Escape to the Chateau

7Zhivago7 · 2021-07-06T03:20:15+00:00

I used to like Escape to the Chateau; however, as the years passed, it has turned into something else. Frankly, they don't seem to immerse themselves in the French lifestyle. You rarely see them interact with French people except for the occasional lay person. Do they have any French friends? Has Angel attempted to learn the language? They have turned into a commodity. Selling things online, getting people to pay for The Salon. For me, it has become a bit distasteful.

Livingintheclouds · 06/07/2021 04:31

It's a TV show - you don't see their day to day lives. The kids go to school and they shop, go to the dentist etc etc - that's not what the show is about. The wedding season is short, and obviously this last couple years nonexistent. So they've concentrated on different things. But we have no idea what their life is like really.

harverina · 06/07/2021 04:35

Is there a new series? We love it! I really do admire them for going for it. I know they have a TV series behind them and other bits but I don’t think they have a lot of money and seem to have to do the work a bit at a time.

We probably don’t really see their day to day life on the programme either - I remember one episode where it was one of the kids birthdays and they had their friends round for the party - seemed to be all french friends so I imagine they are immersed in french life more than we see

jasminoide · 06/07/2021 04:37

I can't stand them so haven't watched recently, but read either on here or another forum that they aren't well liked by locals. One of the last episodes I watched Angel(a) was laughing about not being able to speak French despite living there for years.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 06/07/2021 04:49

The show is about the chateau and the home & business they’ve created, it’s not a reality tv show YABU.

LobotomisedIceSkatingFan · 06/07/2021 04:53

Very tiresome couple who used to eat at a restaurant in which I worked. Couldn't stick 'em then; can't stick 'em now.

Peoniesandpeaches · 06/07/2021 05:35

In addition to accusations of bullying there has also been a bit of a scandal about one of the designs they are selling in sainsburys (the one with the beehive) . One of their ex employees Michael Petherick basically says it was his design and he was pressured into signing away rights to it for a token amount and then sacked.

Sciurus83 · 06/07/2021 06:52

That show isn't real, they were already TV personalities who saw this as new idea for TV that's all. It's basically a structured reality show, treat it and your expectations as such (or don't watch it because they are rather irritating)

Ohhhthepain · 06/07/2021 07:48

I get the impression they aren’t very nice people at all, there’s been some very underhanded treatment of people (like pp says regarding designs). The way he talks about her as if she’s some highly qualified interior designer makes me laugh, especially when they aired an episode with a very highly thought of professional interior designer.

Loads of great chateau owners run YouTube pages, lots of involvement with the culture, lots of renovations etc. One of the younger lads heads out all over exploring and tells you the history.

tallduckandhandsome · 06/07/2021 07:54

I’ve tried tuning in at times to see the appeal but couldn’t get in to it.

There is something about the couple that makes them unwatchable for me.

alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 · 06/07/2021 07:59

I like it, its probably all nonsense but its a bit of escapism. Having said that I am not in the UK so have no idea what series I am on, maybe it has gone down hill?

IWasHotInTheNineties · 29/11/2021 22:02

Did anyone see last nights with the silver shiny loft room with paint splatters?!

I really didn’t like it.

sjxoxo · 29/11/2021 22:14

I think the point of the show is exactly that- to make a commodity; it’s not about integrating into french life. We also live in France & I don’t know a single Brit here who has fully integrated without ‘working as an employee’- I mean in an office or premises with french colleagues etc… I’m aware that’s a big generalisation but honestly I’ve not met a single expat who has done it without working here at least part - time; it’s very hard to do without that element & i do wonder what the locals think about their life at the chateau.. some might see it as saving a local landmark but in my experience being ‘showy’ with money here is viewed poorly by lots of people! I once asked some colleagues about finding a local cleaner for our house; they were shocked & hushed & whispered to me ‘but everyone will think you’ve got money..here we don’t tell anyone this type of thing!!’ My dentist also tells people he does a different job for fear of being judged with money! So I wonder if the locals find them ridiculous to be honest. X

Bipbopbee · 02/12/2021 11:26

Really disappointed with the sky barn! Just caught up with Sunday’s episode and no. Just no no no! That silver insulation stuff with the weird padding just looked awful.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 02/12/2021 12:27

Dip and out...

