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Privacy NoticeCountryfile’s much-loved Matt Baker has quieted frantic fans who speculated that he turned his back on his farming roots for the glitz and glamour of the TV world. Speaking to TV Times, Matt shed light on his latest venture, the Channel 4 reality programme Our Dream Farm, where hopeful contestants compete to earn a decade-long tenancy on a stunning Northumberland farm. The 46 year old star, who grew up on a farm close to Durham before routing his fame through Countryfile and BBC’s The One Show, confessed that he’s hardly ever been “without a flock of sheep” in his lifetime. Baker declared: “I’ve never left the family farm, but the general public sees me sitting on The One Show’s sofa and thinks, ‘Oh, now you live in a town’. But I’ve only ever lived six months of my life without a flock of sheep.”
Matt Baker is back on our screens in BBC One’s Countryfile
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
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Not one to sit on the side-lines while filming Our Dream Farm, vibrant host Matt admits that he “couldn’t not get involved” in the farming community. Contestants on Our Dream Farm vie for the win on Gallows Hill Farm, a sprawling 137-hectare property with a Grade II-listed farmhouse nestled in the National Trust’s Wallington Estate. Still donning his farmer overalls, Matt expressed his desire to shine a light on the tenant-farming system through the show, to inspire those enamoured with farming life yet lack the funds to buy their own piece of countryside haven. The show was described by him as “a bit like The Apprentice” with “real people”, “real ideas”, and completely unlike the concept of “Strictly Come Farming”, reports the Express. He expressed that he wouldn’t mind his teen kids, Luke and Molly, taking up farming in the future, but what mattered to him most was their commitment to giving it their all regardless of their career path. Earlier this year, it came to light that Matt’s mum, Janice, had stepped in to assist on the farm due to certain “complications” he was facing during the lambing season.
Matt has revealed that he’s “only ever lived six months of my life without a flock of sheep”
(Image: BBC Studios/Pete Dadds)
There was a video showing the duo attending to a sprained leg of a young lamb, with Janice being seen attaching a yellow bandage to the little creature. These visuals were welcomed warmly by the viewers who were pleased to see Janice having recovered from her own injury – a broken leg thanks to sheep flock that knocked her over on the farm. Recently, Matt opened up about why he decided to leave The One Show in 2020 during his chat with Gabby Logan on the Mid Point podcast in March. He shared that he had pondered over what was the point of continuing with something he’d been doing for nearly a decade. In his words: “It was that part of me saying, ‘Look, was this ever a goal?’, and ‘what are you actually working towards?'” Going ahead, Matt commented: “And then I thought, I’m just going to [leave]. I’m just going to go because if I don’t, I will probably be here forever.” Countryfile airs tonight at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnBlueThe ApprenticeThe One ShowMatt Baker
