Entertainment
Nick Knowles praises Princes William and Harry for their work on DIY SOS: ‘They were genuinely invested in what we were doing’-Rachel Corcoran-Entertainment – Metro
‘They were genuinely invested in what we were doing’.
Nick Knowles has been presenting DIY SOS for 23 years (Picture: PA)
Nick Knowles, 59, reflects on his TV career, keeping history alive in his new show Heritage Rescue and recovering from long Covid.
Heritage Rescue is on right now. What do you love so much about the show?
We visit extraordinary buildings, which were epic for their time, whether it be 300 years ago with Stowe House, 600 years ago with Oxburgh Hall or a thousand years ago with Lincoln Cathedral. If you tried to build a cathedral like that now, it would cost about a billion pounds.
What’s the place you’ve been most overwhelmed by?
Lincoln Cathedral, for the scale of human ambition. In a time when people were living in one-storey wattle and daub homes, suddenly they built something eight to 12 storeys high and the length of a football pitch made out of stone. At one stage it was the tallest building in the world. If you’re a history nerd like I am, it’s a beautiful thing.
When did you get into history?
As a kid. When we used to visit my grandmother, we’d go to the old Hastings Castle and the place where the 1066 battle happened. It’s fantastically exciting as a child.
You must love the variety of your career…
I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had the quiz show Who Dares Wins that ran for 12 years. I’ve done natural history stuff for Sir David Attenborough on orangutans and I did Mission Africa. I wrote a film called Golden Years that did OK, 23 years on DIY SOS and all kinds of bits and pieces. I always say that being a TV presenter is like walking a tightrope, and somebody gives it a really good shake every now and again. I’m still holding on after 35 years.
Nick has worked on natural history programmes with Sir David Attenborough (Picture: Danny Martindale/WireImage)
Can you believe DIY SOS has been on for so long?
It’s extraordinary but it’s a much-loved programme that’s developed over the years. It’s still around because it does good things, which reminds people we live in good communities.
When I started there were five of us doing one room in a house as a makeover show with a bit of comedy thrown in. Then we got to do the big builds, initially to help one family in dire straits. Then we realised we could help places like Great Ormond Street Hospital, where we built a garden. We helped families affected by Grenfell, Little Miracles [centre for disabled children] in Peterborough, The Yard in Scotland, which is now in six locations around America looking after children with life-limiting illnesses.
After everyone’s forgotten about me and the show, these buildings will continue to do amazing things.
An emotional ending for the volunteers in a recent DIY SOS challenge (Picture: BBC)
Those shows are quite emotional – does it take a lot out of you to do them?
It does but I try as much as possible for it not to happen on screen. I think too many presenters horn in when there’s an emotional moment. My job is to facilitate that, then get out of the way and let the people who volunteered interact with the people they’ve done the job for.
The credit should always go to the 300 people that turned out to make it happen and the suppliers who gave us the materials in difficult times.
Prince William joined Nick for an episode of DIY SOS (Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
What was it like working with Princes William and Harry on The Big Build?
They were great and genuinely invested in what we were doing. They obviously both have military connections so it’s important to them that we’re looking after our veterans. Their interaction with everybody was fantastic.
We knew Prince William and Kate had written letters to families we’ve done DIY SOS for after they’ve seen the programme.
What do you consider your biggest achievement?
Providing for my family. The predominant part of my growing up was on a council estate in west London. I’m one of five kids and my dad used to work three jobs sometimes to look after us. It remains my driving force too.
I think a lot of what I do in terms of disabilities, illnesses and bereavement comes from the fact that when my father was ill and had a stroke at the end, I realised the last year of his life I hadn’t done as much as I should have done seeing him. To a certain extent, I’ve been trying to make up for that ever since. I’m still trying to make my father proud.
Nick became good friends with Harry Redknapp on I’m A Celebrity (Picture: Shutterstock)
You did I’m A Celebrity. Would you do other reality shows?
No. It wasn’t something I particularly wanted to do but what I got out of it was an amazing bunch of friends like Harry Redknapp and James McVey of The Vamps.
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You had long Covid. Have you recovered now?
For about 10 months afterwards I was really struggling. Research suggests that if you go into physical activity too quickly while you still have the virus in you, it can throw you into long Covid. I started cycling and running straight away because I’d put on a lot of weight. It took me 10 months to properly recover and during that time I put on two and a half stone. I’ve lost almost three stone and am getting my fitness back.
Nick Knowles: Heritage Rescue is on Quest at 9pm on Tuesdays and is available to stream on Discovery+
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