Sarah Beenys new life in the country

[TowandaForever]

Is it just me or is she really fake?

I don't have any objections to her or her family. I admire anyone who can maintain a marriage, four kids, and a career. But I think the timing of the show is off, given current difficulties (not something she could help I suppose) , and the planned house seems very out of keeping with the countryside. I am surprised it got through the planning stage tbh. Also surprised that you would be moving away from London as the DC grow up, as being a teen in the countryside isn't always a bundle of laughs. It makes sense if they have close family there though.

@Megan2018
"It's the worst piece of TV production we've seen on UK TV we've seen in a very long time......"

In what ways ?

As I said I missed Wednesday's episode - what happened please ?

They left their beautiful home in London with not a backwards glance. She pretended she got a caravan on the spur of the moment, her Dad just had one lying around apparently, and then pretended her hsuband didnt know she was getting it to use as their "office" Then got it stuck in their huge field which her husband had to sort it out for her. You could see he thought the caravan was beneath him but hey ho then she pretended she didnt know what was going to hapen next while looking wistful into the distance and said something about more dificulties ahead or some such nonsense as planning has been approved and they can throw money at any issue it seems.

It’s just badly done all round- badly lit, badly filmed, badly edited - it has tons of filler. Takes about 3/4 of each episode for much to happen.
Doesn’t flow well at all. Sound quality is also poor in places. It’s just very messy.
DH says “they should be bloody embarrassed” to put it out.
I don’t notice these things hugely but DH does as it was what he spent a whole career on. And as he shouts at the telly, I start to notice the details too.

It smacks of something that was hashed together post prod - which is happening a fair bit with Covid as programmes that were shelved as they were shit are now being aired to fill gaps and re-edited to fit a different slot. That might not have happened here but given how well it is a poor fit with how people feel (economic downturn etc) it may well have done as it’s not very “of the moment”.

It’s really not very good by Outline’s normal standards.

On the other hand Tom Kerridge’s current one about pubs has been brilliantly done considering that Covid basically crashed into it and they made a different programme on the fly.

It’s an awful fake cynical programme - I’m particularly irritated by them trying out all the different cottage industries .... which they obviously aren’t going to pursue . I was irritated by them making a song and dance about digging the pond - then getting real workman to finish it !

Lots of people stuck in towns through the pandemic would love to move to the country - but they don’t have her finances - cynical programming.

mazylou - planning is a public record - it’s all online

If you don’t like her just don’t watch it.
So much unecessary vitriol, you'd think she was a drug lord the amount of hatred.

Same re Angel Strawbridge and Kirsty Alsop

Or is it jealousy because she is successful, has a happy marriage and 4 lovely children?

Talk about women tearing each other down...

It’s just the bt that I don’t like if she was less fake and said well we know planning permission will be given as we have sold our house in London and I’m canny and wouldn’t have done that without a plan and also have loads of money and will be fine. Instead of trying to pretend it’s all done ad hoc. Give us a break, it’s the underestimating of our intelligence and I’d say the same if it was a man!

I’ve not seen any ‘vitriol’ or ‘hatred’ on this thread - that’s quite an overreaction - I don’t think any post has even been deleted - I just see a group of posters calling it how it is - Sarah Beeny is a successful businesswoman and I’m sure she’s got broad enough shoulders to take our opinions - I’m sure she’s more worried about her latest business venture than us lot ! I’m pleased to see that a good proportion do see through the fake though - maybe there is hope for the human race after all

I really liked it thought they seem a lovely family and they work really hard for their success

I dunno why we’ve had to sit through 3 programmes of a non build. Watching them play around with faux interest in cottage industries is ridiculous. All that money and they ‘upcycle’ a stained knackered henhouse and cover it in chicken mesh that a fox could chew through. The poor wild rabbit that she bunged in a tiny indoor cage.
The new house looks like a footballers wives mansion, it’s hideous. I was amazed it got planning. I also can’t believe they uprooted teenagers from London into the sticks. Such a selfish move. Sarah in particular comes across as having no attention span and constantly having to be indulged in any whim that pops into her head.

