Our quirky Christmas in The Dales! Gifts from the Screwfix catalogue, sherry on the quad bike, the same card every year – Matt Baker and his mum on their unusual farmyard festivities
- Matt Baker’s mother Janice, 66, is a TV star thanks to Our Farm In The Dales
- For Christmas Matt and his parents will be airing a special show for the holidays
- The show promises lots of fun, with mince pie baking and Christmas decorating
The TV presenter Matt Baker – or Matthew as his mum Janice insists on calling him – was a Christmas baby. Born on 23 December, he came home from hospital on Christmas morning.
‘Which was the best present ever,’ she says. ‘The nurses had wrapped up little gifts – soap for me and little booties for the baby. I’ve still got them.’
Janice, 66, a bona fide TV star herself thanks to Channel 4’s Our Farm In The Dales, has another treasured memento from that day: the musical Christmas card given to her by her husband Mike. It’s not just a family heirloom, to be listened to every Christmas morning, but also a remarkable record of family history.
‘He’s given me that same card every Christmas – writing in it the big events of that year,’ says Janice. ‘It’s still going strong, although we’ve had to add in pages.
Matt Baker’s mother Janice, 66, and his father Mike are TV stars thanks to Channel 4’s Our Farm In The Dales, TV show. All three of them will star in a new Christmas special
‘Everything is in there – when we bought the farm, when we lost the pony, when Matthew passed his driving test. Whenever we need to know when something significant happened and no one can remember, the shout goes up, “Look in the Christmas card!”’
Those extra pages have probably been much needed over the past few years, when family life for this clan moved in an unexpected direction.
In 2020 Janice was seriously injured in a freak accident on the farm, which saw her trampled by a flock of sheep. Her leg was broken and the future of the entire farm was in jeopardy.
Matt decided to help out on the farm while his mum recovered, and he, his physiotherapist wife Nicola and their children Luke, 14, and Molly, 12, hot-footed it up the motorway from their Buckinghamshire home.
By luck, Matt – a veteran of Blue Peter and Countryfile – had quit his job on The One Show not long before to spend more time on his own TV projects. He pivoted slightly and pitched the idea of a show based around the fight to save their farm.
It turned out to be a triumph, so much so that there was a spin-off called Travels With Mum And Dad, which involved Matt whisking his parents off for a series of day trips.
Matt decided to help out on the farm after his mother’s freak accident, and he, his physiotherapist wife Nicola and their children Luke, 14, and Molly, 12 joined them on the farm
Now they’re off on one of their jaunts again for a Christmas special. When I catch up with Matt and Janice, they’ve finished filming at Raby Castle, a jewel in the crown of their beloved County Durham.
By all accounts they were given the VIP treatment, sweeping through the gates in a coach pulled by horses.
The show promises lots of festive fun, with Janice making mince pies in the castle’s kitchens, and polishing the castle’s collection of copper, while Mike gets to pick a Christmas tree from the estate. At one point they were recognised by a coachload WI ladies and the shout went up, ‘It’s Matt Baker’s mum and dad!’
Matt jokes that his parents are more famous than he is – and sums up why they’ve been such a hit. ‘It works because they aren’t TV presenters. They are great on telly because they’re just Mum and Dad.’
Matt and his family have since moved back south but will be joining his parents for the festivities over the holiday. To say Janice goes to town at Christmas is to put it mildly – there are fairy lights twinkling everywhere today.
‘Mum puts up the decs at the earliest opportunity,’ says Matt. ‘Even outside. I can’t take the hedge trimmer to a hedge without finding a string of lights!’
It’s still a working farm, though, and the animals come first. Janice says she’ll be out on her quad bike first thing Christmas morning.
‘Although we do a late run on Christmas Eve where we fill up the feeders, we whip round Christmas morning, checking everything’s OK, maybe sticking a sherry somewhere in the quad and saying Merry Christmas to all of the animals.’
Though Matt teases that his dad’s Christmas shopping is ‘mostly from the Screwfix catalogue’, one of his most memorable childhood Christmas presents was a unicycle – and it may have changed his life path. When he auditioned for a job on Blue Peter, he was able to wow them with his unicycle skills.
A man of many talents then, which brings us to Matt’s upcoming stint in panto: a circus-themed spin on Goldilocks And The Three Bears.
He doesn’t mind admitting it’s been a challenge, though. ‘Just as my mum had to accept she was getting older, so I’ve had to accept I’m not that physical any more.
‘Backflips and somersaults, when you’re facing 45, are not that doable. I’m still quite happy to walk on my hands, but I will know about it the next day.’
But Janice won’t hear of him complaining about his advancing years. ‘That’s still my baby,’ she beams.
- Matt Baker: Christmas Travels With Mum And Dad, Thursday 15 December at 9pm on More4.
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