worked on major UK stages and televised events including The Brit Awards , Britain’s Got Talent and the MOBO Awards and I travelled the world as a professional dancer including featuring in Beyonce’s iconic Run the World (Girls) music video.” One of the shows both Chloe and JB enjoy doing with their children is Cooking with the Gills . “We cook as a family and team up with another talented young cook to prepare some delicious recipes from around the world. It’s a fabulous show and encourages children to try their hand and prepare and cook some really tasty dishes. We all love taking part and it’s lovely to work together as a family.” JB added, “I am an ambassador for the Woodland Trust, British Red Cross and Farms for City Children and I am Vice- President of the RSPCA and support the Royal Countryside Fund and Mercy Ships. This work is very important to me and I love being involved. Chloe is also passionate about creating family- focused, relatable content that resonates with parents." Chloe continued, “I am an ambassador for the NSPCC and mothers2mothers, championing children’s
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