They emerged as unlikely heroes of lockdown: a farming family in Yorkshire who showed, even as the country was brought to a halt by Covid, that life went on when it came to rearing animals. Rob and Dave Nicholson of Cannon Hall Farm in Cawthorne, Barnsley, the stars of Channel 5’s On the Farm, kept millions of isolated viewers entertained with daily live broadcasts on social media.

“We were on Facebook 150 days in a row, doing everything we could to make sure everyone got through it with as much of their mental health intact as possible,” said Rob. “People were home on their own and we were their pals. We gave them a compass point in the day.”

Their loyal viewers, dubbed “the farmy army”, were keen to show their appreciation at “An evening on the farm” held by RTS Yorkshire in Leeds.

The series began in 2018 when Paul Stead, the CEO of Daisybeck Studios, was looking for new TV characters and was introduced to the Nicholson brothers at a food show in Barnsley.

“We didn’t take any persuading,” recalled Rob. “We believed we could do it and that we had a story worth telling. We have never shied away from any opportunity that has been offered to us.”

“The first year, I found it terrifying,” said Dave. “We had a live audience of 200 people and there were 50 or 60 crew; everyone’s looking at you. I found the pressure quite difficult. But then we started doing a lot on social media. I thought to myself: ‘It’s just like Facebook.’”

They and their father, Roger Nicholson, were naturals in front of the camera, and what started with Springtime On the Farm has now run for 90 episodes covering summer, winter and autumn too.

Channel 5 Commissioning Editor Dan Louw said: “There is something about it that is very anarchic and mad, but it is also incredibly sentimental. I’ve never laughed and cried so much at a show. Watching it, you feel better and more optimistic about the world. But it was during Covid that it really caught fire.”

Jules Hudson and Helen Skelton joined as presenters at that time, but had to do it from a distance, filming on iPhones in their back gardens and nearby fields.

“It was great to come into it at a moment when everyone wanted some good news,” said Hudson. “The story of the farm and farming year reminded us that life was going on outside of Covid. It was great to be busy and in such good company.”

The audiences stayed to watch post-lockdown, drawn in by the farming family’s affection for their many animals, and the brothers willingness to try crazy challenges. “It’s phenomenally brave to invite people in like they have,” said Skelton.

“A lot of farmers wouldn’t. It’s like you are inviting ­people in to assess your work and your care for your animals. When you have a live audience sitting and watching the lambing, it works because it is such a gamble in a good and a bad way.”

“Springtime is a high-wire act between life and death; it’s thrilling and distressing,” said Louw. “When a creature you think isn’t going to make it takes its first breath, that’s magical. The miracle of life makes your heart swell.”

The Nicholson family have become celebrities, with the brothers travelling as far as Texas to film the series. But they take it in their stride, seeing it as a platform to promote rural life and to make their father proud. “You put yourself out there in front of the cameras and invite comments,” said Rob. “But we will always champion farming because we genuinely want the best for it. We want it to survive and to progress and prosper into the next generation.”

‘An evening on the farm’ was an RTS Yorkshire event, hosted by the journalist Christa Ackroyd at The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds on 23 October. The producer was Jane Hall.