TO viewers of Channel 5 hit show’s Celebs On The Farm, he’s the amiable farmer who calls the shots.

But it’s been quite a journey for Chris Jeffery from pig farmer, milkman and insurance adviser, among other jobs, to becoming a popular TV judge with a huge social media following.

Now, with author Chris Berry, he tells his remarkable life story in his forthcoming book - Farming, Celebs & Plum Pudding Pigs, The Making of Farmer Chris.

Chris’s journey has taken him from a rural village in North Yorkshire to bomb-torn Northern Ireland, the Sahara Desert, a James Bond-style Russian romance, becoming a successful racehorse owner, proposing to his third wife in the Indian Ocean and the bright lights of London for TV show premieres and award celebrations.

Born a farmer’s son, Chris was a pig farm manager, milkman, insurance adviser, animal nutrition representative and farm supply shop owner, before a TV career came along when he was 60.

Today he’s back with his first love - animals - running a rare breeds farm with his beloved pedigree Whitebred Shorthorn herd and his plum pudding pigs.

Published by Great Northern Books, Chris’s story is a lively romp through his highs and lows as he sometimes lurches from crisis to crisis but always comes out smiling - and it reveals how a comic moment captured on Channel 5 sealed his opportunity to become the man who judges famous farmhands.

Celebs On The Farm has been nominated for TV awards and a new series starts in January.

Contestants under Chris’s watchful eye have included former Emmerdale star Lorraine Chase, Duncan James from boy band Blue, Benidorm actress Crissy Rock, model Caprice and football pundit Paul Merson.

Chris Jeffrey,who is also a regular face on popular Channel 5 show The Yorkshire Vet, says: "I’d appeared on TV a few times with Julian Norton on The Yorkshire Vet, but the call I received to become Farmer Chris, the judge on Celebs On The Farm blew me away. In a few weeks I was down in the bright big city lights of London meeting all these stars. Making the show is just amazing and working with beautiful people like Caprice and football stars like Paul Merson - well who wouldn’t want to do it. We’ve just filmed series 3 which will be on MTV in January.

"My life has been one huge rollercoaster of disappointments and fantastic moments. That’s why I was delighted when Great Northern Books said they wanted to publish my book. I think some of the stories might blow people’s socks off!"

ALSO from Great Northern Books is the second rugby crime novel from Chris Berry.

Tough Season in the Sun is set in the world of rugby league. It follows Chris’s first novel, Tough Season, which was a hit with readers and critics and has been nominated in the Crime Writers Association’s Dagger Awards 2020.

In Tough Season in the Sun, troubled rugby league star player Greg Duggan is back and the heat is on once again when he takes up an offer to join new club Lanzarote Eruption in a hot summer on the Canary Islands.

Eruption are destined for Super League and Greg’s life, in tatters from a broken marriage, corrupt officials and convalescence after a bullet wound, looks set for sunshine.

But all is not what it seems behind the scenes at the high flyers and within the island’s elite, and Greg finds himself at the centre of another volcanic storm, while his past won’t leave him alone.

In the first book of this crime trilogy, Greg very nearly pulled off a miracle in saving his home town club, Hopton Town.

Can his skill and determination on the pitch be matched by unmasking murderers and criminals, or will his legendary liking for female company prove to be his downfall?

Born in Hull, Chris has followed rugby league all his life. His home team is Hull Kingston Rovers.

Now living near Leeds, he has edited a rugby league publication and written autobiographies for the likes of singers Tony Christie and Joe Longthorne and former Coronation Street actor Bruce Jones.

Chris’s debut novel Tough Season was a long-time #1 in the Amazon rugby league charts as well as being a hit in the crime thriller charts.

l Farming, Celebs and Plum Pudding Pigs! The Making of Farmer Chris is out on December 14, priced £14.99.

l Tough Season in the Sun is out on November 30, priced £7.99.

For more about the books or to order copies call (01274) 735056 or visit gnbooks.co.uk