Shropshire Star

Danny Baker shares family delight with naming of great-nephew

Michael Baker was portrayed in the broadcaster’s autobiographical sitcom.

Published
Danny Baker at the Sony Radio Academy Awards

Broadcaster and writer Danny Baker has welcomed the birth of his niece’s son who has been named after his late brother who died almost 40 years ago.

Prolific tweeter Baker, 61, broke his TV producer relative’s news in a message to his near 500,000 followers. The BBC Radio 5 Live host wrote: “This is a great, great day.

“My big brother Mickey died when he was 29. Today his daughter Alexandra Baker gave birth to a son in Los Angeles. He is named Michael.

“Welcome back Mickey Baker. #BravoAlexBravo”.

Former NME journalist Baker has previously shared memories and old photographs of his older brother on his Twitter profile.

In one image Baker posted Michael can be seen playing records while working as a DJ at a London club in the 1970s.

Baker wrote a sitcom called Cradle To Grave, which was based on his upbringing in a council flat in Bermondsey, south London.

Lifting tales from Baker’s autobiography Going To Sea In A Sieve, the comedy series ran for eight episodes on BBC Two in 2015.

It starred comedian Peter Kay as Baker’s wheeler-dealer father Fred while Black Mirror and Doctors actor Frankie Wilson portrayed Michael.

A second series of the programme was commissioned. Baker later confirmed in January the show’s future was “in limbo” after Kay cancelled all of his work projects, including his first live stand-up tour in eight years, due to “unforeseen family circumstances”.

Baker told The Sun: “The show is in limbo. I’ll wait for Peter until 2019, but the actors all need to know.

“The BBC is being very good about it but a big player independent of the BBC and everyone else has stepped in and said, ‘We think there’s a way of doing your record shop or punk years’.

“I’d be happy if it was just that.”

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.