Countryfiles Matt Baker annoyed Strictly legend as | UK News

Countryfile star Matt Baker admitted that he succeeded in “annoying” one BBC legend during his stint on Strictly Come Dancing. Reflecting on his expertise, where he claimed the runner-up place alongside skilled accomplice Aliona Vilani, the 48-year-old star shared the “intense” pressures of the competition.

He admitted that he completely loved his Strictly journey, as it introduced back reminiscences of his aggressive gymnastics background. The broadcaster had demonstrated real potential as a gymnast during his faculty days, but was pressured to give up the game following an anaemia diagnosis at merely 14 years outdated. The acrobatic sequences Matt choreographed with Aliona supplied him the possibility to showcase some of his bodily prowess, he explained, “a lot to the annoyance of the late, great Len Goodman“, who acted as head choose on Strictly from 2004 to 2016, and most well-liked conventional ballroom method over dramatic showmanship. “He used to call my backflips, flip flops!” Matt revealed to Wiltshire Farm Foods, describing the gruelling nature of his Strictly expertise: “I can’t tell you how intense it is. And as the competition progresses, you’ve got more and more dances to do. We really went for it – we wanted to technically do well as well as have a good time, and we did!”

Matt, who skilled in performing at Queen Margaret University School of Drama, possessed a modest benefit over his fellow Strictly opponents. During his college period, he performed ‘Butch Vendor, the LA Bartender’ in a Nineteen Seventies-themed comedy disco-dancing manufacturing called “Disco Inferno.”

It was through Disco Inferno that Matt initially met his spouse Nicola, encountering her while performing at Cleethorpes venue Pier 39.

Much to his enduring embarrassment, images have surfaced depicting Matt in an elaborate cowboy ensemble full with a 10-gallon hat and furry waistcoat.

Speaking on James Martin’s Saturday Morning show, Matt admitted: “I was called Butch Vendor and I was a bartender. I used to do all this juggling and stuff. Backflips and somersaults and what have you.”

Nevertheless, his skilled path hasn’t completely comprised Len’s hated “flip flops”.

Matt has also participated in A Song For Europe contest to choose the UK’s Eurovision Song Contest entry, and has featured on programmes including City Hospital and Animal Rescue Live, while taking part in a important position in broadcasting the 2012 London Olympics.

The Countryfile place is not merely about presenting. Matt possesses a profound connection to farming, courtesy of his mother and father. He recollects his makes an attempt to refurbish their farmhouse, a project that was televised as ‘Our Farm in the Dales’: “My mum had broken her leg and needed a knee replacement,” he shares.

“So we all moved in with my mum and dad on the farm, and we adapted it to make it more manageable for them going forward. We did a few little jaunts away and Channel 4 absolutely loved them.

“The show ‘Travels with Mum and Dad’ was born out of that. My mum and dad are sensible. I really like spending time with them. It was treasured time.”