Countryfile and former Blue Peter presenter Matt Baker opened up about the emotional deal he struck with the BBC for when he left the beloved children’s show
Matt Baker has admitted that he made a ‘deal’ with a beloved BBC show (Image: Dave J Hogan via Getty Images)
Matt Baker has revealed that he struck a “deal” with a much-loved BBC programme so he “didn’t have to say goodbye”. While many fans will recognise Matt from shows such as Countryfile, The One Show and Our Dream Farm, those who grew up in the 90s will fondly recall his role as the animal-loving presenter of Blue Peter, alongside Simon Thomas and Konnie Huq.
Animals also provided the backdrop for a recent outing to Vauxhall City Farm in South London, where Matt met BBC Radio 1 presenter Matt Edmondson and his charming West Highland white terrier, Oscar.
The visit was for an episode of the Radio Times podcast Petcast, in which Matt sits down with well-known faces and their beloved pets inside his specially designed Petcast caravan for a conversation. When Edmondson came aboard, Matt couldn’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over him.
He said: “Do you know what, Matt? This is reminding me of old times, right? Me and you sat opposite each other with a dog. I’m thinking like 2004, 2005, CBBC, in the broom cupboard, so to speak, me trailing what’s coming up for Blue Peter, and you linking in and out of everything.”
Matt was subsequently asked about Blue Peter’s resident dogs, including, on one occasion, his own beloved pet, Meg. Throughout the years, the programme has featured 24 pets and a host of Guide Dogs, from its very first dog, Petra, in 1962, right through to Henry, the rescue dog, in 2019.
Matt elaborated: “So Meg was my Blue Peter dog. But yes, we had a Mabel. We had Mabel, who was like a collie cross. And then we had Lucy, who you may remember. Yeah, the golden retriever. She would just take you on a lead anywhere.
“But yeah, Meg was my border collie, and we would spend hours in the Blue Peter Garden, just exercising her before we did a live show, and then we’d jump in and come and see her.”
When Edmondson asked whether Meg had her own agent, Matt revealed his father took up the role. As for a show fee, he clarified: “The deal was that Meg was with me, and whatever happened, she would come with me.”
He added: “She wasn’t owned by the show. So it meant when I left, I didn’t have to say goodbye to Meg and leave her there, which obviously was a big thing.”
The conversation follows Matt’s previous recollection of a charming moment when Queen Elizabeth showed interest in a particular aspect of his life – specifically, the Blue Peter pets.
“But, of course, there’s all of that passion around the Royal Family’s love for animals as well, and their connection with dogs”, he previously remarked. Matt described how the late Queen immediately turned her attention to animals during their encounter.
He remembered: “I know, certainly, when the late Majesty came into the Blue Peter studio, I had Meg, the Blue Peter dog, there. She literally, again, just made a beeline.
“She just wanted to talk about the Blue Peter pets, and the life that they had, and where they were, and she was fascinated to hear that Meg was mine, and would come home with me, and didn’t go off to a handler, or anything like that.”
Catch Countryfile on BBC One tonight (September 6), from 7pm to 8pm.
