This Saturday 23rd May, the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir take to the Britain’s Got Talent semi-final stage under the bright lights, and we couldn’t be prouder that Red Tractor’s Operations Manager for Supply Chain Assurance, Abbie Condon, is among them. We’re cheering for her all the way!
Ahead of the semi-finals, we sat down with Abbie to find out how the journey began.
Where did your journey with the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir begin?
Back in April 2025, I came across a social media advert asking for people that work in agriculture and could sing or at least hold a tune! They were looking to record some adverts for beer but at that point we didn’t know it was for Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone brand. I was going through a bit of a rough patch for various reasons and thought “what the heck, I’ll apply” so I sent off my audition tape and found myself as one of the lucky 39 to be chosen. We were invited to Jeremy’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, to do some filming and we all hit it off instantly. I was totally out of my comfort zone singing in front of people, but it was the perfect distraction and has continued to bring me joy!
How have you found yourselves on Britain’s Got Talent?
We recorded the initial set of rather sweary(!) beer adverts and then did some Christmas adverts which all went down rather well. The next thing we know, our musical director, Simon Gwilliam, and choir director, Lizzie Deane are in talks with Britain’s Got Talent! The choir age ranges from 27 to 74 and we’re from across the UK – from down in Dorset, to my county of Oxfordshire where Jeremy farms, to Wales and all the way up to Northumberland, so we don’t get together to rehearse very often. But when we do, it’s like you’ve taken a bunch of grown-ups on a school trip!
The audition day was back in October. It was a very long day with lots of waiting around but the audience’s incredible reaction to our rendition of Elbow’s One Day Like This, and then Amanda Holden’s golden buzzer was a truly unbelievable moment that I will remember for life.
We had to keep it all a secret until the audition was aired six months later in March of this year, but we then got to experience the nations reaction as well which has just blown us all away! We really seem to have resonated with so many people, especially our fellow farming folk. It’s been really humbling to know the effect we’ve had on people.
What impact do you hope the choir can have beyond the stage?
It became clear pretty quickly that it wasn’t just British agriculture we’re all passionate about, but mental health in agriculture as well. Sadly, we had all known someone in the industry who had struggled with poor mental health or had struggled with things ourselves and could see how uplifting performing in the choir was. We wanted to spread that word and try and make a difference!
Every week three people in agriculture take their life. That is three people too many. I’ve worked in agriculture for over 10 years and have spoken to many a strong, burley farmer who has been struggling on without getting help. Farming can be an isolating and high-pressure industry, where long hours, financial uncertainty and stigma around speaking up mean mental health often goes unseen and unsupported.
Admitting you are struggling and asking for help with your mental health is seen as a taboo subject and it shouldn’t be, there are specific charities out there that understand what farmers go through and are there to help.
We want to shine a light on mental health in agriculture and make it an acceptable thing to talk about. If we are lucky enough to win BGT then we will be making donations to a very worthy selection of mental health charities who are there for our Great British Farmers.
How can viewers get behind you in the semi-finals?
We need your votes!
We are so excited to be performing in the semi-finals of BGT. Lizzie, our choir director, and Simon, our musical director has put together another brilliant song for you all and hopefully we will touch as many hearts with this song as we did with our first song.
We’ll only get through to the final the following week if you all vote. Please tune in on Saturday night at 7pm.
To vote, you need to register your mobile number on ITV Vote ahead of time, so you’re ready to vote after all the acts have performed.
If we get through, then please remember to tune in again to the final the following week as you’ll need your votes again so we can bag that all important prize money and really make a difference to mental health in agriculture.
What’s next for the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir?
The world is our oyster! We want to continue banging the drum for British agriculture and raising awareness for mental health. We have a few irons in the fire, so follow us on Facebook and Instagram to be the first to hear what exciting projects we have coming up.