Celebrating turning 54 in a few weeks, Lucy Alexander has everything to be grateful for as she gets stuck into a new 'glamorous' role on TV.
The much-loved Homes Under the Hammer star is the new face of A Place in the Sun, which is a world away from her former regular slot on daytime TV. She's swapped 'pigeon poo' for sandy beaches, and is loving every minute.
"It's the other end of the scale, it's lovely because it's very different," Lucy told the Mirror. "It's talking to people about the next stage of their life, listening to their needs and then supplying them with the property that they want. So I love it. I love the journey - watching their reactions as I take them to the first house compared to the last.
"I'm having a really nice time. My 54th birthday is coming up and I thought, you know what? I want to travel a bit. I still love property. It's all the things I love. It's a dream gig." Lucy was the face of Homes under the Hammer until 2016, when she left after feeling like her time had naturally run its course.
She is 'loving' her new role on daytime TV (Channel 4)"It's very different to hammer, which was freezing cold, houses without roofs, floors. What I loved about Homes Under the Hammer was that you never knew what I was going to turn up to." She and her ex-co-star Martin Roberts still keep in touch with messages, and she hopes to join him for a pint in the Welsh pub he's renovating.
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The pair recently reunited for the show's 20th anniversary celebration night in Scotland. "Thirteen joyous years I gave that show," Lucy, beaming, said. "They played a video of the 20 years of the show - it was just brilliant to go back 20 years. We were like a couple of little fresh-faced kids.
"It's just iconic daytime telly. I feel blessed to have had the experience, of looking at the hidden gems. I also feel blessed to now have moved on - I've nailed two of the best we have. If you love property, it's two of the best daytime TV shows. I look back and I think I've done all right. It's been a really exciting journey".
Like Martin, Lucy says she lives and breathes property and loves nothing more than an impressive transformation. She's backing a new campaign by Together to highlight the UK's 'hidden gems' by breathing new life into derelict properties.
With ministers set to launch a package of housing reforms, including a focus on new planning rules to allow the transformation of commercial buildings into housing, the property lender's research highlights the scale of the problem – as well as the growing calls to push the issue to the top of the political agenda ahead of the upcoming General Election.
Lucy has said her new role is vastly different to her time on Homes Under the Hammer (BBC)More than half of Brits are encountering derelict and unloved buildings every week – with 20 per cent seeing or walking by them every single day, says Together. This comes as analysis finds there is a total of 1.55million residential homes worth £531bn that stand empty across England and Wales. These homes are registered as completely ‘abandoned’ – with no usual or short-term residents in place, or use as a second home; without any clarity on plans for sale or redevelopment.
"We want to inspire property developers, investors, and would-be homeowners, all to think creatively about buying an abandoned home and breathing life into it," Lucy explained. "There are so many of these empty buildings. Obviously with my experience of doing Homes Under the Hammer, I've seen so many of them make fantastic homes," Lucy, whose favourite renovations include a water tower in Plymouth and an old converted chapel, encouraged.
"Let's think about using existing housing stock. It is a lot of work, but you really do get the gain. And sometimes sometimes you might be able to find something a little bit more for your money as well." While currently busy with work opportunities, it hasn't always been an easy journey in her career.
After quitting Homes, Lucy fronted Channel 4's Best of Both Worlds and other documentaries before taking a break to care for her mother who sadly passed away. Lockdown then hit and like others, work dried up.
Her BBC consumer show, The Customer Is Always Right, didn't get commissioned for a third series. She was stuck at home, and turned to renovating her cottage. "It was a terrible time for everybody wasn't it," she reflected.
"People that were working weren't doing anything. And I was kind of at home thinking, wow, you know, 'what am I going to do next?'" It was all-change for the star, who had been in work from being a teen.
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She had support from her husband, former Premier League footballer Stewart Castledine, who played for Wimbledon and Wycombe Wanderers. But the status of being a 'WAG' has never sat comfortably with Lucy.
Lucy with husband Stewart Castledine (Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)
The presenter is proud of her actress daughter Kitty (Instagram)"Oh my gosh, no way. I'm my own independent woman," she said, of the label. "I've earned my own money ever since I was the age of 18. I bought my first house at 18 and have always been financially independent.
"But some of the WAGS are fabulous and the life of a footballer is hard and for the wives and girlfriends that have to follow their husbands around the country but then they need the support and they want their families there."
The couple shared their first date 25 years ago, where they viewed property together. "That is how much I love property," she laughed. "We were looking at a house in Barnes for me to buy. I was selling my Clapham flat. And I ended up not buying it and moving in with him."
Stewart also dabbled in TV when he retired, but a joint appearance on-screen is off the cards. "I have to hold him back. He would love it. But he's currently very busy with my son," Lucy said.
Their son Leo, 18, has followed in his father's footsteps, playing as a midfielder for Chelsea. Meanwhile, their daughter, Kitty, 21, made her debut in BBC soap EastEnders in December.
The actress is in a wheelchair after being diagnosed with transverse myelitis in 2012. It's a rare condition that causes the swelling of the spinal cord, which left her paralysed.
"She's very happy and she's really enjoying it," the mum-of-two said of her soap gig. "I'm really proud - she came out of drama school and she's done really well. Kitty lives her own life independently. She's in a wheelchair, but nothing else is different. She mixes and goes to parties and goes to nightclubs and drives a car.
"She doesn't stick with a disabled community as such. She does her own thing and lives her life to the full. It hasn't held her back." Both children are looking to fly the nest and while she says she's going to dearly miss them, she is thriving talking all things houses with the pair.
She and Stewart, who renovated their home in Surrey after buying it at auction, will look to downsize. And with Kitty's needs of lateral living, will look to settle into a bungalow after they had to install a pricey lift in their current family home.
Lucy will be there every step of the way sharing her expert knowledge with the grown-up kids. "Maybe she'll find something at auction, who knows? After this campaign, I'm really thinking out of the box now. I'm talking property in my job and at home. I'm loving my life right now because my kids, for the first time ever, want to talk about property with me."
Lucy Alexander is ambassador for the UK wide Hidden Gems campaign – which is backed by property lender Together. Lucy Alexander’s partnership with the seeks to raise awareness of the scope and scale of the UK’s abandoned and derelict buildings highlighting opportunities for restoration and redevelopment as a means to open doors to would-be homeowners and developers across our major cities, preserving our heritage and providing exciting opportunities for future generations.
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