EXCLUSIVE: A woman who worked on Noel Edmonds’ River Haven vineyard in New Zealand has revealed what the locals really think of him.
Noel Edmonds worked with Julie on his River Haven ineyard (Image: Julie Crook)
A woman who worked with Noel Edmonds on his River Haven estate in Ngatimoti, New Zealand has revealed what he is really like when the ITV cameras aren’t rolling. The TV star famously decided to leave the UK behind in 2019 after being booted out of I’m A Celebrity and went on to buy a £15m estate, River Haven, with 12 properties including a pub called The B*gger Inn and his own vineyard.
These locations are now set to be featured in a new ITV documentary, which will feature the former Deal or No Deal presenter hard at work and making his new life on the other side of the world. Julie, who lives close to the River Haven estate but is originally from the UK, got to work with Noel on his vineyard after she volunteered to help him harvest his grapes. Their time on the vineyard was followed by cameras for the ITV series, but Julie said that Noel was just as nice when the cameras weren’t running.
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Julie Crook worked hard harvesting grapes at River Haven (Image: Julie Crook)
She told Express.co.uk: “He’s just the kind of man who goes out of his way.
“He doesn’t put it on just for the camera, he’s just a really nice guy. While we were working on the vineyard, he was giving us water and ice pops, and he got to know everybody’s name and even when you go to the Bugger Inn for a meal, he’ll just come over and just have a chat whether you know him or not, and some Kiwis don’t even know that he’s a celebrity. He doesn’t shy away from hard work either, he was getting his hands dirty.”
Julie addressed the backlash that Noel and his purchase of River Haven has been receiving since he moved, saying: “I disagree with what the press and locals are saying, because they just don’t get it.
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“I think what he is doing is great, because this is a tourist area, because it’s on the way to the Abel Tasman. It’s just bringing tourism into Ngatimoti, which is where his vineyard is, and it’s a little rural village. He even donated $10,000 to the local school because they were in debt, he is so nice.”
She admitted that the “clever” TV personality has a very dry sense of humour, which Kiwis don’t get tend to understand.
She said: “I don’t think because they don’t get him and as an immigrant from the UK, we have the English banter so I understand it, and Kiwis don’t get that sense of humour, and it can come across as a bit weird to them.”
But fans can tune into Noel and his wife Liz integrating with the locals in the first episode, with some special moments including him describing his wellness routine, his golden statue outside of his pub and Noel revealing he “was an emperor in a past life”.
You can also read Express.co.uk’s review here.
Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure airs on ITV1 and ITVX on Friday, June 20 at 9pm.
