If you’re a fan of Channel 5’s This Week on The Farm then you will probably recognise Helen Skelton as she presents the show alongside Jules Hudson.

The show explores the lives of various farmers as they document their lives.

It returned for a new series last week (18th February), and focused on Rob and Dave Nicholson at Cannon Hall Farm in Barnsley.

However, if you think you recognise Carlisle-born Helen Skelton from something else, you would be completely right.

(Instagram/@HelenSkelton)

This Week on The Farm isn’t the 37-year-old’s only stint in the industry and she has appeared in a lot of shows throughout her career.

From Blue Peter to SAS: Who Dares Wins, here are all of Helen’s accomplishments and career accolades to date- how many do you recognise her from?

Early career

For those who didn’t know, Helen is actually a Cumbrian local.

She was born in Carlisle  and brought up on a dairy farm in Kirkby Thore.

Skelton attended Appleby Grammar School and later attained a BA degree in journalism from Cumbria Institute of the Arts (or University of Cumbria).

She used this degree during her early career in her early career, while working in the newsroom at CFM Radio and even became a breakfast presenter at BBC Radio Cumbria in 2005.

Blue Peter (2008-2013)

 

 

(Twitter/@HelenSkelton)

Arguably, Blue Peter is one of Helen’s most notable television roles.

She co-hosted the classic children’s show between 2008-2013, replacing Zoe Salmon.

It’s on this show that Helen embarked on a series of tough challenges, proving herself as an athletic and strong-willed woman.

Her first Blue Peter challenge saw her take on the Namibian ultra-marathon- which is a whopping 78 miles long.

She completed it in 23 hours and 45 minutes and was the second woman to ever complete it.

Sports Relief

The presenter also took on some tough challenges outside of Blue Peter.

She became a staple famous face on Sport Relief where she embarked on physically and mentally draining challenges.

Most notably, she kayaked the Amazon River for Sport Relief in 2010.

In this challenge, she travelling over 2,000 miles in a solo kayak over six weeks.

She broke two Guinness World Records along the way – the longest solo journey by kayak, and the longest distance in a kayak in 24 hours by a woman.

Skelton also climbed new heights (quite literally) after she walked a 150-metre tightrope over Battersea Power Station for Comic Relief in 2011.

The following year, she layered up and embraced the cold, becoming the first person to reach the South Pole using a bicycle.

(YouTube/Sport Relief)

In 2013, she tried something a little different for Comic Relief when she took on a series of challenges called the “Magnificent 7”.

These including flying with the Red Arrows and performing in two West End shows in one night.

Her latest Sports Relief conquest took place in 2018 when she defeated Love Island’s Camilla Thurlow in a charity boxing match.  

(Instagram/@helenskelton)

Sports presenter

If you love watching sports, it’s likely that you’ve seen Helen presenting one or two shows.

After leaving Blue Peter, Skelton presented the live FA Women’s Super League, the London Marathon Highlights  (2014/2015), the 2016 European Swimming Championships and the 2017 World Aquatics Championships to name a few.

Alongside former Olympic athlete Rebecca Adlington, she also presented swimming coverage at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

(Instagram/@helenskelton)

Countryfile (2008-present)

 

 

(Twitter/@HelenSkelton)

Helen has been presenting segments on this show for over thirteen years now.

For those unaware, this BBC show reports on rural, agricultural and environmental issues across the United Kingdom.

Cumbria has featured on the show on several occasions.

The Countryfile team once looked at the places which inspired Beatrix Potter and they also took a visit to the Lake District and explored why it is deemed an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Strictly Come Dancing

(YouTube/BBC)

Skelton took part in the 2012 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.

She danced with professional, Artem Chigvintsev, to ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’.

However, she was pipped to the glitterball trophy by JLS singer, JB Gill.

The Instant Gardener

Did you ever watch this BBC One series?

The show ran for two seasons between 2015-2016.

Danny Clarke and Helen Skelton teamed up to present the show, which saw them travel up and down the country to tackle gardens which were in desperate need of restoration care.

Kids V Career- Having it All?
In early 2016, Skelton presented this show which saw her investigate what it means to be a mum in the 21st century.

During the show, Helen met up with fertility experts, stay-at-home dads and women who say they were been discriminated against for being pregnant.

Did you ever watch this show?

Big Week at The Zoo

 

 

(Twitter/ @bigweekatthezoo)

This show followed a similar vein to This Week on The Farm- but it examined life at a zoo and more about the inner workings of a zoo keeper.

The mini-series aired between 2018-2019 and was hosted by Skelton and Nick Baker.  

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins

News and Star: Nikki Sanderson and Tony Bellow comfort Helen Skelton (PA/Channel 4)Nikki Sanderson and Tony Bellow comfort Helen Skelton (PA/Channel 4)

One of Helen’s most recent television appearances was on the Channel 4 show, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

She stared in the 2020 series, which sees famous faces take part in gruelling training exercises to see if they have what it takes to become an SAS reserve.

Helen made it all the way to the final but came joint third.

Lauren Steadman (Paralympian) and Leon Rolle (DJ for rudimental) were crowned the winners of the series.

This may be the majority of Helen’s career conquests to date- but we’re sure that there is a lot more to come in the future.