It’s a glorious April morning and as the sun shines over the Kentish countryside, Dame Kelly Holmes can be found in the field neighbouring her home.
As a former British middle-distance runner and two-time Olympic gold medallist, Dame Kelly, 54, is no stranger to getting up and active in the morning – but not before she’s caught up with her herd of five alpacas.
“I always go down and have a little chit-chat,” she says as she sits down for an exclusive interview with hello!.
“I’m busy, I’m always going up to London on the train, and it’s just nice to go [to see the alpacas]. It’s therapeutic.”
Animals have always been a core part of Kelly’s life: her family – mother Pam, stepfather Mick and brothers Kevin and Stewart – shared their home with German shepherds and a cantankerous cat called Candy. But she could never have predicted that looking for a faster way to mow the lawn at her home in Hildenborough 15 years ago would upend her life quite so much – and for the better.
Weird but wonderful
On a run near her home, she remembers seeing “these weird things looking over the fence”. These “weird things”, explained the local farmer, were a herd of six-month-old alpacas. And their favourite food? Grass and hedges.
© @athenaalpaca / Millie Medd“I just said: ‘Oh my gosh, I think that’s what I need.’” Kelly bought two of the farmer’s alpacas before quickly expanding her herd to six – Liquorice, Polo, Creme Caramel, Toffee, Truffle and Fudge.
Since then, the TV presenter has grown to find a source of entertainment in her four-legged friends. “Liquorice is a bully. He’s literally bitten every vet that’s ever come straight away,” she laughs. “He goes up on his back legs… Polo goes around and Liquorice is following him like a rash.”
© @athenaalpaca / Millie MeddBut most of the herd can be friendly, she says. Polo is always happy to be scratched, showing his appreciation with a wag of his tail, while aloof smallest alpaca Truffle and his pal Creme Caramel enjoy rolling over to be showered with the hose.
The animals add joy to Kelly’s life. She says they offer her a sense of serenity amid a busy life that centres around motivational speaking and organising female empowerment events with her project The Athena Effect.
© @athenaalpaca / Millie Medd“I’ve always been open about my mental-health problems. I used to go into the middle of the field and just sit there,” she says. “I’d watch the alpacas, and whether they came up to me or just did their thing, it’s so therapeutic to watch animals just live with no hassle.”
No frills fun
The alpacas, who are shorn twice a year, are happy to live a no-frills lifestyle – and, as Kelly puts it, “they work for their feed”. Their days are spent outside enjoying the fresh air, in all elements.
“They’re so weird,” the star laughs. “I’ve got this hut, but it could be hailstones, snow, gale-force winds, hurricanes – they’re in the middle of the field,” she says. “Why are they standing out there in the middle of all of that? It’s bizarre.”
And their amusing antics have won them fans from around the world, with fame first arriving during the Covid-19 lockdowns, when Fudge sadly died.
“Sky News interviewed me with them in the background, and they were really messing around,” remembers Kelly, who also shares Shiloh the dog with her partner Louise Cullen. “Lockdown became really isolating for so many people, so I started filming them.”
At 7.30am every day, Kelly would start an Instagram livestream. “I noticed all the followers coming up and then all the messages saying: ‘They’re lovely.’
“I bought a paddling pool for them and I was washing them. I did it every morning for about two years and that’s how they got known.”
Perfect personalities
Not only have the alpacas captured the hearts of Kelly’s 135,000 Instagram followers, but their personalities have also endeared Liquorice, Polo, Creme Caramel, Toffee and Truffle to her family, including Kelly’s nieces and nephews.
© @athenaalpaca / Millie MeddKelly’s “boys” are also an integral part of Mick’s daily life. “He comes around every day anyway, so he feeds them when I’m not here – and when I am here, we do it between us,” Kelly says of her stepfather, whom she calls Dad.
“My dad’s 75 now, so it’s a routine. He lets the dog off over the field and comes to feed the boys, so he’s done it before I’m downstairs.” Although Kelly is busy with The Athena Effect, she says she’s looking at how she can expand her animal family; adopting a goat or a miniature donkey is high on her agenda.
© GettyAfter all, the star says the calming presence of a pet is an invaluable asset. “They’re not questioning you; they’re not getting involved with what’s going on,” she says. “They are just this serene, relaxing part of what your life can be.”
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“They’re not questioning you; they’re not getting involved with what’s going on,” she says. “They are just this serene, relaxing part of what your life can be.”
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