Countryfile presenter Matt Baker has opened up about his "life-changing" decision to leave The One Show and return to his rural roots, saying he "didn't think twice" about giving up his BBC role to be with his family.
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Matt, who was born and raised in County Durham, first found fame as a presenter on children's television stalwart Blue Peter, joining in 1999 at the age of just 21. He went on to become one of the BBC's most recognisable faces, co-hosting The One Show alongside Alex Jones from 2011 until his departure in 2020.
Since leaving, he has focused on his role on Countryfile and his family life, starring in his own show, Our Farm in the Dales, alongside his wife Nicola and their two children, Luke and Molly.
The Life-Changing Decision
During a repeat episode of Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, Matt opened up about the decision. Alan kicked off the conversation by saying, "As life-changing experiences go, they don't come much more life-changing than sitting on a sofa on The One Show, interviewing people every day in the warmth, than going up to the Durham Dales and running your mum's farm...big decision to have to make."
"To be honest with you, Alan, it was kind of the reverse of that," Matt admitted before explaining, "It started 20 years ago when I left, because I went down to the big city of London to join Blue Peter and all of that, and for me, that was a world away from what I'd grown up with, and that was the time in my life when I was like, 'What is this? What is this place? How on earth do I move on from here?'"
Farming Calling from a Young Age
Matt revealed that he was only 20 when he decided that farming was his calling, even while working on Blue Peter. Rather than leaving his rural roots behind entirely, he sought out a slice of countryside life even in the city. The Countryfile star then discussed his mum, who suffered an accident on the farm after one of the sheep "ran into her". The incident proved to be a turning point, prompting Matt to step up and take a more hands-on role in running the family farm.
He revealed, "One of the sheep basically ran into her. She was standing in the doorway in the sheep pen, and it wanted to get back through to the other pen, and she happened to be in the way. She ended up smashing her leg down to the ankle." Matt explained that the farm then required alterations, and he "didn't think twice about heading back there and doing what needed to be done."
Balancing City and Country Life
He added, "For me, doing The One Show as I did for nine years, I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for that heartbeat being there. And so, yeah, so we have a small holding in the Chilterns, which meant that I could do all of that kind of stuff in the morning, and then head into London, often covered in mud, being laughed at by the production team. But for me, that's what life is about, you know, and I loved sitting and talking to all sorts of people from all sorts of walks of life."
His wife Nicola, whom he has been married to since 2004, has also thrown herself into farm life alongside him, and the couple has documented their experiences on Our Farm in the Dales. Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh is available to watch on ITVX.
