For “The Farm” lovers, 71-year-old Hans Seierstad has become a well-known face.
– Felt completely alone
Seierstad has had the job as a mentor for two seasons of the reality show, and has now been seen on screen during this year’s celebrity season, which is soon coming to an end.
Seierstad told Dagbladet that in order to get the job as a mentor, he had to meet three requirements: speak a dialect, have a beard and wear round glasses.
– So that became my job, he says with a laugh.
Being stopped on the street
If we are to believe the 71-year-old, he thrives in the role of mentor.
– I am an old farm boy and grew up on a farm. Through my grandparents, I have heard about how it was in the past, so it’s fun to be able to go back in time at “The Farm”, he tells Dagbladet.
Lost on purpose after shock notification
The reality program is one of TV 2’s most popular concepts, which leads to a slight increase in attention when Seierstad is out in public.
– After “The Farm” I’m often recognized and stopped in the street, and I think I’m a bit over the top, he says with a laugh, but quickly adds:
– But as a mayor, I’m probably a bit more used to attention than others possibly are.
The past comes in handy
Because being a public figure is nothing new for Seierstad. He was county mayor in Oppland from 1999 to 2003, and then mayor in Østre Toten from 2003 until he retired in 2015.
MAYOR: Hans Seierstad has a past as mayor. Photo: Private
sea view
The former job as mayor comes in handy in the role of mentor, says Seierstad. When he appeared in the program in 2021, he used knowledge from his background as mayor.
TV 2 confirms reactions
– The participants had conducted a municipal election, but I was the only one who discovered that the ballot boxes were not sealed. I therefore chose to decline the assignment. If you don’t seal them in the “real world” then there will be re-elections, and this is something I have a little special knowledge about.
– Then I got a phone call from someone at the Storting who completely agreed with me that it had to be rejected.
Rejecting a weekly assignment is not something Seierstad takes lightly – quite the opposite.
– It hurts to deny, because I feel sorry for the big farmer. The game is getting to me a bit.
– Mostly positive
It is not just in the streets that Seierstad gets attention. He tells Dagbladet that he also receives a number of messages.
– Most of the messages are about us mentors being compared to each other. Some are perceived as too strict, and some as a little too kind. I have the impression that I am somewhere in between, and the feedback is mostly positive.
Harassment after TV participation: – Stupid
– People sometimes wonder how I could turn down an assignment, but I don’t make decisions all by myself. I have a crew that helps to discuss and we mostly agree. But some details I am more careful that they have been done correctly, and I cannot approve just because people are hungry, he chuckles.
The participants, on the other hand, are no strangers to complaining about the mentor and his choices.
– When they don’t manage the assignment, it’s “the mentor is too strict” or “the mentor doesn’t understand”. I still took it to mean that this year we had a good time when we met, and that it was accepted that I sometimes had to correct and be a bit strict.
– I thought: “Hell”
In other seasons, the mentor’s wife is often seen when the weekly assignments are to be judged. According to Seierstad, it was never a topic from the production side that his wife should be involved this year.
Nevertheless, she got a small hand in the game.
– My wife is good at butter dough and housework, so I got some good advice from her when needed. Next time they might choose a female mentor?
