Phil Spencer admits to ‘floods of tears’ in Location, Location, Location admission

The Channel 4 presenter spent his early years in Kent and is renowned for presenting TV property shows with Kirstie Allsop

House-hunting can be an emotional rollercoaster and property guru Phil Spencer has seen his fair share of touching scenes whilst presenting beloved property programmes including Location, Location, Location and Love It or List It over the years.

Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, which he’s fronted with Kirstie Allsopp since 2000, sees the dynamic duo assist house-hunters in discovering their dream properties whilst tackling tricky markets. The presenting pair provide seasoned guidance on everything from postcode choices and financial planning to property worth.

For Phil – who spent his early years in a cosy countryside village in Kent – one of the programme’s most fulfilling elements is its power to transform lives. The 56-year-old looked back on the filming experiences that have left a lasting impression.

In an interview with the Express, Phil revealed: “Lots has stayed with me long after filming. I love doing a deal. I think the ones that stay with me longest are when we have helped or offered to help somebody who has experienced difficult circumstances.

“We have helped people who have had trauma. We’ve had blind people. I always wanted to find a house for a blind person and I managed to do that.”

Phil continued, noting the show has assisted wounded servicemen and women through to individuals battling mental health challenges, stressing they’re more committed than ever to supporting them as their requirements are more complex than most.

He continued: “Those are the deals that I particularly remember. It’s really emotional. There have been times where everyone in the crew is in floods of tears because you really want it to work. We want it to work every week but pulling off for somebody who perhaps couldn’t achieve that on their own is very satisfying.”

Phil acknowledged that tears flow behind the scenes at least several times each series “because we put so much effort and care and love and respect into the people that we’re looking after”.

He added: “When you do a deal and you save somebody money who have looking for years for themselves and not pulled it off and we manage to pull it off, that’s a deeply satisfying place to be.

“At the end of the filming week you can come home and say, ‘I did something different here’ because we’ve changed somebody’s life.”

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Phil revealed that he relishes revisiting the homes of previous house-hunters to discover how their property journeys developed, disclosing that there have even been instances when they’ve placed a photograph of him and Kirstie on their fridge. “It’s just great,” he added.

Following new research which exposed a hidden cost crisis affecting Britain’s lodge and caravan owners, Phil supported the launch of LodgesAndCaravansForSale.co.uk, established by founders Robert and Sarah Kingsley in direct response to what they characterise as systemic failure in the holiday home resale market.

In the wake of Covid, private equity and venture capital firms have heavily invested in the UK’s caravan and lodge industry, leading to increased site fees across the nation’s numerous holiday parks.

Phil, explaining his support for the platform, said: “It’s giving people direct access to the market. When it comes to the time to sell, there isn’t a legal process like when you go through buying a house. Consumers are being ripped off and it’s totally unnecessary. But it’s been the status quo for such a long period of time, it’s almost like that’s just become the norm. The market is broken.”

He continued: “Without the due diligence on the way in when people are buying it and without the knowledge of what the costs of ownership might be, added to which, when it comes to the time to sell, without a direct route to market, and because there’s no marketplace, they are being forced to sell back to the operator, some of whom are absolutely ripping them off.

“I’d love to get involved in levelling a playing field. This is a market that needs fixing and actually creating a marketplace is what we’ve done with the platform and therefore it will be fair and transparent.

“It’ll be much easier to find information about values of your property or what to pay for another property and the whole process will become a lot more fluid.”

Phil, determined to make a difference, added: “There are a lot of people who are mighty pi**ed off and I can see why. But I think we can put that right.”

Location, Location, Location is available to stream on Channel 4