Amanda Owen has said she is ‘suffering sleepless nights’ after facing ‘daunting and difficult decisions’ in her new reality show Our Farm Next Door with ex husband Clive Owen. 

The shepherdess, 50, her farmer ex-husband, 69, and their nine children returned to our screens for the first episode of the new edition of Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive And Kids on Tuesday night.

A spin-off from beloved farm life documentary series Our Yorkshire Farm, it sees the family renovate an abandoned farmhouse with the help of their children – Raven, 23, Reuben, 21, Miles, 18, Edith, 16, Violet, 14, Sidney, 13, Annas, 11, Clemmy, nine, and Nancy, eight.

But it has not been easy – the roof of the derelict property had no slates on it at all, leaving the Owen family starting from scratch to make sure it was warm and dry. 

Their builder Richard needed Amanda to decide which slates she wanted, asking, ’15 or 16 inch wide?’ – and pointing to one , saying: ‘What we are thinking is this but we need a decision.’ 

She appeared completely overwhelmed by indecision, replying: ‘Oh no, is it up to me?’ 

The roof of the derelict property had no slates on it at all, leaving the Owen family starting from scratch to make sure it was warm and dry. Pictured: Tuesday’s episode

Their builder Richard needed Amanda to decide which slates she wanted, asking, ’15 or 16 inch wide?’ – and pointing to one , saying: ‘What we are thinking is this but we need a decision’. Pictured: Tuesday’s episode 

She appeared completely overwhelmed by indecision, replying: ‘Oh no, is it up to me?’. Pictured: Tuesday’s episode 

Explaining her decision-making paralysis, she said: ‘Trying to get everything all joined up is so difficult. I never realised there was so much planning going into this. 

‘Richard is brilliant but Richard still has questions that need answering and it’s trying to keep everyone happy. 

‘It’s still quite daunting and it still gives me quite a few sleepless nights.’ 

The builder admitted it was ‘quite hard’ to put the ‘big, heavy slates’ on the precarious farmhouse, known as Anty John’s and near the Owen family’s Ravenseat Farm. 

He explained the sheer scale of the project: ‘If you’re working on a roof where the slates are already there, it’s a matter of taking them off and pushing them straight back on again.

‘But in this case there was nothing on it, they’re all new slates. But it does look lovely when it is done.’

Meanwhile, Clive was facing his second hip operation – and appeared nervous both to have the surgery itself and to be out of action on the farm. 

Clive, who split from ex-wife Amanda in 2022 after 22 years of marriage but still co-parents with her, said at one point: ‘Tomorrow, I’ve got to be in the hospital at 7.30 in the morning, got a new hip. 

Explaining her decision-making paralysis, she said: ‘Trying to get everything all joined up is so difficult. I never realised there was so much planning going into this’. Pictured: Their builder Richard in Tuesday’s episode 

She added: ‘Richard is brilliant but Richard still has questions that need answering and it’s trying to keep everyone happy’. Pictured: Tuesday’s episode 

Amanda said: ‘It’s still quite daunting and it still gives me quite a few sleepless nights’. Pictured: Richard in Tuesday’s episode 

Read More Our Yorkshire Farm stars Amanda and Clive Owen’s return to screens finally confirmed

‘So, yeah, I wouldn’t say I’m really looking forward to it but that’s what’s going to happen and so this is my last day for a little while. 

‘And then, I’ll be back and I’ll just have to tell them what to do and drive them all mad. 

‘Yeah, I mean, you’re bound to be nervous, but no, no, I’m alright with it. 

‘I’ll do exactly what they tell me and, next thing, you know, you wake up and it’s [done]. 

‘I’ve had one, you see, so I know the procedure, but no, like it or not, that’s what’s happening tomorrow.’ 

After he had his surgery, Amanda muttered he was a ‘terrible patient’ – he insisted on going out and about on his crutches to make sure his children were looking after the sheep well enough in his absence. 

The couple’s frank admissions about how they were feeling came in the same episode as a very cheeky joke Amanda made about her ex Clive’s difficulties ‘getting his leg over’. 

It was in reference to the second hip replacement he was about to undergo and how the pain he was in was making it difficult for him to ride a quad bike around their 2000 acre farm. 

