Countryfile stars' gorgeous weddings: Helen Skelton's 1920s gown, Matt Baker's rare photo & more

Anita Rani

© Instagram

Presenter Anita Rani was one of many celebrities who have made the case for the three-day wedding. Six months after meeting Bhupi Rehal, she married the technology executive in a traditional Sikh ceremony in Bradford in 2009 in front of an incredible 450 guests.

"I call it my Punjabi sweat-fest. It was incredible but it wasn’t intimate; it was all about our families, while my non-Indian friends were doing very individual things like writing their own vows," she told You.

Anita and Bhupi reportedly separated in September 2023.

Helen Skelton

Helen Skelton and rugby league player Richie Myler got married on 22 December 2012 – and how incredible was the former Countryfile star's flapper-style wedding dress?

She wore a white dress with a sweetheart neckline, an embellished overlay and a satin sash, securing her blonde hair in an updo with a white embellished headpiece fastened on one side, while Richie looked dapper in a black suit.

The former couple split in April 2022.

Matt Baker

While Matt Baker is notoriously private about his home life with his wife Nicola Mooney, he shared a rare photo of their 2004 wedding on their anniversary, which took place in Winston in Teesdale.

In the black and white snap, the newlyweds smiled at the camera with Nicola wearing a strapless gown, pearl drop earrings, a floral headband and a long veil, while Matt wore a black suit jacket, a white shirt and a silk cravat with his hair gelled into spikes.

Adam Henson

© Dave Benett

Adam Henson and his wife Charlie had a secret but very meaningful ceremony on 9 September 2021 at Stroud Register Office. It took place in front of their closest friends and family, including their two children Ella and Alfie, the day before Charlie's "massive" operation following her stage one pancreatic cancer diagnosis. 

"I knew that this type of cancer had a very low survival rate – just five per cent," she told The Telegraph in a joint interview with her husband.

"We put the date of the operation back by a week because of our wedding. The consultant said that one week would make little difference, and I’m so glad we did. It was the most wonderful day," Adam said before adding his wife looked "beautiful" in her ivory dress.

John Craven

© Joanne Davidson/Shutterstock

John Craven has been with his wife Marilyn for over five decades after meeting on BBC's Look North in Newcastle upon Tyne, where Marilyn was a production secretary.

While little is known about their wedding, he described Marilyn as his "rock" when discussing their relationship with Daily Mail's Femail.

"We hadn't been together that long when I was asked to move to Bristol, and I wasn't sure if she would say yes, but she did, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me," he said, adding: "Without being too soppy, she was always there for me, which is the main thing in my business because it can be precarious. You're very exposed, and it's always good to be able to get that reassurance."

Clare Balding

© Getty

Clare Balding's love story with journalist Alice Arnold began in 1999while they were both working at the BBC, but it wasn't until 2006 that they entered a civil partnership.

Their celebrations took place at 18th-century Palladian villa in Chiswick, and they chose the same venue for their second wedding in 2015 after same-sex marriages became legal.

"They just backdate it to when you did your civil partnership. So officially now we have been married since 2006," she said of the intimate second celebration on the Jonathan Ross Show. "We didn't have a big party at all actually. Nobody came apart from us."

Ben Fogle

Ben Fogle regularly shares anniversary tribute to his wife Marina, whom he married in 2006. Throwback photos show the pair walking hand in hand up a cobbled street with the presenter wearing a grey tailcoat while his wife looked elegant in a V-neck wedding dress.

"Happy 12th Wedding anniversary to my long patient wife, Marina who holds the family together during my frequent journeys away. My best friend, my wife and the most amazing mummy," he wrote in 2018.