SIX Welsh celebrities swapped the red carpet for bales of hay and high heels for wellies in the TV Olympigs.

The sextet of stars were the among the latest of crop of contestants in the popular television farming challenge show, Fferm Ffactor, which is a staple of prime time viewing on S4C.

They were taking nothing for grunted when they were set the challenge of building a pig sty using wooden pallets and sheets of plywood at Coleg Cambria’s Llysfasi agricultural college near Ruthin.

The competitors also had to try their best not to make a pig’s ear of herding a pig called Donald, named after the American president, into a livestock trailer made by Ifor Williams Trailers who are based in North Wales.

Viewers will be able to find out if there is a twist in the tale when the challenge features during the new series of Fferm Ffactor which is made by Caernarfon-based TV production company Cwmni Da.

The team is made up of former psychiatric nurse turned stand-up comedian, script writer and actor Eilir Jones, actress Donna Edwards and women’s international rugby player Dyddgu Hywel who will be lining up against soprano Gwawr Edwards, composer Robat Arwyn and drag queen Maggi Noggi.

Fferm Ffactor presenter Ifan Jones Evans said: "A couple of them have a little farming experience but some have none whatsoever. It’s going to be a lot of fun. And as pigs are notoriously stubborn and uncooperative when the mood takes them you have to wonder what could possibly go wrong? It’s certainly promises to be a lot of fun.

“The challenge is split into two parts. Firstly, building a pig sty from the materials each team has been supplied with. The sty needs to be sturdy enough to contain the pigs of course providing them with shelter and an area to exercise in.

“Then the pigs have to be coaxed out of the respective Ifor Williams trailers and herded into the sties. The two teams will be judged on their performance and how good their sty’s are.

“The second part of the challenge will involve each team member tasting different milks and identifying from which farm animal the milk is from.”

The first episode of the series will be broadcast on S4C at 8pm, on Saturday, April 11, and one featuring the porcine challenge will go out a week later on Saturday, April 18.

"Having seen the teams make a start on their pig sty’s I have to say I’m impressed. Maggi Noggi has really taken the bull by the horns and is very hands on," Ifan said.

“Fferm Ffactor is a fantastic and very popular show and we have been helped massively over the years by Ifor Williams Trailers who always provide us with trailers when we need them."

Drag queen Maggi Noggi who claims to have lived on a farm in Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf on Anglesey since she was a little girl, says the challenge wasn’t going to prove easy.

She said: “We keep Jersey cows on the farm for their milk and we have Friesians too but the only pigs I’ve worked with were at Holyhead Docks on a Thursday night.

“The trouble with the countryside is that there are lots of animals running about that are uncooked. I thought I’d be handling pork scratchings, bacon sandwiches or chops."

Composer Robat Arwyn, of Ruthin, says he felt like a fish out of water when it came to working with livestock.

He said: “My wife, Mari, is a farmer’s daughter and she would be far better suited to this challenge than me.

“However, the idea of the show is about people with no experience of livestock and farming getting their hands dirty. I’ve never been near a tractor or any livestock quite frankly although I think I took my children to a petting farm once many years ago.

“I’m really pleased with how it went especially considering our lack of experience.

"I can’t give anything away but I’m pleased with how we performed as a team.”