The couple’s frank admissions about how they were feeling came in the same episode (pictured) as a very cheeky joke Amanda made about her ex Clive’s difficulties ‘getting his leg over’ 

It was in reference to the second hip replacement he was about to undergo and how the pain he was in was making it difficult for him to ride a quad bike around their 2000 acre farm 

Amanda said: ‘It’s getting ever so close now to Clive going for his hip operation. So yeah, he’s a bit nervous. I can tell, I know he’s a bit nervous, but he needs doing’ 

Read More Amanda Owen makes VERY cheeky joke about ex Clive ‘getting his leg over’ – but fans are concerned

And concerned fans pointed out on social media ‘you can see he’s in pain’ as he prepared for the procedure in the episode, filmed in September last year. 

Amanda said: ‘It’s getting ever so close now to Clive going for his hip operation. So yeah, he’s a bit nervous. I can tell, I know he’s a bit nervous, but he needs doing.

‘Because basically, I don’t think I can say… he can’t get his leg over, but yeah, he can’t.

‘He’s having to sit sideways on the quad bike at the moment. So yeah, it’s giving him some jip.

‘And trying to persuade him to do anything that’s gonna take him out of action is quite a hard sell, really.’

It comes as fans’ concerns for Amanda grow – once dubbed the UK’s most ‘authentic’ star, her dream life on the farm seems to have derailed in recent years.

She appeared to have the perfect rural life when she sH๏τ to fame seven years ago when starring on the Channel 5 show Our Yorkshire Farm alongside ex-husband Clive and their children. 

During the pandemic, the show grew ever more popular with viewers captivated by watching her lambing, battling the elements, parenting nine kids and somehow looking naturally beautiful through it all.

It comes as fans’ concerns for Amanda (left, with Robert Davies, right, a married web designer with whom she had a five-year affair) grow – once dubbed the UK’s most ‘authentic’ star, her dream life on the farm seems to have derailed in recent years 

She appeared to have the perfect rural life when she sH๏τ to fame seven years ago when starring on the Channel 5 show Our Yorkshire Farm alongside ex-husband Clive and their children. Pictured: Amanda and Clive with their daughter Raven at her university graduation in York 

During the pandemic, the show grew ever more popular with viewers captivated by watching her lambing, battling the elements, parenting nine kids and somehow looking naturally beautiful through it all. Pictured: Amanda and Clive’s nine children (L-R) Violet, Clemmy, Reuben, Sidney, Annas, Edith, Miles, Nancy and Raven

Read More Amanda Owen’s hidden heartbreak: Inside a difficult few years for the Yorkshire shepherdess

Amanda met her husband in 1996 when he was already divorced with two children, after she arrived at his farm as a 21-year-old trainee shepherdess. 

They quickly fell in love despite the age gap and had nine children together, with their life on the farm capturing legions of fans.

Springwatch presenter Kate Humble summed up the feelings of fans, by praising Amanda for being ‘absolutely authentic’ and showing the real life of a ‘hard-working woman’, who gave up her career as a model for farming life.

But for the Yorkshire Shepherdess, 50, the last few years have been anything but smooth.

From the breakdown of her marriage, a five-year love affair with her married web designer being exposed and her older children fleeing the nest to go to university, the TV star has faced a slew of personal trials and tribulations.

And now, as the second series of the Owen family’s new show, Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids, hits screens, fans are growing concerned and claiming ‘something doesn’t seem right’ after she acted erratically during an appearance on Lorraine this week.

Appearing on the talk show on Tuesday, Amanda opened up about family life now as she continues to co-parent with Clive, which left worried viewers questioning whether she was okay.

Speaking about her relationship with her ex-husband, Amanda said: ‘It’s about moving forward. We’ve got plenty to amuse ourselves. There’s space.

Fans are growing concerned and claiming ‘something doesn’t seem right’ after she acted erratically during an appearance on Lorraine this week (pictured) 

Appearing on the talk show on Tuesday (pictured), Amanda opened up about family life now as she continues to co-parent with Clive, which left worried viewers questioning whether she was okay

Read More Amanda Owen sparks concern on Lorraine as fans claim ‘something doesn’t seem right’

‘There’s room to get away from each other, if we’re being absolutely brutally honest here.

‘If we got on like a house on fire we wouldn’t be separate would we? But the fact of the matter is, we’ve got nine children, I think people think we lose track of the fact we do reality, reality comes with its ups and downs.’

Some watching at home took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their concerns.

They wrote: ‘Is Amanda ok? Something doesn’t seem right #Lorraine’ and ‘Wow, Amanda is not looking well at all #lorraine.’

Others quipped: ‘She doesn’t look well’ and ‘She does not look well & yet Lorraine totally oblivious … or ignoring it.’

The first series of Our Farm Next Door aired in October last year, coming to an emotional end in November. 

Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids is available on Channel 4.