Hawkstone Farmers Choir say mental health message 'most important'

A member of a choir that won the 2026 edition of Britain's Got Talent has said spreading their message is "the most important thing". James Florey from the Hawkstone Farmers Choir, that was initially put together by TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson as part of an advertising campaign for his Cotswolds-based brewing firm, said their win "hasn't really sunk in yet". The choir is made of farmers and people working across agriculture from all over the UK. Florey, who comes from Oxfordshire, said the choir's goal was to "potentially raise more money for charity going forward". In an Instagram post, the choir said that after its initial advert assignment, "something shifted". "Over the last year, this choir has become something far bigger than music. "It's become a community built on shared experience, resilience and understanding." Florey said that while winning had been "brilliant," it was "never really about that". "It was about spreading that message, that's the most important thing for all of us," he added. In February, the Farm Safety Foundation's Mind Your Head project said the mental wellbeing of UK farmers was at a four-year low, following 47 suicides in 2024 alone – a 7% increase fr