He seems very bright with good ideas...
Her, not so much...
designs are awful.....

Is she trained as an artist /interior expert?

Joystir59 · 02/12/2021 12:29

Can't abide the pair of them..

DrManhattan · 02/12/2021 12:51

Someone said she looks like Matt Lucas and now I cannot unsee.

Minceandonions · 02/12/2021 13:31

I can't bear to watch it now.
All of their projects are just dreamt up to create content, rather than being genuinely needed or wanted.
I also find Angel slightly unhinged with her frantic obsession with "family time" and "making special memories". God help her when the kids move out.
And I hate how their parenting style, and the way the show is edited, reinforces gender stereotypes in the extreme. The boy is being groomed to be an engineer like his dad - and to be interested in creating things and exploring nature and the outdoors. The little girl is only allowed to be interested in fabrics and makeup. And it's always framed that air-head Angel (who's a qualified accountant and successful business woman), living on cloud cuckoo land and with zero common sense, comes up with some silly idea, and then Dick rolls his eyes at the camera and has to use his big manly brain to make it happen. It makes me cringe.

IWasHotInTheNineties · 02/12/2021 13:59

@Bipbopbee

Really disappointed with the sky barn! Just caught up with Sunday’s episode and no. Just no no no! That silver insulation stuff with the weird padding just looked awful.

It’s the worst room she’s done.

Intheopinionofourexpert · 02/12/2021 14:07

@harverina

Is there a new series? We love it! I really do admire them for going for it. I know they have a TV series behind them and other bits but I don’t think they have a lot of money and seem to have to do the work a bit at a time.

We probably don’t really see their day to day life on the programme either - I remember one episode where it was one of the kids birthdays and they had their friends round for the party - seemed to be all french friends so I imagine they are immersed in french life more than we see

Why would you think they dont have much money? They've got multiple income streams and I should think they are pretty well off.

minou123 · 02/12/2021 14:15

They did used to film them going out and about to markets, hair dressers, shops etc.
Presumably they haven't for the last 2 years because of well, the pandemic.

As far as I saw, Angela was trying to learn and did give it a go, which is great. She was honest that she struggles to get her thoughts out in English, never mind French.

As a French person, I always appreciate people trying to speak French (and maybe getting it wrong ), than speaking English Very Loudly.
It is hard and can take years to get into the 'lifestyle' and language of the country you are living in.

My mum is French, but has lived in the UK for over 40 years. She still has a very strong French accent and can still be bloody mystified at some English/British traditions

Whammyyammy · 02/12/2021 14:25

Rarely watch it , but enjoy it if I have done. Fair play to them, they have a beautiful home, a great lifestyle and obviously make a good living .

WomanStanleyWoman · 02/12/2021 14:59

Angel Strawbridge has a very funny look in her eye. If I stayed in her chateau I’d be hiding any sharp objects, put it that way.

Birdsnesting · 02/12/2021 15:30

I always kind of enjoy it, despite thinking that it wasn't a particularly nice chateau (by the standards of French chateaux) in the first place 19thc neo-Renaissance thing? and the sewage-filled moat must have been absolutely foul until they sorted it (some vague memory in an early season of Angel flushing red dye down the loo and Dick in a boat on the moat trying to see where it was being expelled?)

I do agree that it's edited to make Angel look like a craft-minded, silly airhead, and Dick all strong and manly and engineer-y, which is a bit irritating, like they're cartoon characters. It always makes me want to ask questions about why they always seem to have the same English builder -- does he live locally, or do they import him every time they need work done, and how does that go down locally, if so? What about the two French helpers who are sometimes about? Why is Angel so obsessed with neon signs?

girafferafferaffe · 02/12/2021 15:47

I do usually like it. Absolutely hated that paint splattered disco ball room though.

Katiejanej · 02/12/2021 16:28

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