David Attenborough and Jeremy Clarkson are the celebrities that best represent our countryside, according to Gen Z
Who are the ‘best champions’ of the Great British countryside? It is the farmers, say the youth.


Gen Z — of which I am a proactive and salient member — have spoken. And they have said that farmers are better champions of the countryside than politicians. We like Jeremy Clarkson and David Attenborough. The arcadia of England is good for our mental health but bad for our mobile-phone signal. We do not trust politicians when it comes to countryside issues.
Our thoughts have been revealed by a recent poll commissioned ahead of the Future Countryside Conference. It's no surprise that only 4% of my generation rated politicians as the ‘best champions’ of the countryside. With the duplicitous antics of the recent run of prime ministers, who can blame us? Gen Z is generally defined as those born between 1997 and 2012. From then until the present day, ‘lying’ has become as synonymous with ‘politics’ as bread is with butter, fish is with chips, and our generation is with avocado toast and untenable debt. When we see politicians in the press engaging with rural affairs, they are in wellington boots that don’t have even a speck of mud on them. We don’t buy it.
We do trust farmers (32%), and our other countryside champions are ‘residents in a village or rural area’ (15%), ‘activists or environmental campaigners’ (12%) and ‘well-known TV presenters’ (10%). Our top picks? The behemoth of Amazon, Jeremy Clarkson (17%) and the indisputable King of Nature Sir David Attenborough — who received a whopping 37% of the vote. Sir David’s documentary Wild Isles came top when the cohort was asked which TV show best represents country life, closely followed by Clarkson's Farm and Countryfile.
David Attenborough is looking good for a man who has been rizzing up rural affairs since 1926.
Jeremy Clarkson circa 1995 proving that it's not the size of your tractor that matters, it's what you do with it.
Additionally, more than half of Gen Z who were interviewed said that social media had influenced their decision to visit the countryside. And, with my Instagram clogged up with videos of rolling hills, clear-blue Scottish lochs and bountiful floral meadows all set to either Matt Berry’s Take My Hand or Daydream in Blue by I Monster, I can see why. In an increasingly frightening digital age, composed of bad news and even-worse news, a countryside escape seems more appealing than ever.
The research, conducted by ORB, also found that 36% of those who answered said that they visited the countryside to improve their mental health. Of the remaining individuals, 34% did so to connect with the natural world and watch wildlife and 30% did so for exercise. The most commonly referenced reasons for not visiting included a perceived lack of time (70%), transport costs (68%) and distance (73%). Many respondents also spoke about confusion over where they were able to visit certain areas and being put off by a lack of internet and phone signal. It’s true. We are all addicted to our phones.
The research concluded by revealing that more than 80% of my generation viewed the countryside as welcoming and worth preserving, but that only 24% of the 1,000 individuals polled would live there. Probably because, as lovely as rural life is, we just don’t know how available avocado toast would be.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Lotte is Country Life's Digital Writer. Before joining in 2025, she was checking commas and writing news headlines for The Times and The Sunday Times as a sub-editor. She got her start in journalism at The Fence where she was best known for her Paul Mescal coverage. She reluctantly lives in noisy south London, a far cry from her wholesome Kentish upbringing.
-
Wakehurst: 500 years of history, 2.4 billion seeds, 500 acres of planting, and scientists who might just save us all
Charles Quest-Ritson takes a look at the amazing work that's been done to update Wakehurst, Kew's trailblazing outpost in Sussex.
-
The reality of 20 years of house price rises in Britain, from the places that have had a charmed life to the spots where it's a struggle to move back home
At first glance the ups and downs of the property market seem to even out over time — but dig in to the numbers and you'll see wild regional variations which paint a very difference picture. Annabel Dixon analyses new research which tells the story.
-
David Beckham to guest edit Country Life
'I am looking forward to celebrating what the countryside means to me and my family,' says David Beckham as he gets ready to edit Country Life's issue of October 22, 2025.
-
Sophia Money-Coutts: How do you turn down another godchild without causing offence?
Sophia Money-Coutts is the new Debrett's and she's here every Wednesday to set some modern etiquette wrongs, right.
-
'I spent 84 years living in the countryside, and have just moved to a city. Here's what I've discovered.'
Charles Moseley has lived in a small village in Cambridgeshire for decades, but now he’s made the leap with his wife to the cathedral city of Ely, the subject of his latest book.
-
From the Country Life archive: The St Michael’s Mount Barge long oarsmen
Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
-
What was Andy Warhol really like? The Newlands House Gallery exhibition shows the artist like never before
The exhibition, in Petworth, West Sussex, shows the many layers behind the artist's public persona.
-
Quirky ceramics, Carey Mulligan and Greece: Lucy Williams's consuming passions
The content creator, and brand ambassador and consultant reveals why she loves stories about 'normal' people and the podcast she listens to on repeat.
-
Sophia Money-Coutts: When is a thank you letter still mandatory and when will a voice note (under a minute, please!) suffice
Sophia Money-Coutts is the new Debrett's and she's here every Wednesday to set some modern etiquette wrongs, right.
-
The Salt Path: The 630-mile trail that saved one couple’s life and inspired Britain to lace up its walking shoes
Raynor and Moth Winn were homeless and battling terminal illness when they made the decision to walk the South West Coast Path — and now Raynor’s best-selling book has been adapted for the big screen.