Countryfile presenter Matt Baker has opened up about the 'life-changing' decision to leave his role on The One Show to help run his parents' farm in the Durham Dales. Speaking in a repeat episode of Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, Baker explained that the move was not a sudden change but something he had been working towards for 20 years.
Baker's Longstanding Connection to Farming
Baker told Titchmarsh that his love for farming began when he was just 20 years old, even during his time on Blue Peter. 'I was going out to the countryside around the Chilterns, finding a little place with a paddock, getting some sheep very quickly, getting a sheepdog from up in the Durham Dales, and having that in my life that allowed me to carry on in Blue Peter,' he said.
Titchmarsh asked if Baker had ever parked his farming interests, to which Baker replied, 'I needed it, and it's always been there as a big part of my life.'
Mother's Accident Prompted Return to Farm
Baker shared that his mother suffered a serious accident on the farm after a sheep ran into her, causing her to smash her leg down to the ankle. '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,' he recalled.
Following the accident, the farm needed changes, and Baker said he 'didn't think twice about heading back there and doing what needed to be done.'
Life Lessons for His Children
Baker spoke fondly about the farm's impact on his children, recounting a moment at lambing time when his daughter asked the same question he had asked his mother at her age: 'Surely there's something you can do to bring this lamb back to life?' He noted, 'You never get used to those feelings, but you become familiar with them, and it's those life lessons that really set you up.'
He added, 'I'm really proud that when something challenging happens, you know, there's a sheep that's got its head stuck in a fence, or a water trough that needs fixing. At that age, you deal with it. You're thinking, "Right? What can I do? How can I repair it? What have I got around me?" And those little decision things that you don't even realise at the time are so influential.'
Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh is available to watch on ITVX.
