For the first time ever on Farmer Wants a Wife Australia, a new farmer will be brought in mid-season and one of the ladies vying for a spot at his farm will be former Valley Heights local, Ellen Dunger.

Following the exit of Farmer Dean from the show, an “intruder farm” will be introduced.

The entrance of Farmer Todd and a fresh crop of ladies, including Ellen, will be a surprise to the rest of the competitors.

Ellen, who is now a sports reporter on the Armidale Express, said the whole situation was unexpected for everyone, including herself, as they didn’t find out until shortly before filming.

“It’s pretty exciting and I guess it changes the show up a little bit and makes it a little bit more intriguing. [It will be] interesting to see the reaction from the public,” she said.

Unlike many of the ladies on the show, Ellen comes from an agricultural background.

She was raised in Valley Heights, where her parents still live, and went to school at St Thomas Aquinas Primary in Springwood before going to boarding school.

“I grew up riding at Hartley Valley Holiday Farm and worked in the Megalong Valley for four years through uni,” she said.

The passion for horses has continued throughout her life, and is a common interest with Farmer Todd who breeds horses.

She attended an agricultural boarding school in the Riverina, funnily enough alongside one of the other farmers, Dustin, and went onto study at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, before gaining employment as sports reporter for the New England with ACM (the owner of this masthead) nearly eight-years-ago.

“Sports was really what I wanted to do. I guess it’s boarding school that sort of made me fall in love with sport,” Ellen said.

“I got the job in Armidale and moved up with the intention of staying for a year to boost my career.

“Then I just settled into the laid back lifestyle. I enjoyed the job and just stuck around.”

But she still has strong Blue Mountains connections. Her mother grew up in Blaxland East in the same house her aunty and uncle live in. Her siblings are still in Valley Heights with another brother in Leura. Other family lives in Winmalee.

And, she added, “I am a big Penrith Panthers fan”.

Ellen’s decision to apply for Farmer Wants a Wife Australia received encouragement from plenty of people around her.

It was Ellen’s mum who had actually looked through this year’s batch of farmers, selecting and applying to Todd on behalf of Ellen, believing their lives would align pretty well.

For Ellen the whole experience was new and interesting, forcing her to step out of her comfort zone to “shake things up a little bit”.

“Usually I’m on the other side of the camera,” she said.

“I guess as journalists … we put other people in the spotlight and all of a sudden, I’m the one having to promote myself.

A bubbly and outgoing person, Ellen hopes the show will give viewers the opportunity to see a different side of her.

“I often say I’m basically like a kid at Christmas when I’m at a sports event, but with this I had to really tap into my emotions,” she said.

Ellen will appear on Farmer Wants a Wife Australia, from Sunday, May 5 at 7.30pm.