TV presenter Matt Baker has deployed a JCB mini excavator during a fly-on-the wall special about the rescue of his family’s organic sheep farm.
Countryfile and former The One Show host Matt headed back to his family farm near Durham to help keep it running after his mum had a serious accident.
With a list of repairs and renovations to complete, JCB answered his cry for help and despatched a 1.8 tonne JCB 18Z-1 mini digger. The machine tackled a number of tasks including the creation of a beach area for a woodland pond and pathway through the middle of a planted mini orchard, as well as general landscaping and maintenance.
Matt said, “The JCB mini excavator is a great little machine and was really easy to use. It helped to punch a big hole in the long list of jobs we had to do on my family’s farm.”
Matt’s efforts will feature on a new More4 series, titled Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales, which is aired on Wednesday 31st March at 9pm. His parents, Janice and Mike, live on an organic sheep farm that dates back to the 1600s. Matt still plays an active role in running the farm, but when his mum had an accident last summer he had to move his wife Nicola and their two children north to run the farm.
He added, “This is without doubt the most personal TV show I’ve ever made. Filming on the farm where I grew up with my whole family has been a wonderful and unique experience.”
