Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen of Our Yorkshire Farm fame has announced she and her husband Clive have split after 22 years together.
The couple announced the news on social media in a joint statement, shared to Amanda Owen's Instagram story.
It said: "Clive and I are sad to confirm that we have made the difficult decision to separate.
"This hasn't been easy, but we both believe it's the right choice for the future of our family.
Image: Amanda Owen via Instagram
"Although we are no longer a couple, we continue to work on the farm and co-parent together with our number one priority the happiness and well-being of our children."
The news follows Amanda being inundated with questions on her personal Instagram account asking if Clive was still in the picture as no pictures have been shared of him in some time.
Rumours had been building in the past year that the couple was experiencing some marital difficulties, and now this has been confirmed by the pair themselves.
Image: Amanda Owen via Instagram
Speaking on ITV's morning show Lorraine at the end of last year, Amanda was asked about how she was dealing with the attention on her life in the midst of things not going so well in her relationship.
Lorraine had asked: “The show is lovely. And people have got this thing of they feel they know you and have got to know the children, the animals … There’s always a down side. Of course you’ve had that attention on your life.
"And that’s great. But then when things aren’t going that well, it can be quite difficult. How do you deal with that? When it’s quite difficult?”
She replied: “Well it is. You have your difficult moments. But you have to take the rough with the smooth. We’ve just talked about how you weather a storm [as Amanda and Lorraine had earlier discussed battling Storm Arwen].
"So we are pretty resilient in the hills. That’s all you’ve got to do.
"You’ve got to remember, the bottom line is, if you are proud of what you’re doing, you kind of sort of have to shoulder it. In other words; ‘Get on with it’. Ignore it."
Channel 5 has since released a statement on the split, telling the Daily Express: "We respect the privacy of Amanda and Clive Owen at this time.
A £1.6m grant has been given by the government to Leeds City Council to help tackle rough sleeping.
The funding has been allocated to Leeds City Council as part of the Government’s national Rough Sleeping Programme.
The overall target is to help rough sleepovers off the streets by Christmas through providing safe accommodation.
The council have said that voluntary organisations and charities will be able to help them reach this target.
The council report said: "This funding will be used for immediate interventions to ensure all those rough sleeping have an offer of accommodation by Christmas and support longer term sustainment of accommodation.
“The initial target is to provide a suitable offer of accommodation for everyone who is rough sleeping by Christmas 2026.
“Providing a path into supported accommodation and independent living is the key objective and sustaining this independent living with, where necessary, ongoing support to prevent any return to rough sleeping and homelessness.”
The government announcement spoke of the scheme: "The programme is intended to support people experiencing rough sleeping.
"People experiencing rough sleeping may have differing entitlements to housing and support depending on their individual circumstances, including their immigration status and eligibility for public funds."
The funding is intended to help provide immediate support for people currently sleeping on the streets, while also helping them access longer-term accommodation and the support needed to maintain independent living.
By working with local charities and voluntary organisations, the council hopes to ensure people are not only offered a place to stay but are also given the help they need to avoid returning to the streets.
M&S launches massive recruitment drive in Leeds with hundreds of jobs available
Emily Sergeant
M&S has launched a massive recruitment drive across Yorkshire.
With the festive season fast approaching, and most British stores having already unveiled their Christmas ranges for 2026, one of the country’s largest brands has launched a massive UK-wide seasonal recruitment drives to gear up for what is always one of the busiest times of the year for the retail industry.
M&S has announced it will recruit for plenty of new colleagues across the UK.
As mentioned Christmas is one of the busiest moments of the year for M&S, and seasonal colleagues play a ‘vital’ part in delivering that.
Image: Supplied
New recruits will be tasked with helping M&S deliver a ‘brilliant’ service for customers.
Stores with vacancies span the whole of Leeds - including city centre, Moortown, Crown Point, White Rose Shopping Centre and Pudsey.
M&S says the roles are ‘fast-moving and hands-on’, with colleagues required to work together to make sure customers still get the very best of M&S, even at its busiest.
The roles will pay £13.41 per hour, with successful applicants receiving the training, tools and support needed to get up to speed quickly.
“We can’t wait to welcome over 300 new colleagues to our store teams here in Greater Manchester,” commented Zeba Khan, who is the Regional Manager at M&S.
“As we get ready for our busiest time of year, it’s a great opportunity to join us and help bring a magical M&S Christmas to our customers.
“We have a range of opportunities available, whether joining our city centre flagship or our fresh market-style foodhalls. We’re looking for colleagues who are passionate about delivering great customer service and being part of a team.”
Fancy it then? Applications are now open, and you can find out more and apply on the M&S Christmas careers page here.
The Hoot -
10th June 2022 
