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TV star helps patch up couple's house for new property series
A COUPLE have set about transforming a run down bed-and-breakfast into a family home - with help from TV presenter Sarah Beeny.
Setting themselves the daunting task of restoring Carrick House, a 20-room 18th century listed building they bought in May last year, Mandy and Terry Robinson decided to call in the experts.
With a badly leaking roof, blocked drains, no heating on three floors, and a huge crack in one wall they applied to Channel 4's new series Help! My House is Falling Down - presented by the star of hit show Property Ladder - for some urgent assistance.
But the Fareham couple couldn't predict some of the bizarre tactics the professionals would employ on their East Street home.
'They definitely went beyond what we were expecting,' said mum-of-four Mandy. 'At one point Sarah blasted the roof with water from a cherry picker to see how bad our leaks were.
'And there was plenty of added drama for the cameras. We knew about most of the problems they identified but they made them sound really catastrophic.'
The film crews moved in for 20 days during August last year, and one major issue picked up by the Channel 4 team was that an entire side of the Robinsons' house was at risk of sinking into the ground.
And the TV experts came up with an unusual solution.
Mandy, 37, said: 'They sprayed a kind of foam into the cracks under the house to provide extra support.
'It should have cost around 8,000, but they waived the fee.'
With a total budget for their project of 130,000, business consultant Terry and dietician Mandy still have work to do on their house.
Terry, 41, said: 'I think without them we wouldn't have had the get-up-and-go to accomplish half as much as we have.'
Viewers can watch Terry and Mandy in the penultimate episode of the series on Tuesday, September 16.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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