Features
Out of the Blue
Blue Peter presenter Matt Baker appears as Caractacus
Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Sunderland this month.
And, as he tells Viv Hardwick, the lad from Durham is
going to re-invent the character as a northerner
SO what possessed the
amiable TV presenter
Matt Baker to take on the
role of Caractacus Potts in
a stage tour of Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang which
comes to Sunderland's Empire Theatre
this month?
The former Blue Peter star says: "It's
a very good question. It's something
very different to what I've done before
when I joined the cast and chorus at
the London Palladium when it first
opened in 2002.
"I did The Ole Bamboo and I
absolutely loved it and was really keen
to have a go at musicals. Michael
Roads, the producer, had a word with
me and said when it goes on tour and
you finish Blue Peter then we might be
able to sort something out' and sure
enough he called and that was it.
"And being back at home is just the
best and I'm sure there'll be a very
nice crowd. I can't wait for it."
Chitty will always retain the
memory of the film version's star Dick
Van Dyke and the Easington-born
presenter says he's keen to use some of
the US star's routine in his portrayal.
Talking about the influence of his
family's 90-acre sheep farm on the
outskirts of Durham City, he says: "We
hoard loads of stuff and loads of
machinery and I'm not trying to say
that our place is like a scrapyard, but
you do think this tractor could fly if I
put wings on it'. It's kind of similar to
that. I'm looking forward to injecting a
Caractacus Potts from the North-East
into the role.
"When I saw it at the Palladium the
show was London-based, but we're
taking this show up north so he's
going to be a real salt of the earth
guy.... he's from Durham, Caractacus
Potts, didn't you know? They haven't
got it right yet."
He loves challenging himself and
starring in a musical is something he's
always wanted to do.
"When I was on Blue Peter I wanted
to do something that was musicalbased
and that's why this all came
about. I'd love to concentrate on it but
I don't want to stitch myself up
because I might do Chitty and it might
not work out. That's why I'm doing it
and that's why I want to be up north
doing it in a safer environment,
instead of launching into the West
End."
He's done two pantomimes and has
just finished as Prince Charming in
Cinderella at Sheffield and admits: "I
just need to spend a bit more time with
my singing to get my confidence up."
Baker still has no regrets that he cut
short acting studies at Edinburgh to
become a Blue Peter presenter.
"With Blue Peter I got all of the
action and all of the travel and got all
that stuff out of my system. I have
absolutely no regrets at all. I've been
so fortunate and, thankfully, for me
things have worked out," he says.
On the prospects of pinning his star
to a flying car he adds: "If you throw
yourself in 100 per cent and give it the
best go you can, you can't do any
more."
His son Luke is just eight months
old and is unlikely to recall his dad's
best show debut. "That makes him the
perfect audience," he jokes, "he's not a
critic yet and I can't be told off for
embarrassing him. He sits there
clapping his hands and laughing. He
did come along to the pantomime but
he was more interested in his squeaky
toys than me as Prince Charming."
Despite all the success, which has
seen his outdoor pursuits knowledge
prove useful in Countryfile and Only
Fools On Horses, Baker ultimately sees
himself as becoming a full-time
farmer.
"It's a huge part of my life, animals
and what have you, I love it. I will
definitely, without a doubt, go into it
and we have a flock of organic sheep
and I'd love to continue the breed that
mum's started and keep that strain
going. I think its wonderful and I want
Luke to have that experience because I
think when you spend time around
animals you gain those practical skills
in life and learn why you do things and
when to take risks and not take risks.
That experience is priceless."
He, wife Marion and his son visit the
Durham farm as much as they can and
the trips north have increased now
that Baker's London-based Blue Peter
commitments have ended.
"The key is, it doesn't matter where
you live as long as you're prepared to
travel. It's just that balancing act of
going away for a few weeks that you're
going to be home for a bit. It was so
full on with Blue Peter that I never
really had the chance to negotiate
what I'd do. It was just a buy-out, you
sort of sold your soul if you like," he
jokes.
After being Mr Everyman for seven
years, he will be returning later this
year to celebrate Blue Peter's 50th
anniversary with as many other
presenters as possible.
"I had a word with the controller of
BBC1 when I left and said do you see it
as a problem that I'm doing lots of
different stuff or should I concentrate
on one particular area'. He said no
continue with it and see how it goes'.
And that's been the key to my
success," Baker says.
The result has been commentating
on gymnastics, which will see Baker
reporting from the Beijing Olympics in
August as he maintains an interest in
being "a family presenter rather than
an adult show presenter or a children's
presenter".
"It's a dream come true for me. I was
a British champion gymnast when I
was younger and it was always a
passion of mine to go to the Olympics,
but it never worked out from a
competitor point of view. But to go
there and to work on it is just so
exciting for me. The job of
commentating is just fabulous. When
you do your
research and the
competition starts
you kick off your
shoes, sit back and
have the time of
your life. That's
happening straight
after Chitty, so I'm
going to have a good
few months.
* Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang runs
from April 17 to June
7 at Sunderland
Empire Theatre.
Tickets: £14-£39.50.
Box Office: 0844-847-
2499
11:06am Thursday 10th April 2008
Print 
Email this
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
