ESCAPE to the Chateau stars Dick and Angel Strawbridge are offering a Scot the chance to help them continue renovations on their French castle.
The couple, who became household names thanks to the Channel 4 series which followed their adventures restoring an abandoned 19th-century chateau, are on the hunt for a DIY king or queen to join them on their next project.
During their Forever Home UK 2024 Tour, audience members will be asked on stage to compete for the title of their town’s Escape to the Chateau – Jack of All Trades. The winner at each stop will go on a shortlist from which an overall DIY champion will be selected – and offered the chance to visit Chateau de la Motte-Husson and use their skills for real.
And with the tour coming to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow, there is a good chance a Scot could soon be joining Dick and Angel on their “aventure française”.
Former Army officer Dick, 65, who bought the derelict castle with Angel, 46, a designer, in 2014, said: “We can’t wait to bring our tour to Scotland and engage with all the Scots who have watched our progress during the nine seasons of our show. It’s been nearly a full decade since we bought the chateau and we’ve come a long way.
“It’s been a rollercoaster but we have enjoyed every moment and during the stage show we will be sharing our experiences and lots of fun untold stories of our crazy adventures in France.
“Only so much of our story can be told on the telly, and as life at the chateau continues to evolve, we will share what it takes to build a forever home.”
Angel, who founded The Vintage Patisserie – a leading vintage hosting company based in London – added: “The main aim of the tour will be to find A JACK OF ALL Trades who will come out to the chateau and help us with our next project.
“During the second half of the show we will be asking for volunteers to come on stage and take part in a number of challenges – everything from icing a cake to plumbing and electrics. No task is out of bounds and it’s guaranteed to get messy.
“It will be open to everyone, not just engineers and designers. All folk have to bring is a can-do attitude. We want to show that anyone can achieve anything they set their mind to as long as they have the mindset to give it a good go. We are not looking for one-trick ponies, we are looking for people who can turn their hand to anything.”
When the eccentric couple bought the 45-room mansion for £280,000 it had no electricity, heating or running water and it had stood empty for 40 years.
Escape to the Chateau – first aired back in 2016 and documented the Strawbridges as they refurbished the property which boasts a moat, 12 acres of ground and a guesthouse for Angel’s parents. The last season of the show went out in December 2022.
Dick, who was born in Burma but grew up in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, said: “People always ask us why we took on such a huge project but we were ready for it. We’d been searching for four years to find a chateau in the country where we could bring up our family.
“I couldn’t live in London, I’m a country boy, the country scared Angel but France seemed to be a bit different when we stumbled upon Chateau de la Motte-Husson in the Mayenne departement of France.
“The first year was the hardest as I had to work away a lot to get the money to start the conversion but I am a practical and realistic person and I never doubted that everything we wanted to do was achievable.”
The former lieutenant colonel, who has presented shows including Coast, added: “You’ve got to expect the unexpected. We navigated our way round the problem.
“We created a place where we could sustain ourselves whatever happened in our lives and we have achieved what we set out to do. We are loving life in what is our forever home – put it this way, I can’t see us ever downsizing to a bungalow.”
Dick and Angel’s children, Dorothy, 10, and Arthur, 11, are on the tour too.
Angel said: “We are taking the children and my mum and dad. Arthur has started senior school but his head teacher is allowing us to take him out as the trip is a great life experience.
“Dorothy and Arthur come along and say hello, and leave the stage. But after the first time we did it, Dorothy said, ‘Can we rewrite the tour so we’re on stage a little bit more please?'” Dick, whose daughter Charlotte, 38, from his first marriage, lives in Buchlyvie, near Stirling, added: “The kids have never been to Aberdeen so I know that is going to be a highlight.
“Getting to chat to the audience in our meet and greet sessions is just the best and we know the whole family is going to have a lot of fun in Scotland.”
Dick & Angel’s Forever Home 2024 Tour is in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on October 22; Aberdeen’s Music Hall on October 23 and Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre on October 24.
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