Early Life
Born in Easington, County Durham, Baker's father ran a newsagents shop, and his parents had a smallholding in the village. He has one sister and two half-sisters.
He attended Easington Village School, then when he was aged 10, his parents bought a farm west of Durham, which they moved into and renovated. He continued his education at Belmont Comprehensive School in Durham. He was a Junior British gymnast and sports acrobatics champion, but was forced to give up after being diagnosed with anaemia aged 14. After this he undertook various activities to fill the gap in his life, including sheepdog trials and pole vaulting. He took A-levels in Drama, Biology and Sports Science at Durham Sixth Form Centre.
In the late 1990s as a drama student at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh (now Queen Margaret University), Baker worked as an entertainer, and toured with a 1970s comedy disco-dancing revival show called "Disco Inferno", which toured the north of England. The Disco group, Disco Inferno, was very popular in nightclubs in Cleethorpes (Pier 39), Barnsley (Hedonism) and Wakefield (Foundation). Baker played the part of "Butch Vendor, the LA Bartender", on stage along with other disco dancers with names such as: Randy Todger, Trevor Leather, Richard Itchin, Al Fresco and Jack Shaft. He had to Disco Dance, do freestyle routines with back flips, and juggle wooden clubs which his father painted to look like Champagne and spirits bottles.
Read more about this topic: Matt Baker (television)
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