Mr Craven has presented the popular BBC rural affairs show for 37 years, having started in 1989.

Prior to that, the TV host had a 17-year stint on Newsround, having launched it on the BBC in 1972.

Away from TV, the 85-year-old lives in a village near Banbury with his wife, where the couple brought up two daughters.

READ MORE: TV legend praises Jeremy Clarkson after meeting him at Cotswolds pub

In an interview with the Yorkshire Post, Mr Craven previously revealed that he wanted his ashes to be scattered at his favourite spot in Yorkshire.

“Still one of my favourite places in the world is Wharfedale and Otley Chevin, where I used to cycle with my mates,” he said.

“I love the coast too, especially Whitby, though we had family holidays in Bridlington because I suspect it was a bit cheaper.”

“I’d like to come home and have my ashes scattered in Yorkshire, maybe on the top of Otley Chevin.”

More recently, at Great British Farm Fest in Warwickshire, Mr Craven spoke of “difficulties” with Countryfile at the start of the iconic British show.

READ MORE: Countryfile legend John Craven praised by TV star in honest admission

He said: “In the very early days of Countryfile, it was very difficult to get cameras onto farms and to get farmers to speak to us.

“It took a long time to win farmers over and let them open the gates of the farm and let us in.”

Farmers are now more open and willing to share their experiences, he said, but warned there remains significant questions over balancing food production with environmental goals.

“We need to up the amount of food that is produced in this country,” he said.

“The balance between environmental concern and the need to produce more food, that is the big issue that faces the country today.”

Customers arriving at Botley Road Waitrose this morning were still able to access a free coffee using their Waitrose card from one of the dispensers close to the front of the store.

But the other dispenser is out of order, and has leaked coffee and other liquid over the floor, with staff soaking up the mess with paper towels.

READ MORE: Waitrose issues new customer notice

“This time it’s got a leak there’s an engineer on 24-hour call-out who should be on his way,” said a member of staff.

A customer notice on the coffee machine at Waitrose (Image: Andy Ffrench)

Customers determined to get their caffeine fix stepped around the leak to get their free cappuccino or flat white.

Last month, the two coffee dispensers at the Botley Road Waitrose were out of order for about a week.

One of the dispensers was eventually fixed, but then broke again, leaving customers with the choice of going without their free coffee, or buying one from the store’s cafe.

Both dispensers were up and running for a short time, but now one has broken again – leaving staff and customers upset.

The issue is not a countrywide problem – coffee machines at other Waitrose stores including the one in Abingdon are working well.

One customer, who works on a nearby trading estate, said: “Like a lot of Waitrose customers I enjoy the perk of getting a free coffee using my Waitrose card.

“I can’t believe this has happened for the third time in two months – it does make me wonder why they don’t invest in some new machines.”

The Waitrose chain, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, restored its free coffee offer in January 2025.

Following outrage over the withdrawal of the offer during the pandemic, the company told the nine million members on its My Waitrose loyalty scheme they would again be entitled to a complementary americano, cappuccino, latte or tea once a day regardless of whether they bought anything – as long as they have their own reusable cup.

In a statement, Waitrose said at the time: “Some of our My Waitrose members like to have the free coffee before they shop or during the shop, rather than afterwards, so we are just offering a bit of flexibility in response to customer feedback.”

There were queues at coffee stations and complaints from customers that the offer was attracting the “wrong type of shopper” when Waitrose introduced the perk in 2013.

In 2017, it cracked down on ‘freeloaders’ by forcing members to buy something before pouring themselves a free hot drink.

The scheme was scrapped during the Covid crisis, but reintroduced in November 2022 – again for customers making a purchases. This is no longer a requirement.

One of the windows in the supermarket’s cafe remains boarded up after a Blue Badge driver in the car park crashed into the cafe.

Several police officers were spotted at the unauthorised site at Oatlands Road recreation ground off Botley Road on Monday afternoon, June 15.

Thames Valley Police said they were there to hand out the relevant notices, with three police cars and a police van parked up in Ferry Hinksey Road.

Bags of litter was spotted strewn across the grass close to the parked caravans on the perimeter of the field.

READ MORE: Naked man ‘sporting black rubber head mask’ spotted walking along river

One policeman was spotted talking to some of the people at the encampment while dogs were barking.

Around 15 caravans, along with the associated cars and trucks, have pitched up at the recreation ground.

Thames Valley Police has been approached for further comment.