During the past 20 years, hosts Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer have helped more than 1000 British house hunters look for homes and, property.
Getting my break as a Producer on C4’s flagship property show, Location, Location, Location I was keen to find out why the show keeps millions of viewers worldwide tuning in.
At the start of the pre-production period, the team and I spent a couple of weeks looking at the houses that are on the market and finding others that aren't even on the market yet. These are whittled down and Kirstie or Phil looks around each of the homes in person before it is a definite to be shown to the house hunters.
Sometimes people who want to sell their home don't necessarily want it to be seen on television. In those instances, if we think the couple need to see it before making their decision, we help them to set up an off-camera viewing. They need to see the best of what is on offer to them and we'll work out how to tell that story on television, whatever happens.
Due to the collective experience of the LLL production team, we’re able to react immediately if we hear of something coming to market, and as we have feelers out all over the place we quite often find houses that aren't anywhere near the market yet!
It’s satisfying working with both estate agents and buyers as they soon realise LLL always has serious buyers, and with a success rate of 80% there's a good chance if their house is shown that it might actually be bought by either Kirstie or Phil's house hunters.
The home hunters often react in ways that surprise us, but we do our best to put it all on screen. It can be emotional looking for a new home and often there are tears. Kirstie and Phil are very good at judging when someone needs a moment and will sometimes even take them away from camera or ask if they want to leave the room. In terms of what they say about the houses, our view is that Kirstie and Phil always show them the best options. We can't control it if they disagree and speak their minds and we are happy to put that on screen – after all, we want them to be honest and the viewer deserves to hear the real story.
I tend to produce more of Kirstie’s shows, although I enjoy working with Phil, too - each team films for a week (with months of prep beforehand). We leave no stone unturned so that when we hit the ground for filming we've got the best possible houses lined up.
I honestly think they are right up there with the best-ever double acts on television. I can't put my finger on what works – but it just does. In many ways, they complement each other completely. Phil, for example, is very methodical, whilst Kirstie is very instinctive in her approach. Together, they tick every box. If I could bottle whatever chemistry Kirstie and Phil have, I'd quickly become the most successful TV producer in Britain.
