Britain’s Fittest Farmer 2026: The winners crowned

Claire Moreton, Edward Holmes, Paul Harrison and Charlotte Merson have been declared this year’s Britain’s Fittest Farmer winners after a fierce contest played out at Diddly Squat Farm, Oxfordshire, last weekend (26 September).

Entrants used everything in the tank to blitz a series of physical challenges across the male and female under-40 and over-40 categories.

Scores were combined with the results from the mental health rounds to determine our four overall winners.

See also: How farm’s cattle-handling revamp ups efficiency and safety

Family and friends travelled from across the country to cheer on a total of 35 finalists who took part. Even members of the public visiting the Diddly Squat Farm Shop stopped to watch the action.

And while there was plenty of rivalry and banter, pushing everyone to give that little bit more, there was also solidarity between competitors in what is agriculture’s ultimate mental and physical challenge. 

Farmers Weekly caught up with the triumphant winners – who each take away £1,000 – at the podium.

Women Over 40 winner: Claire Moreton

Age 42, Location Gloucestershire

Asked how it felt to win her category, Claire Moreton laughed: “Well I’ve stopped crying! Now I think it’s hitting. It’s just incredible. It really does feel like everything I’ve put in is being rewarded… it means the world to me.”

Claire keeps fit getting in nearly 30,000 steps a day on the dairy farm where she looks after heifer rearing and replacements, as well as a small suckler beef herd.

Day to day, you can find Claire feeding cattle, moving electric fences, cleaning sheds, rearing pedigree British Blue bulls, and bedding the animals during winter. 

She reckons there is one part of farm life that translates particularly well to the competition: mental resilience.

“Even when the exercise is getting hard, you know in your mind that you can push through because you’ve probably had days where you’ve worked on no sleep and you’ve just got to get it done,” she said.

That resilience was tested alongside a healthy dose of rivalry, particularly with fellow competitor Fiona Penfold, who was placed third in the Women Over 40 category.

“I need to thank Fiona. She was on my tail at times and I was on her tail. We really egged each other on to go as fast as we could,” said Claire.

The pair met through Britain’s Fittest Farmer in 2019 and have stayed in touch ever since. Claire has also kept in contact with several of the other women she competed alongside that year, often through social media.

“I’ve made some lifelong friends by doing Britain’s Fittest Farmer,” she said. “Farming is a lonely business. Friendship is one of the biggest things I will take away from Britain’s Fittest Farmer.” 

Men Under 40 winner: Paul Harrison

Age 24, Location Cumbria

Paul Harrison, who farms with his family in Cumbria and works as a coach and sports massage therapist, finished third in his category in last year’s competition.

Asked how it felt to swap bronze for gold this year, Paul said: “Really happy. I trained lots. It’s like, paid off a little bit. And I don’t have to work this weekend.”

Paul could pinpoint the moment he realised he had a shot at the trophy. After struggling in the deadlifts and truck pull, he won the wall balls and built momentum through the subsequent events.

Going into the final event, he knew third place would be enough to secure the overall win. He went one better, winning the event outright.

As well as keeping Paul physically and mentally focused, Britain’s Fittest Farmer has been good for the health of his farm business after he was inspired last year by two entrants who diversified and changed their systems.

The 2025 Women Under 40 winner Emily Meakin hosts running and wedding events on her farm in Staffordshire, and competitor James Gilboy manages his Hampshire family farm with a focus on regenerative principles.

“They’ve got some really cool things that I want to push with our farm,” said Paul.

Women Under 40 winner: Charlotte Merson 

Age 36, Location North Yorkshire

When Charlotte Merson disappears into her small home gym for half an hour at 10pm every night, her family thinks she’s “pretty mad”.

But over the years, finding the time for fitness has become non-negotiable for her, even with everything else the busy mum has to fit in, including her role as a programme delivery manager at Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust.

“I have to give 100% to work. I have to give 100% to being a mum, and then I also volunteer for a couple of other organisations. I do what I can for my fitness in the half hour that’s left at the end of the night,” she said.

When it came to the competition, there was never any question of giving up: “Oh my gosh, I don’t quit,” said Charlotte. “However hard it gets, there is no part of me that will ever, ever give up.”

Still, the win took her by surprise: “I’m blown away. It’s incredible. I didn’t expect it at all as the standard was amazing and the other girls were phenomenal.”

But Charlotte wasn’t competing only for herself: “I want to do it for the other mums out there,” she said. “I’ve got a five-year-old and I was quite a good athlete before being pregnant.

“Having [my daughter] was exhausting, challenging and it was so difficult finding just a few minutes a day to do some exercise. I really lost my identity and my fitness.

“So I’m doing it just to show that you can do it. You can lose everything fitness-wise and rebuild and come back stronger.”

Her daughter was delighted with the win, admitted Charlotte. “I mean, the trophy is now hers. And I think her dolls and her puppy are going to go sit in it and use it as their chair!”

Men Over 40 winner: Edward Holmes

Age 48, Location Warwickshire

Edward Holmes runs a forestry business, and one particularly difficult winter showed him the value of being able to keep pace physically with his team.

“Last winter, the conditions got terrible. It rained every day,” he said. “The machines wouldn’t work anymore, and we actually had to resort to the old-fashioned way of just getting on and hand-picking.”

He found himself taking the initiative out in the field to get the job done. “I’m 48 years old now; being able to lead that team and match anyone physically – that’s a big thing.”

After previously reaching the finals in both 2024 and 2025, Edward was thrilled to finally win the title. “It is absolutely fantastic,” he said. “Third time to get here; I’m absolutely delighted.”

His whole summer had been focused on getting to the finals, but all the same he hadn’t expected to win. “If it didn’t happen, I would deal with it. But I have absolutely put everything into this.”

As for defending his title next year, Edward wasn’t ready to make any promises just yet.

However, he was keen to encourage other farmers to give themselves the opportunity to experience the competition, which welcomes entrants of all fitness levels.

“I am such a supporter of what this whole event and what the day is about,” he said.

“Although I have the title now – and honestly, it means so much to me – it’s important that other people get the chance.”

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Applications for Britain’s Fittest Farmer are currently closed, but you can register your interest for next year’s competition.