Matt Baker reveals what really pushed him to quit The One Show

Beloved host of The One Show, Matt Baker, has revealed the real reason he quit his post as he prepares to make a surprise return for the programme's 20th anniversary episode tonight.

The Countryfile presenter opened up about his decision to abandon his post back in 2019, discussing the move on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh.

At the time of his departure, Matt explained that he was leaving behind his life in London to live on his parents' farm in the Durham Dales.

Matt Baker's transition from London to the Durham Dales

Asked how he felt about the transition from TV show host to farmer, Matt said: "As life-changing experiences go, they don't come much more life-changing than sitting on a sofa on The One Show, interviewing people every day in the warmth, than going up to the Durham Dales and running your mum's farm...big decision to have to make."

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But he said what happened was more of a reversal of that, explaining that the decision was, in part, motivated by a desire to reclaim family life away from the camera. When Matt first moved to London in his twenties to join Blue Peter, he recalled being struck by just how far away city life felt from his childhood home in the country.

After seven years on the children's TV show, Matt joined Countryfile in 2009, where he built one of the most successful family-focused countryside shows and made his name as one of the country's most beloved nemophilists. He then hosted The One Show between 2011 and 2020.

Matt Baker's love of the countryside

Ever the passionate farmer, one of Matt's other motivations for returning to his roots was to offer his children the chance to enjoy the countryside as much as he had.

© Steven Landles / Channel 4

Speaking exclusively to HELLO!, he said: "I've worked hard to try and give my children the same upbringing that I had because it's been so useful for me in my life. I mean, who knows what they'll do. I think the job for us parents is to introduce our children to as many different things as we can, so that they can go off and do whatever they want."

"I would imagine that my children would definitely have a life in the countryside because, similar to me really, that's where they feel at home."

Although he hopes he will be able to pass the family business down the generations, he is open to his children pursuing whatever future feels right to them.

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Moreover, leaving The One Show also helped him set up his own production company, Big Circus Media, to "produce shows that people really want to see." His new programmes, including Our Farm in the Dales and My Life at Christmas with Anita Rani, have, according to Matt, "gone incredibly well".

On 14 August, Matt will reunite with his former co-host, Christine Lampard, to celebrate the TV show's 20th anniversary. It will be the first time Matt has returned to the chair in six years. As well as looking back at the inspiring stories that have shaped the show, the two will take time to reflect on their time on it.