'Home is important for me - it's about how it makes people feel'

As presenter Sarah Beeny welcomes OK! into her mansion, she opens up about her "chaotic" life and moving on from cancer

- MITYA UNDERWOOD

Sarah Beeny is a force to be reckoned with - and she makes no apologies for it. The TV presenter became a household name in the heyday of daytime property shows in the early noughties, and has since added master renovator, cancer survivor and podcaster to her list of achievements.

At 52, she's still making TV, is nearing the end of a mammoth house build and has just spent close to four months on a tour bus with her four sons and husband of 22 years, Graham Swift, as they performed sellout gigs with their family band, The Entitled Sons.

Her life, as she tells us during our exclusive photo shoot at her incredible countryside mansion, is a healthy mix of chaos, love and ever-changing to-do lists.

"I'm a doer - if I have an idea, I need to just do it," she laughs. "All my kids have dyslexia and one has ADHD, and sometimes I think, ‘Wonder where that came from?!’ My husband says it’s me, but of course I say it’s him!”

Five years ago, Sarah, along with Graham and their children Billy, 20, Charlie, 18, Laurie, 16, and Rafferty, 15, upped sticks and moved from East Yorkshire to 220 acres of beautiful Somerset countryside, and began building their stunning home – involving the odd skirmish with planners along the way.

Amid the build, Sarah was dealt a devastating blow when she learnt in August 2022 that she had breast cancer – the disease her mum Ann sadly died from at the age of 39, when Sarah was just 10.

Sarah documented her experience for a moving Channel 4 show, Sarah Beeny vs Cancer, in June 2023. And she was open about her diagnosis from the start because, she tells us, nothing good happens in secret.

“It seemed the easiest option. Secrets are complicated to keep. I decided to throw it all out there,” she explains.

Sarah knows how fortunate she was to receive the treatment she did – and later, to reach the end of treatment – and has no regrets about sharing her story.