Farm ’n’ games

IT seems that every five minutes, Jimmy Doherty is back on the box with some food or rural-themed show. Mind you, his days with the BBC are now numbered –- he’s just signed a deal with C4. So the eightpart series, A Farmer’s Life for Me, is his Beeb swansong.

Rather than having him tell us all about the minutiae of pig farming, or revealing how the food we eat is processed before it reaches our tables, this time he’s presenting a sort of reality game show.

Each week, Doherty and his team of experts will be introducing the fledging farmers to varying aspects of the business.

They’d better prove themselves to be quick learners, because their newfound skills will then be put into practice in a series of daunting farming challenges.

The final word will be given to our host, who will decide each week who must shed their wellies and leave the competition.

Doherty, known for series such as Jimmy’s Farm and Jimmy’s Farming Heroes, is half pin-up, half farmer-boffin, but the image hasn’t done him any harm.

Besides, above all, passion for his subject shines through. As he once said: “Without organised agriculture, we just wouldn’t be here. It’s the basis of civilisation.

Once you view it like that, it’s very humbling.

Do we need farmers? Yes, we bloody do.”

It was just before Christmas that he announced he intends to follow in his beloved friend Jamie Oliver’s footsteps by heading across to pastures new on C4.

Doherty, who runs a farm outside Ipswich, says he’s hugely excited about the range and scale of opportunities he’ll be pursuing on 4. “From natural history and conservation, to farming and mass production, nothing’s off limits. It’s an exact match for me – it’s going to be a great adventure.”

Back on A Farmer’s Life for Me, viewers will be introduced to nine couples who will learn about a particular aspect of farming before putting it into practice.

The one that fails to impress will be booted off and only eight will remain to fight it out next time around.

By the end of the series, one couple will be left and, after taking part in each challenge, should be equipped to start life as a farmer.

GOOD news for those with Sky TV – there’s a new channel, Sky Atlantic, showing some of the best of US television. Everyone else will have to wait for the DVD box set to be released.

And plenty of people will want to see Boardwalk Empire, not least because the first episode is directed by none other than Oscar-winning Martin Scorsese. The series arrives in this country garlanded with plaudits and prizes from the other side of the Atlantic.

It’s 1920 and Prohibition has just come in, much to the consternation of millions of hard-drinking Americans. But “Nucky” Thompson (Steve Buscemi) isn’t worried. Part-politician and part-gangster, he rules Atlantic City like a king and understands that Prohibition represents the opportunity of a lifetime to make some money and grab some power.

THE same channel is also showing Blue Bloods, which will answer the question: whatever happened to Magnum? Not the ice cream (although the almond ones are delicious) but Tom Selleck, who played the Eighties moustachioed private eye in the TV series of the same name.

Blue Bloods is a police drama about a multi-generational clan of New York cops. Selleck stars as Frank Reagan, New York City Police Commissioner and head of the clan.

EXTRAORDINARY Dogs follows the work of rescue dogs and their handlers from around the world, beginning with Italian dogs practising a helicopter- based rescue.

These canine pupils – primarily Labradors, Newfoundlands and golden retrievers – are trained to jump out of helicopters, swim long distances and pull dinghies with their teeth.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, rescue dogs are taught how to search for missing people. But with regular tremors and unpredictable weather conditions providing a high risk of structural collapse, these dogs are meticulously trained for operating in mountainous regions.