BBC Countryfile presenter Matt Baker has revealed that moving from his rural family home in the Durham Dales to London for his role on Blue Peter was a major 'shock to the system.' The 48-year-old broadcaster, who now lives on an 11-acre property in the Chiltern Hills with his wife Nicola and their two children, admitted the transition was 'a really unhappy time' as he struggled to adapt to urban life.
From Durham Dales to Blue Peter
Baker moved to a farm on the western edge of Durham with his family at age 10. His bucolic lifestyle ended abruptly when he secured a presenting job on Blue Peter, recorded in London. Speaking to HouseBeautiful magazine last year, he recalled: 'When I first moved from the Durham Dales to a flat in London to work on Blue Peter, it was a shock to the system, and a really unhappy time because I wasn't used to living like that.'
He added that finding a cottage with land and getting sheep restored his happiness. 'The longest I've ever been without a flock of sheep is six months,' he said. 'I didn't realise how much a part of my life the countryside and farming were until they weren't there.'
Thriving in Nature
Baker describes himself as happiest in nature, valuing the rhythm of 'noticing the seasons change' and farming patterns. For him, the countryside is where he feels 'most productive, creative and useful.' After seven years on Blue Peter, he moved to The One Show as co-host for nine years alongside Alex Jones. He has been a Countryfile presenter since 2009 and recently fronted Channel 4's Our Dream Farm, which followed seven aspiring farmers competing to manage a 600-acre farm in Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park.
In 2021, Baker documented his return to his parents' Durham Dales farm in Our Farm in the Dales, after his mother Janice was injured by their flock. Matt Baker appears on Countryfile this Sunday at 7.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
