Britain's 'oldest working farmer' Steve Green and wife Jean star in special Yorkshire Vet episode (2024)
He gets up to tend to his animals at 6am everyday and at the age of 90, Steve Green, who is thought to be Britain’s oldest working farmer, has no intention of slowing down.
As well as a life of graft on the farm near Thirsk, Steve and his wife Jean, 67, have appeared for the past four years in The Yorkshire Vet television series, which documents the working lives of rural vets Peter Wright and The Yorkshire Post columnist, Julian Norton.
The couple won viewers’ hearts when they appeared on the show at a crisis point on their farm. Mr Green was ill and in hospital for a hernia operation and their daughter Sarah, 35, was sidelined after damaging her spine, and so Mrs Green took the “heartbreaking” decision to sell the farm’s lifeblood dairy herd.
Such is their popularity that the Greens star in a special episode of the Channel 5 series tomorrow night (March 5) as they renew their wedding vows after 40 years of marriage.
Ahead of the broadcast, The Yorkshire Post visited the Greens and they reflected on their TV careers and farming ‘journey’.
“It didn’t catch on at first, no one bothered about us and then it suddenly took off,” Mr Green said of the attention they have had since appearing on TV.
"The job was all walking. It wasn’t as bad as you might think. There were no fat farmers then!””
Mrs Green, 67, was born in a wooden hut next to Mr Green’s father Stephen’s farm after her father joined the Army and was billeted in temporary housing.
When she was 27, one of her brothers who worked for the Greens, told her Mr Green wished to court her.
Their first date involved them working together at hay time and three months and 10 days later they married at St Mary’s Church in Thirsk.
“Everybody said it wouldn’t last,” said Mrs Green, who as a keen cook, added: "The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach... We are happy go lucky and we love each other.”
AFFECTION FOR ANIMALS
Real animal lovers, the Greens have 18 cats, including 27-year-old Katie, a dog and two donkeys.
Despite her affection for all creatures great and small, Mrs Green used to be “petrified” of cows.
“I don’t know why,” she said.
Having gotten over it, Mrs Green, who helped her father carry out logging as a child, “didn’t need any telling” when it came to joining her husband at work on the farm, Mr Green said.
As well as a life of graft on the farm near Thirsk, Steve and his wife Jean, 67, have appeared for the past four years in The Yorkshire Vet television series, which documents the working lives of rural vets Peter Wright and The Yorkshire Post columnist, Julian Norton.
Steve employed her brother at the time, leading the two to meet. It wasn't long before Steve asked Jean out on a date, and only three months later the two were married. Jean is 67 years old today, while Steve is believed to be 92 years old.
While Jean is 67-years-old, husband Steve is believed to have turned 92 this year. His 91st birthday celebrations were marked on The Yorkshire Vet in April last year as the pair were filmed suit shopping for the occasion. Viewers were also touched when the couple decided to renew their wedding vows back in 2020.
In a statement announcing the merger with Medivet, Skeldale Veterinary Centre explained: “Julian will be leaving in order to pursue other interests, both in veterinary medicine and media, and he wishes Skeldale the best of success for the future.”
90-year-old Steve Green and his wife Jeanie, 67, live and work on their farm in Yorkshire. The farthest they've ever travelled was on their honeymoon 40 years ago, when they visited Whitby on the Yorkshire coast, just 50 miles away.
The Yorkshire Vet has become one of the county's most beloved TV series, with the show just reaching the end of its 12th run. Yet fans will be pleased to know the 13th season will air in Autumn and the smash hit has been recommissioned for series 14 and 15 next year.
“From cows and horses down to hamsters,” the TV personality explained. “And to take the farm side away from me, you know, it had to stop because it wasn't economically viable anymore and I couldn't do that work anymore.”
In our fast-paced, global modern world, down-to-earth Yorkshire farmers Jeanie and Steve Green are the rarest of breeds – and the happiest of couples. Steve, 90, and Jeanie, 67, live without modern luxuries on the farm he has called home for 75 years.
It has been home for 75 years to Steve, who found love with Jean in his 50s. Their daughter Sarah, 35, lives with them. The couple chop their own logs for fuel, grow all their food and look after calves, donkeys, one dog and 19 cats.
While in college at Redlands University, he became interested in jazz, and after graduation, played bass in various bands on the West Coast and occasionally at a local radio station. During World War II, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and joined a Marine band led by Bob Crosby, brother of famed singer Bing Crosby.
The Yorkshire Vet follows the work of Julian Norton, Peter Wright and now our very own Matt Smith and David Melleney and Shona Searson and the rest of the team at the Donaldson's Hospital. The Herriot style vets and their co- workers care for animals in rural communities across West and North Yorkshire, England.
Matt adds: “I'm so happy to be married, it's a brilliant day.” Yorkshire Vet star Peter Wright and his wife Lin also are at the wedding reception and offer advice on married life. Mr Wright says: “Be afraid, I've had 35 years and i'm still afraid!”
The area around Thirsk nestles between the North York Moors National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The series follow the vets out on visits to clients in more remote farm locations, the countryside providing a stunning, ever-changing backdrop.
He still doesn't work with Peter as the veterinary surgeon is now situated in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire. Despite not working together, it seems Peter does still have an insight into what Julian gets up to and what his co-star does on the show.
Skeldale Veterinary Centre is a working vet practice. However James Herriot's home has been turned into a visitor attraction. Located in the heart of Thirsk the museum is a fully-restored 1940s home and surgery, recreated to what life was like when James Herriot was practising.
I've been practising as a vet for 25 years and most of this time working in Thirsk, a town I've made my home. I've spent time working in the North of Scotland, the Cotswolds, a small animal emergency hospital in Pennsylvania, as well as other towns in Yorkshire.
As well as a life of graft on the farm near Thirsk, Steve and his wife Jean, 67, have appeared for the past four years in The Yorkshire Vet television series, which documents the working lives of rural vets Peter Wright and The Yorkshire Post columnist, Julian Norton.
Farmers Robert, David and Roger are series regulars on Springtime on the Farm and The Yorkshire Vet and also appeared on the flagship Channel 5 programme The Great Yorkshire Show.
Victoria Tennant is a British actress. She is known for her roles in the TV miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, in which she appeared as actor Robert Mitchum's on-screen love interest, ...
Julian Norton (born 3 June 1972) is a British veterinary surgeon, author and TV personality, best known for his appearances on thirteen series of The Yorkshire Vet, which has been broadcast on Channel 5 since 2015. ...
Matt Jackson-Smith, from the Donaldson's practice in Huddersfield marries his partner Katherine in front of his TV colleagues – while they also make animals a big part of their big day.
The area around Thirsk nestles between the North York Moors National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The series follow the vets out on visits to clients in more remote farm locations, the countryside providing a stunning, ever-changing backdrop.
Scott is married to Zoe and proud father of three daughters, a son and a dog called Skully. With 23 years-experience as a practicing clinical Veterinary Surgeon, he is the owner and principal veterinarian at three veterinary practices in SW London, located in Richmond, St Margaret's and Old Isleworth.
Keri: Prairie Vet follows the adventures of Dr. Keri Hudson Reykdal - a veterinarian who runs a rural vet clinic and also rides the prairie roads with her high-tech mobile clinic on wheels. Set in the breathtaking landscapes of rural Manitoba, where Dr.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Lawanda Wiegand, I am a inquisitive, helpful, glamorous, cheerful, open, clever, innocent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
