Countryfile host Matt Baker addresses ‘heartbreaking’ career decision after health battle

BBC Countryfile presenter Matt Baker has detailed how a health analysis led to a “heartbreaking” decision that might in the end deliver his dream career to an finish

Matt Baker has make clear the “heartbreaking” decision that led to him giving up on a private ambition he’d been pursuing since childhood. Matt’s genial on-screen persona is well-known to Countryfile followers, having co-hosted the BBC show since 2009. But in his early years, the TV farmer confirmed a extra aggressive facet, as he dreamt of representing his nation.

As a baby, Matt was a eager gymnast and loved some success, competing in junior occasions and incomes a North of England accolade; certainly, he even dreamed of being “part of the Olympics” someday.

He would later transfer into gymnastics commentary for the Games, together with on the Paris Olympics in 2024, but a health diagnosis in his teenagers introduced his personal sporting ambitions to an early finish, because it led to what he described as a “heartbreaking” decision.

Matt informed Wiltshire Farm Foods: “Ever since I was a little lad, it was my dream to be part of the Olympics. But I ended up having to stop my gymnastics in my mid-teens because I got anaemia.

“It meant I just couldn’t train to the level that was needed so I made the heartbreaking decision to stop.”

Matt then recalled feeling tearful when he was given the chance to take part within the torch relay in his native County Durham as a part of the London 2012 Olympics.

He continued: “When I got to carry the torch through my home city it was a real lump in your throat kind of experience.

“I’ve nonetheless acquired the torch that I had within the relay, it is an actual prized possession of mine.”

Iron deficiency anaemia is characterised by symptoms resembling tiredness, shortness of breath, palpitations, pale pores and skin, and headaches, with the trigger, because the title suggests, being an absence of iron.

In ladies, it may be attributable to heavy durations and pregnancy. It can also be brought on by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen, piles, stomach ulcers, inflammation in the bowel or oesophagus and some cancers.

Less widespread signs embrace tinnitus, food tasting unusual, itchiness, a sore tongue, hair loss, difficulty swallowing, a desire to eat non-food items, ulcers in the corners of your mouth, restless legs and changes to your nails.

It would not be the primary time that the Our Dream Farm star has spoken publicly about his change after all from sports activities to the world of TV presenting. Speaking to the Telegraph final 12 months, Matt revealed that he was left “really upset” when he needed to make different plans for his future.

Matt informed the outlet: “When I was told aged 13 that I was anaemic and had to slow down my gymnastics training, which meant that I wouldn’t be able to continue at the level I was at, I was really upset.

“I’d misplaced my identification in a means. But then I simply dedicated to one thing else: I went off and have become a North of England pole-vaulting champion and did sports activities acrobatics.”

You ought to go to your GP if you happen to suppose you have got iron deficiency anaemia. You can study extra concerning the situation on the NHS website.

Catch Matt on Countryfile on BBC One immediately (Sunday, April 5), from 5pm to 6pm.