Matt Baker revealed he had to make ‘difficult’ family decisions in the latest series of his hit series Matt Baker: Travels with Mum and Dad.
The 46-year-old presenter spoke candidly about his family dynamics on his show, which sees him explore the north of England with his parents, Janice and Mike.
In the first episode, the trio went to the Northumberland County Show, the biggest annual celebration of rural life in North East England, where they watched Matt’s mother enter their two dogs in a competition.
The former One Show presenter and his family regularly appear on shows together, having previously starred in Matt Baker’s Our Farm in the Dales.
In an interview with The Daily ExpressMatt shared how excited he was to work with his parents again and candidly discussed some of the tough decisions they had to make during filming.
Countryfile’s Matt Baker, 46, revealed he had to make ‘difficult’ family decisions in the latest series of his hit series Matt Baker: Travels with Mum and Dad (pictured)
The presenter spoke candidly about his family dynamics on his show, which sees him explore the north of England with his parents, Janice and Mike (pictured)
In the first episode, the trio went to the Northumberland County Show, the biggest annual celebration of rural life in North East England.
Matt explained that the show focuses more on short trips rather than longer periods abroad.
He said, “The key is that they [his parents] are always close to home, because with a farm you can’t go far. And besides, with the father being about 80, the reality that they were planning to go on an adventure was never the case.’
The TV show host hoped that people would find his show inspiring and that it would encourage families to take day trips that would involve all generations.
He said: ‘We don’t go abroad and it’s actually very relatable. I hope that, from the perspective of my generation, I inspire people to go out with their older family members, to have new experiences, to have fun and just be together and experience things that they wouldn’t necessarily do on their own.’
Despite the success of Matt’s shows, the Countryfile presenter has yet to commit to another series.
He told the newspaper that the end of his latest series was a “natural ending of a chapter.”
He explained that it was not his intention to stop there, but that he felt this was the right time.
He elaborated further, saying, “That’s not why we decided to stop filming, it’s just the end of that process.”
Matt explained that the show focuses on smaller trips rather than going abroad or being away for long periods of time, as his parents are older and tied to their farm.
Despite the success of Matt’s shows, the Countryfile presenter has not committed to another series, explaining that the final episode is a natural ending to the successful series
The presenter explained that for his previous shows, including Our Farm in the Dales, Matt had no intention of filming anything at all. He was struggling with some big family decisions at the time and had been open with producers and TV channels about his concerns.
Then the directors of the channel asked him if he would film his experiences on the farm, and Matt was more than happy to do so.
He was shocked that his program received so much praise and believed this was because he portrayed farm life realistically and did not just show the romantic side of life.
He added that he felt it was important for viewers to see the difficult family decisions being made, including his mother’s decision to change course on the farm.
Matt said he’s received thousands of letters from people praising the show and telling him that difficult family conversations are difficult, whether you’re dealing with the realities of farm life or not. They found his show comforting.
Matt’s positive film experience contrasts with his time on Strictly Come Dancing.
The media personality recently said his experience was a lot more “intense” than other celebrities who have competed in the competition.
The TV presenter reached the final of the BBC series in 2010, which caused a stir, along with Russian professional dancer Aliona Vilani, but finished second.
The TV presenter reached the final of the scandal-hit BBC series in 2010, partnering Russian professional dancer Aliona Vilani, but came second and admitted he found the experience very tough
Despite his success on the dance show, Matt admitted that he no longer has contact with anyone from his group.
His confession follows the confession of Aliona, who admitted that she forced Matt to dance during his illness while he was on the show.
While attending rehearsals and performing live every weekend, Matt was simultaneously busy with The One Show and Countryfile.
He admitted that appearing on the show came at a “busy time” for him, making his experience “more intense.”
Matt told Metro: ‘I don’t think anyone in the history of Strictly has had a more intense experience than me, when you look at all the work I was doing at the same time.’
During his experience, it was reported that Aliona made Matt spin so hard during a rehearsal for their Viennese Waltz that he suffered from nausea and dizziness.