Jeremy Clarkson’s new co-star Harriet Cowan has shared her “shock” at the response she’s received to appearing on Clarkson’s Farm.
The farmer and nurse, 28, was drafted in by Clarkson, 65, during the series four premiere to help out at his 1,000 acre Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire while farm manager Kaleb Cooper was away.
Earlier this week, she urged fans to “be kind” and said “words matter” after shutting down claims that her introductory scene to the Top Gear star on the Prime Video series was “fake”.
Cowan has since been inundated with support from viewers calling her “superhuman” and “empowering” for other women.
“Honestly I'm shocked at how kind people are,” the farmer wrote with a tearful face emoji on her Instagram Story while re-sharing a fan’s post.
The fan had written: “Just want to take a moment to appreciate the wonderful human that is Harriet Cowan.”
They went on: “Awesome for the following reasons - nurse, expert of all things farming, advocate for farmers mental health, great representative for women in farming, down-to-earth personality and beautician to JC's eyebrows. Basically an all-round Superwoman!”
Cowan also re-sharing a video of a mother who said she felt “empowered” watching “a woman in a male dominant industry” and that it was inspiring for her daughter.
The TV newcomer replied: “Honestly this means so much and that little girls that watch me are gonna want to grow to be a farmer.”
Hours earlier, Cowan shared a message to critics on her social media, writing: “Please can everyone remember to be kind. We are all human and your words matter.”
Some of the backlash centred around her first scene in Clarkson’s office, during which she admitted she’d never actually watched a full episode of Clarkson’s Farm.
“Well, you know on YouTube you get those 'shorts' where it's like funny moments? I've seen them. I ain't got time to watch all that," she told the stunned former Top Gear host.
She later discussed the moment with Clarkson’s daughter Emily on Emily’s podcast Should I Delete That?, insisting it wasn’t scripted and was “so real”.
Emily asked: "Do you ever sit down with your boyfriend and chill together, or eat together? It sounds impossible.”
Cowan replied: "No, no. In the trailer where it's like, 'Have you watched Clarkson's Farm before?' And I'm like, 'No', it looked so fake.
"But it is so real because we don't watch telly. Literally, if we watch something, James will sit down, his head will hit the back of the sofa and he's asleep because the second he can rest, he'll sleep, because he's so tired all the time."
Cowan was brought onto the show to help out for the first two episodes because Cooper was away on his own nationwide stage tour The World According To Kaleb.
