Reuben: Life in the Dales - Season 3

In the first episode, it's the height of summer and Reuben and the team are building a brand-new sheep pen for a local farmer. But when sinking a gate post proves trickier than expected the young boss, his girlfriend Jess, and workmates Capper Sonny are left scratching their heads.

Meanwhile, Reuben's younger brothers Miles and Sidney sweat it out on an arduous sheep shearing course. Attempting to clip three sheep in under 30 minutes and win the prestigious Blue Seal Shearer's certificate, dad Clive lends his expert eye and hopes his sons can make the grade.

Over on girlfriend Jess's farm, she and her dad David are also trying to shear their 300-strong flock for summertime. Though a shepherd's son himself, Reuben has never learned this traditional skill, preferring driving machines not clippers. But under Jess's tutelage, it's not long before he picks up the knack, and lends his 6 foot 7" might to the shearing operation.

Reuben and Jess are on a mission to throw Clive a 70th birthday party to remember, so armed with a truck-load of balloons they head to their local, the highest pub in England, where friends and family have gathered to celebrate.

This week, as late summer arrives in the Yorkshire Dales, Reuben and the gang are juggling work, adventures and a fair bit of unexpected drama.

At an idyllic country house that was once an historic Cumbrian pub, Reuben, Sonny and Jess are installing underground pipework - a job that should be straightforward, in theory. But as the trenches deepen and the pressure mounts, the cracks literally begin to show, and the team must think fast to keep the project on track.

Meanwhile, Reuben's dad Clive, and brothers Miles and Sid set sail across the Irish sea on a rare father-and-sons' adventure. They're bound for Donegal, where Clive has been invited to be the VIP judge at the legendary Clonmany Agricultural Show - Ireland's proud celebration of the Swaledale sheep he's spent his life breeding. As it's Miles and Sid's first trip abroad, they are determined to experience everything Ireland has to offer.

After a stormy ferry journey that forces them to find their sea legs, the boys are thrown straight into the hands-on art of sheep prep, where Sid discovers getting a prize ewe perfectly show-ring ready sometimes comes with a few splatters. Miles, meanwhile, lives out a young farmer's dream as he leads his younger brother on an epic vintage tractor run down to the spectacular Donegal coast.

The boys rejoin dad Clive with ringside seats at one of the show's biggest highlights - the All Nations Shearing Championships, where they witness the world's elite shearers race to clip sheep 20 sheep against the clock. And after completing their own shearing course earlier in the summer, the lads have huge respect for the competitors.

In the Cumbrian countryside, Reuben is grafting to finish an epic wildlife pond, shaping and smoothing the bank to get it ready for its feathered residents. While Reuben's digging goes without a hitch, Capper wedges himself so firmly in the muck that Sonny has to stage a muddy rescue. Up on the fells, Reuben and Jess turn their attention to a headcount of the heifers - or at least, try to.

Reuben and the gang battle a stubborn rock seam at the quarry, turning to restored vintage drills and risky expanding grout to crack it. In the fields, breeding season begins as rams are released among 300 ewes. The team also faces felling a dangerous tree using classic tractor power. As Bonfire Night looms, there's wood to gather, a Guy to make and toffee apples to prep.

Reuben and the crew take their vintage tractors out of retirement for a huge log piling mission for a farmer, but Jess's tractor has sprung a leak. In the quaint village of Brough, a tree has come down in a storm and broken headstones in the graveyard. Reuben and the team are called in to clear the wood, and while on site the church asks the group to repair a broken stay in the belfry.

Reuben and the team are hired to turn a hole in the ground, on a remote farm, into a vibrant pond. As January rolls in Reuben buys himself a new digger for the job which comes with extra wide tracks, ideal for digging in the winter weather. On Jess's family farm, she and dad David are more concerned with their frozen slurry tanker which has seized up overnight as temperatures dropped to minus 9.

At the quarry, new recruit Martin soon discovers that even a straightforward job can take an unexpected turn when a breakdown strikes. Elsewhere, Reuben and Jess take on an ambitious job creating a brand-new path leading to a special monument. Capper and Sonny set their sights on a restoring a rare vintage motorbike to raise money for men's mental health charities.

Reuben helps Jess during one of the most stressful moments in the farming calendar - the annual tuberculosis test for her dairy herd. Any cow found to be infected will have to be removed immediately, leaving Jess anxious as the vet begin testing each animal. Workmates Capper and Sonny continue restoring a vintage motorbike they plan to auction in aid of men's mental health.