When Matt Baker’s mum had a serious accident on his parents’ farm in County Durham, the former One Show presenter moved back to his home turf, a 100 acre farm in the Durham dales. Mum Janice had broken her leg and needed urgent knee surgery after being knocked off her feet and trampled by sheep.
The recent heartwarming More4 series Our Farm in the Dales, along with his wife Nicola and their two children told the tale.
“I never thought I’d put my family on the telly. But I would never have done a farm series unless I was 100 per cent in control of every single element. It was just a joy to do,” says Matt.
He credits his wife, Nicola, a former physiotherapist, for helping his mum get mobile again after her knee replacement surgery.
“She was able to treat her during lockdown when hospital appointments were hard to come by. She was there 24/7 helping her with her exercises. Mum is so well now, she’s hit her stride.”
On marriage success
Matt has been married to Nicola for 17 years and the couple met 23 years ago when Matt was 20, before he found TV fame starting with Blue Peter.
Is there a secret to their happy marriage? “I think friendship,” says Matt. “We have fun and when we’re getting too stressed, we laugh about it and step back.”
“Nicola’s writing young teen fiction at the moment, she is a brilliant writer. With my dyslexia and my challenges, she’s brilliant at all the things I’m not. That’s why we are such a good couple because she can do everything that I can’t.”
Now the family commute between the Dales and their own farm in Hertfordshire.
On his book and childhood
His new book – A Year on Our Farm – is a diary of the natural year and a glimpse into family life on his own farm and also includes hand drawn sketches.
“I realised how everything in my life had stemmed from where I had grown up,” he says.
Matt credits his parents with instilling in him a strong work ethic when he was growing up. It is one he hopes to pass onto his own children, Luke, 14, and Molly, 12, who help out on the farm.
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“My mum always says ‘Never waste a day’. There is always so much to do. I learnt about responsibility at a young age and that independence you learn at a very young age. You carry that through your life without even knowing it.”
While he is obviously close to both his parents, he smiles talking about his indomitable mum. “I have so much respect for her but I’m surrounded by strong women in my life! I’m outnumbered really. I’ve never known life without strong women. All the women in my life are role models for me. They really are, and it’s fantastic. We’ve got another little one coming through in Molly. She’s such a force of energy, as is my son. He’s fantastic.”
On new challenges
Matt's currently filming for the third series of Our Farm in the Dales. And he’ll be hitting the Yellow Brick Road in December when he stars in a spectacular festive arena tour of the World’s Biggest Panto, a production of the Wizard of Oz.
“I’ll be an acrobatic, laser-wielding wizard! I’m swapping the green fields of Our Farm in the Dales for Emerald City. It has a brilliant script and cast. I might even bring the Children in Need Rickshaw along for the ride.”
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