Anyone been on a "real life " TV prog?

[jasper]

I ask this because of the discussion on the other thread.
Anyone been on one of the home decor/sort out your life type shows?

Know someone who had the scary Ann Maurice in to do her house. They had a bit of a contretemps with Ann giving in!

At the end of the programme (House Doctor) they usually say that the house sold in 2 days etc. After this one, it was just, 'they have had lots more viewers.'

I do think House Doctor gives some good advice and seeing some of the transformations that take place makes me believe that a lot of what she says is true. However, I couldn't just clear out a lot of the stuff in our house - we need it, and I would really find difficulty maintaining the show house look with 3 children messing it up. We were planning to move this year and decorated the hall staircase and landing in magnolia (yes, boring but neutral). Within a month, the kids have had scuff marks, dirty hand prints, felt tip pen etc all over the walls so it needs doing again now. I couldn't let Ann Maurice into my home though and if I did, I would have to spend 3 weeks before hand giving it a really good clean up, just imagine being told on tv that you were dirty or messy (even if it is true)

She does have good ideas but they never show you what they do with all the clutter she insists on them clearing out - if you don't have a garage or other suitable space are you just supposed to chuck it?

In articles about selling your house they always advise keeping dogs, pets etc out of sight. Maybe they should go to the Oxfam shop too.

It seems to me that most of the people they have on are just utter lamebrains who don't even see what their houses might look like to outsiders, like the house where the living room was full of empty takeaway pizza boxes, the carpet was a mad pattern, the walls were another mad pattern and the bathroom was just squalid and the bloke kept insisting it was OK really - I think he was the one who refused to lift a finger and paid someone to come in and do it.

(It's a good idea to go through your house backwards, looking into a mirror, things look completely different!)

oops - meant kids, not pets!

I LOVE Anne Maurice. She's my heroine. I particularly liked the episode when she walked into a house, sniffed, then inquired sweetly, 'you have dogs?' The owners looked please and said yes, and Anne sniffed again and said acidly, 'How can I tell?'. I also loved the mad bint with all the dogs who fought her all the way and wondered why her house wouldn't sell.

Hooray for Anne (and she does shift those houses). BTW she recommends putting clutter into storage if you can't bear to chuck it out. The cost of storage is always up at the end of the show along with paint and wallpaper. I'd definitely have her in my house if it didn't sell.

I'm another fan of AnnMaurice.
But just where do they get those idiots who appear on the programme? Have they not seen it before and absorbed a few basic principles (Tidy up, for example)?

She's brilliant! It all seems to be about de- personalising so that someone else can picture themselves living in your home.

I think it's definitely a good idea to buy some new affordable carpet if yours is a bit grotty to put down before you move. R

I used to like the Anne & Nick programme so much too. I got quite into Richard and Judy when it was on in the mornings and have to say that their replacements just aren't the same. Unfortunately I never get to see R & J on a tea time. All I get now is CBeebies but it has its uses.