Copyright mirror
Vinnie Jones has revealed how his country life and farming programme helped to save a man’s life. The footballer-turned-actor has appeared on screens in various Hollywood films and TV programmes, including the likes of Guy Ritchie ’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Netflix’s The Gentlemen alongside Theo James. In 2023, the first series of his reality programme, Vinnie Jones in the Country, aired, following Vinnie documenting his life on a large farm in West Sussex after moving from Los Angeles. It saw him tackling renovation projects and ambitious builds as he adjusted to farming life, while also sharing a more personal side to him as he spoke about grief and sobriety. Vinnie has now revealed that his show has had an impact on saving a life. He told Country Life: “A guy came to my gate recently to tell me I'd saved his life. He had been watching an episode where I had been talking about how to keep going through tough times. “I believe the real way to man up is to talk about the hard stuff.” Vinnie shared that he’s keen to tackle the problem of rural loneliness and isolation, after his own journey with grief, following the death of his wife Tanya in 2019 to cancer. He continued: “We all have a different journey, but grief is roughly the same colour. I hope that with what I’ve been through and the joy I am going through now, I can help.” Tanya, who he married in 1994, was tragically diagnosed with skin cancer in 2013, which later spread to her brain. He has now found love again with partner Emma, who features in the series. Speaking to The Mirror last year, Vinnie shared: “You know, after four months, four years, five years, 10 years, you just keep moving forwards, the grief is always going to be in there. “It's how other things can control it. It's how much the flower can grow and and bloom. “I think, for me, grief was always black and grey, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be colours and happy memories.” He added: “Moving forwards, we meet other people that we are fond of and we fall in love with and vice versa.” This comes after reports Vinnie’s programme could be set to return for a third series on Discovery+. A source previously told The Sun: "In The Country was a sensation when it first aired, because it showed a very different side to Vinnie, who most people think of as a hardman on the pitch and the movie screen. In fact, images of him being at one with nature and tackling important issues, including men’s mental health, helped make it one of Discovery’s biggest shows.” Vinnie Jones in the Country is available to watch on discovery+.
