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Love in the Countryside

Factual: Families & Relationships

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Seven rural singles take the bull by the horns in a mission to find true love.

Seven rural singles from across the UK enlist the help of farmer's daughter Sara Cox as they take the bull by the horns in a mission to find true love. Can Cupid work his magic?

Series 1

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Sara Cox

Marie Sylvester

Dobs Vye

Justin Lennox-Bradley

FremantleMedia

Love in the Countryside: Series 1: Episode 5

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Episode 5

BBC Two - Love in the Countryside, Series 1, Episode 5

Richard sets his dates to work tagging 50 sheep to see how they measure up to farm life.

Sara Cox joins eight rural romantics as they begin the journey to find love. Richard sets his dates to work tagging 50 sheep to see how they measure up to farm life.

Love in the Countryside is a six-part series that sees eight rural dwellers from across the UK enlist the help of farmer's daughter Sara Cox in their quest for love. As Sara knows, if you work on the land, you are often wedded to it, so she takes the bull by the horns and goes on a mission to find our lonely rural romantics the partner of their dreams. All eight rurals posted detailed dating profiles online in the hope of attracting letters from urban singles looking to quit the hectic 9-5, in favour of a slower pace of life.

After meeting some of those that wrote in, 39-year-old sheep and cattle farmer Richard invited three potential love interests to experience rural life back at his farm. Thirty-three-year-old engineer Will is first to arrive, getting some quality time with Richard before retail worker Peter muscles in. Thomas, Richard's third date doesn't arrive until tomorrow, giving the two love rivals a head start in the contest to win Richard's affections. They are thrown in at the deep end when Richard sets them to work tagging 50 sheep to see how they measure up to farm life. Twenty-four-year-old Thomas arrives the following day. He has never had a serious relationship and is hoping that Richard could be his first, but he is not relishing competing with two other men for his affections. With all three men now in tow, Richard takes them all on individual dates to get to know them better. During the one-to-one dates it is clear that Will has caught Richard's eye but there seems to be a spark with Thomas too. If they want a relationship with Richard, his dates will have to be prepared to give up everything to move to the countryside and embrace farm life, and with all three men vying for his attention Richard has a tough choice to make.

In this episode we also catch up with 33-year-old Christine, who took over the family farm when her father died a year ago. After seven years of being single she has found the thought of dating tough. She previously invited two of the men she met at the speed dates back to the farm and it was pest controller Joe who beat the competition to win her over. Now Joe has invited Christine to his home turf in Milton Keynes to see if they have a future together. It has been two weeks since Joe last saw Christine and after he spent four days road-testing her life, it is time for her to get a taste of his. After showing her his bachelor pad and attempting to bowl her over at the skittle alley he takes her to a local pub where the conversation turns more serious. For things to work out between them Joe will have to leave behind his life in Milton Keynes and move to Dumfries - but is he up to such a huge commitment?

Sara catches up with 29-year-old equine vet Heather who previously invited three fine studs to spend some time with her to see if love could blossom. It was rugby boy Callum who she hit it off with the most. Sara's keen to discover if Heather's managed to avoid the 'one month curse' that usually strikes relationships. Another couple who have been together for a month are dairy farmer Pete and his chosen date Helen. To see if they are ready to move things to the next level, they are off on a romantic trip to the south of France. The couple have grown increasingly close over the past month with Pete visiting Helen at home and even meeting her family. They have now been together for a month and if romance is going to blossom between them, what better place than in Cassis on the Mediterranean coast? Before Helen can consider a potential move to Pete's farm, she wants to know he is prepared to embrace her interests too and one of her passions is scuba diving and snorkelling, which Pete seems keen to embrace. As the holiday comes to an end and farm duties beckon, the couple need to decide where to go from here. So, when two worlds collide, can cupid work his magic, and will our eight rural romantics find love in the countryside?

Love in the Countryside: Series 1

BBC Two

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Eight rural singles take the bull by the horns in a mission to find true love.

Eight rural singles from across the UK enlist the help of farmer's daughter Sara Cox as they take the bull by the horns in a mission to find true love. Can cupid work his magic?

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