(Image: CHANNEL 4)
Amanda Owen has admitted the restoration of Anty John's may "never be complete", despite the project originally being expected to take just 18 months.
The Yorkshire Shepherdess has spent the past three years restoring the centuries-old farmhouse in Swaledale alongside former husband Clive, their children and a team of tradespeople.
The ambitious project has formed the heart of Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids, which follows the family as they attempt to turn the remote property into a new home.
But speaking at a special behind-the-scenes event in Northallerton on Wednesday, September 30, Amanda revealed there is still no firm end date in sight.
Amanda, Clive and their children (Image: CHANNEL 4)
She told the audience: "It was initially supposed to take us 18 months to complete the whole rebuild, but we've managed to spin it out.
"We can't say how long it'll be before it's complete."
She said: "I don't think it'll ever be complete, there's always antique items we see at auction or the garden needs doing or other parts of the build, it will take a long, long time."
Amanda said one reason the family is unwilling to rush the project is the history contained within the property.
She added: "There's so much history in those walls of Anty John's and we want to do it justice, so we don't want to rush it at all."
Her comments drew amusement from television producers and executives present at the Northallerton event, whose jobs involve filming and commissioning the programme.
The Royal Television Society event was billed as a behind-the-scenes celebration of Our Farm Next Door, with the organisation noting that it is now three years since the Anty John's renovation began.
The project has already lasted considerably longer than Amanda says was initially expected, but the extended timescale has provided the programme with an evolving story across several series.
Anty John's will again be at the centre of the forthcoming fourth series.
Wise Owl Films, the production company behind the show, has revealed that the farmhouse's plastered walls are finally dry, allowing floorboards to arrive, painting to begin and furniture to be moved into individual rooms.
The family will also tackle one of its biggest practical challenges yet as they bring a piped water supply across the moors and into the house for the first time.
Channel 4 previously confirmed Wise Owl Films had been commissioned to make two further series following the Owens as they continue renovating the centuries-old property.
Despite those milestones, Amanda's latest comments suggest viewers should not expect Anty John's to receive a neat "finished" moment any time soon.
And with the family still thinking about the garden, antiques and other parts of the property, the restoration could remain part of their lives – and the programme – for some time yet.
Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids returns to More4 for its fourth series in October.