Interview with Love It or List It's Kirstie Allsopp

28 April 2016

Series two of Love it or List It is back. For those who didn’t see the first series, what’s the concept?

The series features couples where one of them is happy with their home, the other is not happy with their home. The concept is that I feel that there are very few problems that I can’t solve within the home, and Phil feels that the solution is to move. So Phil goes and searches for properties with the couple, and I solve the problems in their home, and at the end, they decide whether they’re going to go or stay.

 

You’re still in charge of team Love It. Why did you decide to keep those roles? Does it suit your respective skills better?

There’s no way that Phil could do what I do. I could do what he does, but he couldn’t do what I do.

 

Would he say the same thing?

He would totally say the same thing, 100 per cent, yeah. For me, often the problem with a house is that people have lost their affection for it. And the house has lost its mojo a little bit. So you have to look at how the house is working for the family. Are they able to get out of the house every day, get to work, get to school, do their hobbies, do what they want to do. Your house should be a place of shelter and love, so it has to carry out a very practical function. And if your storage isn’t right, if the layout is wrong, if the rooms aren’t right , then your house is actually hindering your day-to-day existence.

 

How much do you tailor your plans to suit the brief you get from the family, and how much to make the home look its best (even if it contradicts the brief?)

Oh it’s all about the brief. It’s all about the family and what they need. I can’t bear those shows where it’s all about the designer or the makeover. It’s not that, it’s about them and their needs and what works for them. It might not necessarily be about what they initially want, in the sense that I sometimes have to sit down with them and say “You want a dining table there, actually it’s not practical, you’re going to have this problem and this problem.” But nothing is imposed on anyone, because it’s their money at the end of the day.

 

Is there a pressure that goes with spending a couple’s hard-earned money? Does it keep you awake at night?

What I do is I go in and diagnose the problem, and I suggest things, but they decide on the builder, they decide on whether to go with the solutions I’ve provided or not. Yes, it does keep me awake at night, thinking “Oh my God, was I right, was I right, was I right?” You’re saying to these people “Trust me, I know what this will look like when this wall is built,” and obviously there is a responsibility with that.

 

You’re dealing with couples who have absolutely divergent opinions as to the way forward, aren’t you?

Yeah. Sometimes Phil will say to me “Don’t you ever think they should move?” And I often think they should move. But if I say it and Phil says it, then the partner who doesn’t want to move is going to feel very ganged up against. So it’s really important that I say to the non-moving partner “I’m with you, we’re going to focus on the house, and I’m going to work with you to make improvements to your house.” Probably what will happen is those improvements will add to the house’s value and make it more sellable, so that if they do decide to move at the end, they’ve made money not lost money, and the house will sell more quickly.

 

Do you ever have couples who fall out really badly in front of you?

No, because more than anything else on this show, we like to have nice people. And nice people don’t have screaming matches in front of other people. It’s embarrassing for everyone concerned.

 

Is there a trend? My guess would be the women want to move more, and the men want to stay put?

Yes. Stereotypes happen for a reason. They’re not a good thing, and we should always try and avoid stereotyping when we can, but the fact is that that does happen.

 

It’s quite a surprise, therefore, that more of the couples in the first series ended up staying put, isn’t it?

I think it reflects the fact that the changes work. The wives fall out of love with the houses and decide they have to move because the idea of sorting out the problem is too exhausting. But then I come in and hold hands with the person and say “Look, we can do this together, and you can have this bathroom and this bedroom.” It’s amazing what can be achieved by giving a woman her own bathroom!

 

Do you ever make the plans and then come back in after the work has been done and think “God, that didn’t work. We didn’t get it right”?

Touch wood, no, not so far, but that could happen. Nobody’s infallible.

 

Speaking of bickering couples, do you and Phil wind each other up that much in everyday life?

No, absolutely not. We get on incredibly well. Phil and I have the same value systems. We’ve both got two boys, I’ve got the addition of two stepsons, we both feel that actually being with our families is what we enjoy most of all. We’re very different people in how we function, but we’re very similar in terms of what’s important to us. So we understand each other. We’ve been together 17 years. I’ve been with Phil five years longer than I’ve been with my partner. So it’s a very long-term relationship.

 

How seriously do you take the rivalry? How badly do you want to win?

Not so badly that it would impact any decisions I made about the couple. And I realise that it’s weighted in my favour, because change is difficult. So if I can persuade the person who wants to move that they don’t want to move, it’s going to be easier for me than it is for Phil.

ENDS