Editing Matt Ridley (section)

==Personal life==
When his father died in 2012, Ridley succeeded him as the 5th [[Viscount Ridley]], having taken over the running of the family estate of [[Blagdon Hall]], near [[Stannington, Northumberland]], some years before.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

In 1989, Ridley married [[Anya Hurlbert]], a Professor of Neuroscience at [[Newcastle University]]; they live in northern England and have a son and a daughter.<ref name=whoswho/><ref name="matt-cv" />

In 1980, his sister [[Rose Paterson|Rose]] married the British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician [[Owen Paterson]], who held the posts of [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]] and [[Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] until July 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/owen-paterson-his-sceptic-brotherinlaw-and-how-defra-went-cold-on-climate-change-8973946.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/owen-paterson-his-sceptic-brotherinlaw-and-how-defra-went-cold-on-climate-change-8973946.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Owen Paterson, his sceptic brother-in-law, and how Defra went cold on climate change |website=[[The Independent]] |date=29 November 2013}}</ref> During this time Ridley was described as 'in many ways Paterson's personal think tank'.<ref>[http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2013/06/owen-paterson-more-than-meets-the-two-criteria-for-a-good-cabinet-minister.html Owen Paterson more than meets the two criteria for a good Cabinet minister] June 2013, The Conservative Home.</ref>

In 2015, Ridley's team won the celebrity Christmas special<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvHsOUjNknw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/AvHsOUjNknw| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=University Challenge Christmas 2015 E10 The Grand Final|last=scum|date=1 January 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> of [[University Challenge]] representing [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], the year after the team of his son, also Matthew,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Proctor |first1=Kate |title=From pub quizzes to University Challenge |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/From+pub+quizzes+to+University+Challenge.-a0364066559 |access-date=3 August 2023 |work=[[The Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne newspaper)|The Journal]] |date=7 April 2014}}</ref> had won the student version<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKu4gJUS8oQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/dKu4gJUS8oQ| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=University Challenge S43E37 Final|last=scum|date=7 April 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> representing [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].