IT’S the heartwarming home makeover show where families get their dream home – but DIY SOS hasn’t come without a few controversies, too.
Over the years, the BBC show has faced some explosive complaints and scandals, with the most recent regarding presenter Nick Knowles.
Nick is currently appearing on Strictly Come Dancing alongside partner Luba Mushtuk[/caption]
A 33-year-old charity worker has claimed the Strictly star said women in the North East were “munters” and ogled her breasts while filming DIY SOS.
The young woman has said she was interviewed by Nick in 2018 for an episode of the show about a home renovation for a family with a disabled child.
She claims he turned up late after boozing the night before — and later kipped in a van.
Nick was said to have been hungover, looked worse for wear and stank of stale booze and cigarettes after partying at North Shields Fish Quay.
When the then 26-year-old dropped her microphone down her blouse, the star allegedly said: “It’s a shame that’s not a camera.”
And while recounting his big night out, she claims he branded the women of North Shields “munters”, and said she was the “first good-looking woman he had seen” while in the North East.
The mum of one said: “I was mortified. He humiliated me in a very personal way in front of the whole crew. It was offensive. He was in his late 50s. He was being so inappropriate and I felt belittled.
“I had been looking forward to meeting him and he ruined the whole experience for me.”
Over 32 series since 1999, Nick and the family favourite show have largely transformed the lives of countless ordinary Brits for the better.
But along the way, there have been the odd hammer blows, as we reveal…
‘£30k of destruction’
Last year, a family claimed the DIY SOS team wrecked their home and begged the BBC not to air the episode. It fell on deaf ears as it was broadcast in June 2022.
Peter Chapman said the Beeb ignored his plea not to televise their renovation after the fix-it team made their lives “hell” – leaving them wanting to quit the UK.
The full-time carer to wife Sarah, daughter Suzanne and autistic brother Steve, became embroiled in a bitter row over allegations DIY SOS carried out an error-strewn renovation project at their bungalow in February 2020.
Peter was left seeking compensation from the broadcasters, claiming the show’s tradespeople caused £30,000 of destruction to the home in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham.
The refurbishment initially appeared to have gone smoothly, but Peter said issues began to emerge soon after they moved back in.
He added errors carried out by Nick Knowles and his crew included wall bars on the loo for wheelchair-using Sarah and Suzanne coming off on the first day.
Other issues included a leaking roof, which had buckets catching water, cracks in the patio decking, making it unsafe for Sarah to use her wheelchair and a ramp that was too steep for her wheelchair – issues he said could have proved fatal.
He also blamed the programme for laying a driveway that sank and had to be re-laid, cracks in some of the bungalow’s walls, a lack of insulation in two ceilings and installing a slippery hard floor in the lounge when he wanted to keep carpet.
Peter claimed to have refused an offer of £15,000 from the BBC, saying it would not come close to covering the cost of the repairs.
‘Left staring at a wall’
Another family unhappy with their home makeover was disabled father Stuart Philp, and his blind, elderly mum, Lyn.
The father and son, from Torquay, had dreams of a rear extension, meaning Lin could give up her flat and move in with them, and they’d also have a view out over the Moors.
But, due to the council denying the DIY SOS team the planning permission at the last minute, Stuart was instead forced to stare at a blank wall all day, instead of a window.
Nick Knowles and the DIY SOS team messed up a renovation for blind mother Lin (left) and disabled Stuart Philp (Right)[/caption]
Meanwhile, having moved in with the family, Lin was allegedly left with a room so small that she could not even squeeze a chair into it, and Stuart’s daughter Lauren’s bedroom was smaller than before too.
Stuart told Devon Live: “Mum was much happier where she was before. She had friends and she had more space.”
Another mistake was that Lin’s room was painted bright pink, despite her saying she didn’t like the colour before the decorating started.
However, she didn’t know the room was pink until someone told her, due to the fact she was blind.
‘Toxic’ carpenter jailed
In July 2020, DIY SOS carpenter Ian Lewis McCormack was jailed for two and a half years after running a “toxic” Facebook furniture fraud empire, conning people out of £200,000.
In July 2016, McCormack and Steven Watson set up their “car crash of a business,” advertising furniture on Facebook Marketplace at bargain prices.
As orders came flooding in, the two men struggled to keep up with the demand for furniture, but still took deposits for sofas that were either never delivered or left in an unsafe space.
When customers asked for refunds, McCormack would often become aggressive, and he once even left a disabled child without a bed, despite his “charity work” volunteering as a carpenter on DIY SOS.
McCormack continued to ignore complaints, and even ignored a cease and desist letter from the police, which led to his conviction.
During McCormack’s sentencing, Judge Tremberg condemned his and Watson’s “shoddy” business model.
He told McCormack: “You fobbed off your disgruntled customers with excuses, lies and sometimes unpleasant communication.
“You continued to take money from new customers. You even moved to trade under a different name when public regard for your business became toxic.
“Each of you was a director and each of you acted in breach of a position of trust. You courted huge numbers of victims together with indirect victims in the form of your responsible competition.
“This was an unsophisticated and chaotic exercise.”
Bizarre trolling saga
The Hutchison family never expected backlash for appearing on the show[/caption]
Colin and Jackie Hutchison appeared on DIY SOS in 2022, with their then-19-year-old son Jordan, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
It was meant to be a heartwarming moment for the family, as they had their house renovated to accommodate their son’s needs.
But when it was eventually aired, two and a half years after it was recorded, the couple were trolled online.
The pair even quit social media and changed their phone number, due to bizarre false rumours circulating online.
Jackie told the Birmingham Mail: “There was a rumour going round we sold our house and moved to Dubai.
“I’m just thankful that it is going on air and people can see that we are very much still loving every second of our life in our home and we will never, ever be selling our house.”
Ad storm
Nick found himself in hot water in 2021, after breaching BBC rules by filming a Shreddies ad.
Beeb bosses were upset that the TV star drew on his DIY SOS profile to play a builder in the cereal ad and he was dropped from a special of the show, replaced with Rhod Gilbert.
At the time, Nick was said to be in “utter turmoil” over fears he faced the sack.
However, in May 2022, he reassured fans he’d be back on their screens.
Speaking on This Morning about his absence, Nick said: “It was a bit odd but I knew that it was only for the one show.
“It was basically a misunderstanding – we sorted it all out – but it meant that I couldn’t do that one show.”
