Big Week on the Farm producers are on the look-out for a keen ‘trainee farmer’ to be part of this year’s show.

The show, which was watched by an average of 312,000 people each night last year, is set to return to RTE for its third series in April.

The role is perfect for someone young and interested in farming – but not from a farm themselves. They would train for a couple of weeks in the run-up to the live shows (April 9-13) and also take part in the Big Week on the Farm live programme.

While the identity of this year’s host farming family is still under wraps, it’s understood the 2018 show will visit a dairy farm in Waterford.

Researcher Fiona Donnellan said: “It’s almost an apprentice role – they will spend the next month until the live show helping out on the farm.

Candidates will get the chance to work on a busy dairy farm, train in milking, calf rearing and calving. Full supervision with farm mentoring will be provided.

“This is a paid trainee role and most suitable to someone with no farm experience but a real interest in the inner workings of an Irish farmyard.

“They must be over 18, interested in being outdoors and farming, and can’t be camera shy – they’ll be required to make Snapchat videos of themselves and we’ll be catching up with them over the week to find out how they’ve been getting on.”

Donnellan said the show’s success was largely down to its interactive nature, and added that this was something producers would build on in the third series.

“This year we plan on doing lots of digital content to go along with the show – so that’s worth keeping an eye out for,” she said.

Researchers will begin making contact with hopefuls later this week. To apply, email: [email protected].