‘People just need a nudge!'

Dick and Angel Strawbridge tell TV Times about championing homemaking and upcycling during lockdown

- REBECCA FLETCHER

ESCAPE TO THE CHATEAU: MAKE DO AND MEND THURSDAY / C4 / 9PM / EP 2 of 6 / FACTUAL

Dick Strawbridge and his wife, Angel, are on fine form when TV Times calls them at their beautiful 45-room chateau in sunny France to talk all things design and DIY.

‘I’ve been working hard in my walled garden today,’ beams Dick. ‘It’s looking stunning. I’ve even got my girl here, Angel, pottering about in the planting beds without being asked to. I’ve seduced her to the dark side!’

Today, we’re chatting to the lovely couple, who purchased their home six years ago, about the new series of their popular lockdown inspired spin-off show, Escape to the Chateau: Make Do and Mend, which returned to C4 last week.

‘Our homes have become more important than ever during lockdown and people are bubbling with ideas on how to improve them – they just need a nudge!’ smiles Angel, 43, who, here, along with Dick, 61, shares with us the secrets of their success…

You must be thrilled the show has returned for a second series!

DICK We are! Especially as we filmed the first one on our phones in deepest lockdown and didn’t even know if we’d managed to switch the record button on!

ANGEL We love it. Doing the Zoom chats with people makes it feel more behind-the-scenes-y and we get to collaborate and understand what they want, and then watch what they do with our vision. Seeing the smile on their faces afterwards, knowing that we helped them create something wonderful, is such a satisfying feeling.

DICK And the beauty is we get to watch other people do the hard work!