Kaleb Cooper has broken his silence on rumours that he was replaced on Clarkson's Farm, after being missing from the first few episodes of the new season of the Amazon Prime hit.
The 26-year-old farming star addressed speculation that had been circulating ahead of the release of season four, which arrives on Prime Video today, as a new arrival joined the team.
Cooper spoke with This Morning hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley about his continued involvement with the hit farming series, which follows Jeremy Clarkson's agricultural endeavours at his Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire.
The rumours began after early trailers for the new season revealed a new farmhand would be helping Clarkson.
"I'm still involved, yeah. There are lots of rumours going out that I've been replaced, but I'm still here," Cooper clarified on This Morning.
The young farmer explained that Harriet Cowan, who is both a full-time nurse and farmer, temporarily stepped in while he was away on a speaking tour around the UK.
The star revealed his fate during an appearance on This Morning
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"Harriet stepped in as I jumped away on tour, so I'm very grateful that Harriet came along and saved the day," he told Shephard and Deeley.
Cooper even joked that Harriet would help with tasks he wouldn't, such as trimming Jeremy's eyebrows, quipping: "I know his hair's terrible but I don't really notice his eyebrows."
Clarkson himself had previously addressed the replacement rumours in a video posted on Instagram, stating: "There have been lots of reports that Kaleb has been replaced. Well, no, he hasn't.
"What happened is this: he went away on his speaking tour for a couple of months because he imagined that after four years, I'd be able to manage on my own.
Kaleb was missing from some of the episodes due to being on tour
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“I didn't - I made a complete mess of everything and had to bring in a young farmer called Harriet."
Clarkson added that Harriet was "brilliant and looked after the fort until he got back".
In the new season, Cooper revealed that Clarkson was "actually becoming a better farmer," noting he was "a very good pig farmer" despite the challenges they faced.
"Loading pigs is hard work. It was incredibly bad weather last year, so the mud was unbelievable. They like to try things, they were biting my wellies," Cooper explained.
He joked that the newest series was easier due to Clarkson "being at the pub most of the time," referring to the main focus of season four - Clarkson setting up his first pub, named The Farmer's Dog.
"Jeremy was very relaxed, thinking he had done his job, he'd completely forgotten about me," Kaleb quipped.
The star was briefly replaced by Harriet Cowen
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Season four of Clarkson's Farm is now available on Prime Video, featuring the regular cast alongside Clarkson and Cooper, including Lisa Hogan, Charlie Ireland, and Gerald Cooper.
Cowan, who appears as the temporary farmhand, has remained relatively quiet about her involvement in the show.
She posted a trailer on Instagram with the caption: "Ekkkk something exciting is coming on the 23rd of May." (sic)
