Countryfile’s Matt Baker has opened up about the ongoing effects of a serious back injury.
The 46 year old TV star, who first became famous on Blue Peter, confessed he can no longer ‘bend forward’ after an accident during pantomime rehearsals. Matt has been left really upset after suffering a ‘slipped a disc’ in his back and as a former gymnast.
Speaking to Gabby Logan on the Mid Point podcast, he said: ‘No, I can’t now. “I’ve injured my back. I can’t tell you how upsetting it is as an ex-gymnast, not to be able to bend forward.” Matt jested with the host about suffering various aches and pains at his age, before explaining exactly more about his injury.
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He went on to share: “I did my back in. I was doing a panto. I was doing Goldilocks and the Three Bears and we were practising with the stunt chairs, and the chair wasn’t set correctly and bang!”
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The former gymnast added: “I went down on my coccyx and it turns out I slipped a disc in my back.” A herniated disc is when the soft cushion of tissue between bones in the spine pushes out. Despite trying to recover with training and rehab, he now needs injections for pain relief.
Gabby chimed in to alert listeners that Matt was in the best hands with his wife Nicola Baker being a skilled physiotherapist. He responded: “I know, exactly so we tried all that. Went for the nerve block [injection].”
(Image: Instagram)
Matt went on to say he was doing his best to get by but explained he faced challenges as he “gets older”. His painful back first became a talking point after he’d opened up about spending Christmas Day in bed.
Speaking with the Mail at the start of the year, he revealed: “I was walking on tightropes, riding unicycles and juggling.
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
“The performances got more and more difficult. By Christmas Day I couldn’t get out of bed. It was horrendous, absolute agony.”
Matt also told the publication: “We did presents in the bedroom. My wife was very kind and put a Christmas tree up in there too, and hung baubles off the doorknobs. I had to have Christmas dinner off a tray. It was my worst Christmas.”
Despite everything, Matt is keeping busy. He’ll be hosting a new Channel 4 travel show called Baker’s Britain on More 4, where he’ll celebrate ‘the extraordinary people, places and things that makeup the fabric of life in the UK’.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
