BBC presenter Matt Baker has revealed that a diagnosis of anaemia at the age of 13 forced him to abandon his dream of competing in gymnastics at the Olympics, a decision he described as heartbreaking.
The 48-year-old, known for presenting Countryfile and The One Show, as well as hosting Blue Peter and appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, has returned as the BBC's main commentator for the World Gymnastics Championships. His role in gymnastics broadcasting may surprise some viewers, but the sport has been central to his life since childhood.
Early Gymnastics Career
Baker began training as a gymnast at the age of five and quickly progressed through the levels, winning a North of England title and impressing judges with his routines. He even achieved a perfect score of 10 from the British Amateur Gymnastics Association in his youth.
Speaking about his early connection to the sport, Baker told the BBC: "Gymnastics was kind of a natural fit. I used to bounce around all over the place. I'd be climbing trees and grappling up anything. It just clicked with me. It was something that I loved, and I didn't have to think about whether or not I wanted to go."
He added: "It wasn't like my parents were pushing me into it. For me, to be able to express myself through movement is something that I thought, 'I've found it, and I want to do it for the rest of my life'."
The Diagnosis That Changed Everything
Baker's Olympic ambitions were shattered when he was diagnosed with anaemia at 13. The condition prevented him from training at the level required to continue advancing in gymnastics, leaving him with no choice but to step away from the sport.
Reflecting on that moment in an interview with Wiltshire Farm Foods, Baker said: "Ever since I was a little lad, it was my dream to be part of the Olympics. But I ended up having to stop my gymnastics in my mid-teens because I got anaemia. It meant I just couldn't train to the level that was needed, so I made the heartbreaking decision to stop."
He had previously told The Telegraph that the diagnosis left him "really upset" and shook his sense of identity. "When I was told aged 13 that I was anaemic and had to slow down my gymnastics training, which meant that I wouldn't be able to continue at the level I was at, I was really upset," he said. "I'd lost my identity in a way. But then I just committed to something else: I went off and became a North of England pole-vaulting champion and did sports acrobatics."
A Different Path to the Olympics
Although Baker never realised his ambition of competing as an athlete, he later joined the BBC's Olympic broadcasting team. The London 2012 Games were especially poignant when he was given the chance to carry the Olympic torch through his hometown in County Durham.
"When I got to carry the torch through my home city it was a real lump in your throat kind of experience," he recalled. "I've still got the torch that I had in the relay, it's a real prized possession of mine."
In 2021, Baker posted vintage newspaper clippings from his competitive years on Instagram, reflecting on how gymnastics shaped his career. "For all those asking... here's some clippings from my old scrap book! As a lad gymnastics was my life... it taught me the simple recipe if you work hard you get a result. Without my sport I would never be where I am today... #gymnastics #workhard," he wrote.
