A health condition forced Countryfile favourite Matt Baker to give up his beloved hobby as a child.
The Countryfile presenter had planned a different career to TV presenting.
Firstly, he wanted to become a gymnast.
Countryfile star Matt Baker on his dreams
During an interview with Penguin in 2021, Matt told how he ended up in television. His parents Mike and Janice encouraged him to give everything a go.
Matt, 46, grew up on a farm, and started doing gymnastics as a young boy. It began as a physical outlet, but Matt developed a real flair for the sport.
I do handstands and backflips at home.
Consequently, Matt made newspaper headlines when he achieved a perfect 10 in a national competition.
But at 14 he was diagnosed with anaemia, and therefore had to quit. The condition can be caused by a lack of iron and result in dizziness, thus making it unsafe.
But Matt then took up gymnastics again. Speaking in 2015 Matt told the Mirror how he found it the best stress reliever.
He said: “I’m very physical and I have to do two or three good sessions a week or I get really wound up. I do handstands and backflips at home, I’ve got crash mats, we’ve got a big climbing frame and I’ve got ropes in the trees.”
Matt’s journey to stardom
Matt fell into showbiz accidentally, and it became his first passion. He acted as a stunt double for the lead in a school production of Grease, and was shocked by how much he loved it.
Because of this, Matt finally decided to go to drama school. Blue Peter, The One Show and Countryfile then beckoned.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Read more: Countryfile star Matt Baker’s plea to fans over ‘herniated disc’ which once left him ‘bed-bound’
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