Matt Baker admits 'it's emotional when time is up' after 'tough' farewell to co-stars
Matt Baker admits 'it's emotional when time is up' after 'tough' farewell to co-stars
TV presenter Matt Baker has admitted 'it's emotional' when applicants leave his Channel 4 farming show Our Dream Farm with Matt Baker
Matt Baker admitted 'it's emotional'
(Image: Steven Landles / Channel 4 )
TV star Matt Baker revealed 'it's emotional when time is up' after he bid a 'tough' farewell to his co-stars on his show Our Dream Farm. The Channel 4 farming show has returned for a second series.
The programme, presented by Countryfile star Matt Baker, sees seven applicants - three individuals and four couples - bidding to win a 15-year tenancy on the 600-acre National Trust farm in Eryri, North Wales. Matt is also an executive producer for the show and has admitted the project is close to his heart.
The 47-year-old admitted he finds it 'tough' to lose applicants as they leave show due to the 'incredible camaraderie'.
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Speaking to the TV Times, he said: "It really is tough (to lose applicants as they are whittled down). We live in cottages on the farm during filming and do become close.
Matt also produces the farming show
(Image: Steven Landles / Channel 4 )
"We're working on the farm as we go, so we might be filming one minute and then someone will walk off to deliver a lamb! It's the magic of farming.
"I've grown up in that life and love it - as do the applicants, so it's emotional if their time is up."
The series aims to shed a light on the realities of working on a farm, tapping into the nation's growing fascination with the industry.
The TV presenter called the contestants a great mix, from a builder to a chicken farmer to a farm-mad teenager. Added to that, the applicants are 'real' as they could commit the next 15 years of their lives to running the farm.
Applicants have the opportunity to present business plans, discuss their vision for the farm and experience life on the estate by taking part in real-life farming tasks and experiences.
The TV presenter praised the 'incredible camaraderie'
(Image: Mark Taylor )
Matt added: "This isn't a competition where you win a trophy - this is a life change. To be offering that opportunity is incredible. It's not a job, it's a lifestyle, and viewers are fascinated by the passion that applicants have to embrace it. Our Dream Farm shone a light on that and shows how unbelievably hard work farming is."
Earlier in the series, Matt expressed that "it was hard" for him to "stand back" during the filming of his new agricultural series, where he plays a less hands-on role as contestants take the reins.
However, despite his extensive farming knowledge as seen on Countryfile, Matt confessed to BBC Essex that he struggled with the need to observe rather than participate: "It's hard not to get involved but it's their selection process, I'm not taking on the tenancy, so it was hard for me to step back.
"I joined in when I needed to. Sometimes I was lambing at two in the morning. It was great and I love it, I'm really proud of it."
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Our Dream Farm with Matt Baker returns this evening (Saturday, April 26) at 6pm on Channel 4.
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