WORDS OF WISDOM
Best advice I was given
If somebody else is doing
it, then there’s no reason
why you can’tAdvice I’d give
Luck is a lifetime of
preparation waiting for
a moment of opportunityWhat I wish I’d known
That everything was going
to turn out all rightCHANNEL 4B
aker grew up on a
100-acre farm in the
Durham Dales. He
studied drama at Queen
Margaret University
College, Edinburgh, but
left after landing a presenter
role on Blue Peter. He went on
to present The One Show for
nine years. In 2020, after his
mother, Janice, broke her leg,
he moved back to the family
farm with his wife, Nicola,
and teenage children, Luke
and Molly. He now combines
farming with presenting
Countryfile and running his
TV production company.You don’t need an alarm clock
on our farm. The dawn chorus
kicks in without fail and that
sets off a chain reaction: our
cockerel crows, the donkeys
start braying and the dogs
start barking, so I’m always up
at first light to shut them up.
The first job is feeding the
dogs, who will be going nuts,
and then it’s on to the donkeys.
I’ll feed them and, while I’m
there, I’ll muck out so they’re
all ready for bedding down later.
As breakfast time approaches
I’ll go to the chickens, who’ll lay
us some fresh eggs, and we get
into the kitchen for breakfast at
8am at the latest. Sometimes we
have fresh eggs, other times we
go for something a little heartier
like bacon sandwiches.
Then it’s back out to carry on
with the feeding and tend to the
sheep. We used to mainly have
these big Hampshire Down
sheep, but after my mum got
hurt when a load ran past her
and smashed up her leg and hip,
we decided we needed breeds
that were easier to handle.
So we now have Hebrideans,
Herdwicks, Black WelshMountain sheep and Cheviots.
You never get maintenance-free
sheep but the new breeds are
certainly more manageable.
Lunch is always a lively affair.
My mum likes to bring out lots
of different bowls of a variety
of leftovers including, say, some
curry from a couple of nights
ago. We’ve got all different-sized
chairs around the table with
arms flying everywhere. It’s not
organised but it’s fun.
While mornings are all about
feeding the animals, afternoons
tend to be more about practical
tasks. Because we’re an organic
farm we don’t use pesticides,
which means nettles and thistles
flourish, so it’s important to do a
final tidy-up before all the spring
vegetation comes through.Spring is one of my favourite
times of year, with the landscape
waking up after winter. We’re
lambing three breeds of sheep
at the moment and it’s a really
exciting time. What tends to
happen is the lambs all convene
in one area of the field, have an
incredible sprinting race for 15
minutes, then go back to their
mums. It’s a joy to watch.
I love to paint in my spare
time and a spring landscape is
the perfect subject, with vibrant
greens and yellows coming
through during the light nights.
After leaving The One Show,
where I worked from about 7am
through to 7pm, I’ve now got
my evenings back. It’s as if I
have a whole new day to myself!
People ask if I miss the buzz
of London but as soon as I
finished filming The One Show
each night, I’d be straight in
the car to drive back home to
the farm. And I was never one
for the London party scene.
You can count the number
of showbiz dos I’ve been to
on the fingers of one hand.
Instead we love having
movie nights, watching family
films like Back to the Future
with hot dogs and nachos.
Or sometimes we’ll play
board games, then leave all
the counters where they are
and resume a day or two later.
We head to bed about half
ten. Of course, working on a
farm is not a Monday to Friday
gig — the animals don’t know
what a weekend is. I think the
farm will remain in the family
for a very long time and I want
it to be in the best possible
shape for whoever takes it over.
That may be our children, but
there’s no pressure. Maybe
they’d rather be on TV. I’ll
support them no matter what.
Being a presenter has taken
me across the world; I’ve filled
three passports and met
amazing people, but I’m never
happier than when I’m on the
farm. I can’t put it into words
— it’s like a magnet, always
drawing me home n
Interview by Clyde McGarrigle.
Matt Baker: Travels with Mum
and Dad is on More4 at 9pm
on Wednesdays. His book, A
Year on Our Farm, is published
by Michael Joseph at £20A LIFE IN THE DAY
Matt Baker
Countryfile presenter and farmer, 44
86 • The Sunday Times Magazine*