TOP TRAILER COMES TO MATT’S RESCUE AS HE SETS OUT TO SAVE HIS PARENTS’ FARM
A TOP Welsh trailer maker has come to the rescue of TV presenter Matt Baker as part of a new series documenting his ambitious journey to save his family’s sheep farm.
Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales, soon to be aired on More4, follows the Countryfile and former The One Show presenter as he returns to his parents’ organic sheep farm in the Durham hills to make some vital changes which will help to secure it for generations to come.
The popular presenter, who uses a trusty Ifor Williams Trailers livestock trailer throughout filming, was spurred into action after his mother, Janice, 65, was injured when some of their pedigree flock of Hampshire Down sheep crashed into her, just as she was preparing for shearing.
Despite suffering a broken leg and injuries which forced her to have a knee replacement, Janice was determined to continue farming.
Over four 60-minute episodes, viewers will follow Matt, his wife Nicola and their two children, Luke, 13, and Molly, 11, as they head north to restock the remote farm with more suitable breeds to reduce the future upkeep burden on his parents.
The journey takes him to the Lake District where he sources Herdwicks, the Scottish Borders to buy Cheviots and a farm in Snowdonia in North Wales where he collects Black Welsh Mountain shearlings.
During filming, Matt took his children along to help choose the breeding stock he hopes they might run in the future.
The trips were long and arduous – but Matt could not fault his new Ifor Williams Trailer which lived up to its reputation for quality.
Despite a successful television career, Matt has never left the farming life behind and played an active role on his parents’ farm, even before his mum’s accident.
He also keeps sheep at his own farm, an hour outside of London, and credits his wife’s hard work and care for allowing him to combine the perfect rural life with his television career.
“My wife and I have never ever lived together without having sheep! She’s brilliant with all the animals,” he said.
The new series marks a further achievement for the presenter as it has been created by his own production firm, Big Circus Media.