Olympics fans shocked as BBC Countryfile host presents Gymnastics coverage… but there is a valid reason
MATT BAKER is the BBC’s lead gymnastics commentator for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Countryfile and One Show star, 46, is a gymnastics fanatic – and has been providing expert analysis in Paris.
Paris 2024 is the fifth Olympic Games at which Baker has worked on the gymnastics.
But fans who best know him for his work on other TV shows were still left stunned when he popped up on the coverage.
One wrote on social media: “Is Matt Baker commentating on the gymnastics? Why the are the BBC using a TV farmer?”
While a second asked: “Is that Matt Baker on the gymnastics commentary getting pre-emptively giddy about GB possibly podiuming again?”
Another mused: “Matt Baker on gymnastics commentary will always be a joy to listen to haha.”
Long before his work on The One Show and Countryfile, Baker was a keen gymnast while growing up.
Speaking to the TV Times about his experiences, he said: “It makes me laugh when people ask, ‘Why is the guy from Countryfile commentating on gymnastics?!’
“But yes, I love the eclectic mix of things that I do and have done.”
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Around the Tokyo Games in 2021, Baker posted an old photo of himself performing.
He captioned it: “For all those asking… here’s some clippings from my old scrap book!
“As a lad gymnastics was my life. . .it taught me the simple recipe if you work hard you get a result.
“Without my sport I would never be where I am today… #gymnastics #workhard.”
Baker performed at a national level as a kid, before having to quit aged 14 due to anaemia.
He looks back fondly, however, previously telling the BBC: “Gymnastics was kind of a natural fit.
“I used to bounce around all over the place. I’d be climbing trees and grappling up anything. It just clicked with me.
“It was something that I loved, and I didn’t have to think about whether or not I wanted to go.”
In Paris, he has been joined by an all-star cast of analysts.
The County Durham-born presenter, a former North of England junior champion, has been joined by Beth Tweddle Craig Heap, Christine Still and Betty Glover.
