Countryfile star Hamza Yassin admitted he was ‘forced to live out of a car for nine months’ and even told a cover story to local villagers to conceal the truth.
The cameraman, 35, has been living in the remote Scottish Highlands for the past 17 years.
Before buying his ‘cottage in the Hebrides style’, where he has resided for 10 years, Hamza lived out of a car for several months.
Speaking in a revealing chat to The Times, Hamza shared: ‘I was waking up at 8am, pretending I was going on the ferry.
‘It turned out that they knew, they just never quizzed me. I didn’t have a fridge.
‘I had showers at a local campsite. I’m sometimes asked if I find it tough being a black man in the countryside. I usually say the wildlife doesn’t care.
Countryfile star Hamza Yassin opened up about previously living out of a van for nine months
The cameraman has been a much-loved presence on the show since joining in 2021
‘People were curious, not suspicious. They’d say, “What are you doing here?”‘.
Hamza previously told The Sunday Post about his family’s reaction to him living in the countryside.
‘They thought it would be a two-week thing, a phase. My dad said: “He will come ‘back to us when his clothes are dirty and he wants more home-cooked food.” But the phase is nearly 11 years old now, it is not a phase any more,’ he recounted.
Meanwhile, Hamza was left emotional after he ‘made history’ in the latest Countryfile episode.
Sunday’s (November 16) saw the star join forces with the team behind an ambitious conservation project.
Hamza helped release three of Britain’s rarest predators – wildcats – back into their natural home.
The Strictly alum branded this experience as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.
He continued: ‘To actually get given the privilege of releasing three wildcats into the wild is something special.’
Hamza achieved further popularity by winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2022, alongside pro partner Jowita
Estelle Morgan, one of the workers, responded: ‘You know, you’re the first person who isn’t project staff who is releasing a wildcat.’
Blown away by this revelation, Hamza remarked: ‘Really? That’s an honour, that is an honour indeed.’
They opened the wildcats’ pen and left food nearby, hoping it would encourage the animals to venture out.
Later in the episode, Hamza was left thrilled when a staff member revealed one of the wildcats had left its pen.
Earlier this month, Countryfile viewers were left in shock after a guest confessed to having ‘suicidal thoughts’ before breaking down in tears.
Presenter Sean Fletcher issued a warning to fans ahead of the distressing scenes.
It came as co-host Charlotte Smith examined the controversy surrounding inheritance tax for farmers.
In the episode, Charlotte sadly shared that Countryfile had contacted rural mental health organisations, disclosing that tragically two farmers had ended their own lives, and both families ‘cited inheritance tax as a contributing factor’.
Following this, Countryfile then introduced fifth-generation farmer Charles Rees who received a cancer diagnosis back in February.
Charles’ son Tom could face a hefty inheritance tax demand of £1 million.
Back in October last year, the Government introduced the ‘largest inheritance tax changes for farmers in decades’. It has since proved to be ‘catastrophic’ for family farms
A Countryfile guest who is battling cancer left viewers in shock as they confessed to having ‘suicidal thoughts’ before breaking down in tears during a recent episode
From April 2026, a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate will be levied on agricultural assets worth more than £1 million, which were previously exempt. This is half the usual rate of 40 per cent.
The committee backed the Government’s aim of overhauling APR and BPR to ‘close the loophole’ allowing wealthy investors to buy agricultural land to avoid inheritance tax, but said stakeholders and experts have proposed several alternative ways to reform these taxes.
These include increasing the tax-free combined cap for both taxes to £20 million but with potential ‘clawback period’ in which any land sold after being passed on, tapering to avoid a cliff-edge if the property is sold.
Speaking to Charlotte about the situation, he said: ‘I’ve been here for 70 years, it’s everything I’ve ever done.’
But then the conversation took a turn for the worst as she asked about the effect the looming tax has on the household.
He added: ‘It’s been hard for me lying in the hospital bed thinking, how am I going to save my farm? And trying to have all this treatment to save my life.’
‘And sometimes I think, what the hell are you doing it all for? Because if something don’t change by next April, I’d probably top myself.’
In response, Charlotte said: ‘You’ve really thought about that? Because of the farm?’, as he confirmed: ‘Oh God yes.’
She then turned to his wife, Ruth, and began to ask about her wellbeing.
Charles was then reduced to tears and had to excuse himself from the table.
Ruth attempted to respond to Charlotte’s question, but found herself overcome with emotion.
She said: ‘I find it very sad, when he was diagnosed, he generally said to me, one day he said, “To be honest with you, for the farm point of view, I’d be better off if I didn’t have the treatment”.’
Thankfully, since the interview was recorded, Charles has undergone surgery and currently on the mend.
Countryfile airs Sundays on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.
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