Behind the Hollywood hardman persona of Vinnie Jones is a gentle and warm man who cares very deeply about the countryside, mental health and well-being.
Countryside champion Vinnie Jones is back for a brand new series of his popular show celebrating rural and farming life.
Discovery+ has confirmed Vinnie Jones in the Country will be returning for a third series on February 2.
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The previous two seasons have focused on renovation work at the former football hero's more than 809 hectare farm in Sussex; with camaraderie, humour and emotion all key pillars behind the show's success.
He if fondly remembered for his footballing career as a menacing midfielder, especially during his FA Cup winning days at Wimbledon, and as a Hollywood hardman on the big screen as Big Chris and Bullet-Tooth Tony in filmmaker Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
However, the series has let viewers in on a different side to Vinnie as a kind, gentle, funny and passionate man who cares about the countryside, nature, well-being, and friendship; unshackling the tough guy persona which has stayed with him for much of his life.
In the new series, Vinnie talks about the recent passing of his mother, men's mental health with Sussex singer Rag'n'Bone, buying and renovating another farm, and new additions on-farm after Pip gave birth to a litter of puppies.
Specifically on well-being, Vinnie said: "There's a lot of mental health [on the programme this year].
Saving a life by talking
"I had a guy come up to me at the gate [of his 400 year old Sussex farm] and say you have saved my life watching the show.
"It is important for people like myself to share what I have been through and say it is alright. We have been there.
"I tell them how I dealt with things."
Learning to talk openly about his feelings has helped Vinnie to deal with his mother's passing.
"You will learn that when you get to my age, you start dealing with grief a lot more than what you want," he added.
"My mum would have wanted me to do that.
"I just got on with it and kept busy [working on the farm]. It is the way to do it.
"But sometimes it is nice to get the stick and the dog and go for a walk up the woods and see a deer, a red kite or a buzzard and say, 'what is he thinking?'
"Something will knock you down [in life], but what defines any of us is how you get up and how you deal with it.
"Keep swinging is what I say."
Rural life is a mainstay for Vinnie, and he revealed that he hosts regular breakfast mornings on-farm with producers as often as he can.
"We do it [host breakfast mornings] on a Wednesday. All the farmers in the area, friends, and lads come. The gates are always open," he says.
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"We talk about different things where someone might have a problem with his son or his daughter.
"It gets me back to my footballing days in the dressing room. You are engulfed with 30 blokes and you have to fend for yourself.
"The camaraderie goes both ways."
Filming for Netflix series The Gentleman has already wrapped and is due to be released later this year, with Vinnie returning as gamekeeper Geoff Seacombe.
Vinnie has also revealed he will start filming alongside Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham on Monday (January 26) for gangster thriller Viva La Madness.
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