I’ve always quite like SB primarily for her energy and ability to get things done.

On property ladder and other renovation progs it was refreshing to see a no nonsense woman in charge of projects talking to people straight about plans, managing projects and just getting on with things. I think she’s hugely talented in that area and find it attractive.

Went off her a bit when realised she was good mates with g Ramsay and ‘that lot’ and knew a bit more about her politics etc.

As for prog - think new house looks awful - thought will take several centuries for it to settle and look anything other than ‘faux/brash pad’. Her comments basically saying because they were regenerating the farm they should be supported in whatever their plans are was breathtakingly entitled. I fast forward through the ‘local industries’ bits - utterly false and self serving.
Thought her treatment of the poor rabbit was just awful.
She’s got a hard seemingly self absorbed side I don’t like at all.

Still love her get up and go energy.

@HeronLanyon

I’ve always quite like SB primarily for her energy and ability to get things done.

On property ladder and other renovation progs it was refreshing to see a no nonsense woman in charge of projects talking to people straight about plans, managing projects and just getting on with things. I think she’s hugely talented in that area and find it attractive.

Went off her a bit when realised she was good mates with g Ramsay and ‘that lot’ and knew a bit more about her politics etc.

As for prog - think new house looks awful - thought will take several centuries for it to settle and look anything other than ‘faux/brash pad’. Her comments basically saying because they were regenerating the farm they should be supported in whatever their plans are was breathtakingly entitled. I fast forward through the ‘local industries’ bits - utterly false and self serving.
Thought her treatment of the poor rabbit was just awful.
She’s got a hard seemingly self absorbed side I don’t like at all.

Still love her get up and go energy.

Yes! ‘Entitled’ and ‘self-serving’ sums up perfectly how she is coming across. I agree, it’s going to take ages for that house to look good. If it ever does. Why couldn’t they have built a farmhouse? The piece of land they bought wasn’t even interesting or beautiful.

I think there’s a time to move to the sticks, and that’s when kids are young, or after they leave home.

I think it’s a big mistake but it seems that what Sarah wants, Sarah gets, the husband seems nice but a bit of a dreamer.

It stresses me out as felt for the older lad -imagine being a teen in London then taken away from everything you know to live in a field with just your little brothers and parents for company. My two are a similar age and fear they would just flatly refuse to go.

Plus I grew up in the country myself and if as a teen you not madly into country pursuits the lack of things to do and constant driving everywhere and reliance on lifts is crap.

I was really looking forward to this but only lasted two episodes, it’s just so bad in so many ways!

I’m not sure many people are that interested in a couple of millionaires “worrying” about what will happen if x y z doesn’t happen or their fake interest in seeing if they could make Hallumi from scratch, into a full time business . They are treating the viewers like idiots.

Yes. Haven't got a problem with her or her family, it's the faux naivety they've decided to employ that irritates. Irksome when its clear they are a couple who are clever and resourceful and wont be knitting muesli to garner income any time soon.

I think seeing the cheese making and cider making is interesting.
I did feel a bit sorry for the older lad being filmed.
Sarah and Graham's family are very close to their siblings family - her brother married to his sister, who live in the area so I presume they weighed up the pros and cons of moving.
Their London home looked lovely.

I CAN get All4 in Ireland on VirginTV. Yay! !!!
Now if only the BBC Player was available- I wouldn't mind paying for it.

They haven’t mentioned what the plan is for the house they are living in now.

If I was them I would refurb it, give it 5-10 acres with equestrian use and one of the barns and sell it as equestrian property.

Why the f would they leave that London house - absolute dream property.
If that’s anything to go by their new home will probably run out tastefully, even if on plans it does look awful. I bet they also renovate and sell off the current farmhouse or use it as a holiday let.

I also loved their london house and actually she said it was a small house to begin and they added extensions. If so I think they/architect did a spectacular job as it looked original and I extended from front.
Maybe their new brash pad wil be better than I fear ?

I’ve always liked her but I can totally see why this series would wind a lot of people up. My main issue though is around planning. They are building what essentially looks like a nouveau-riche style mansion in the countryside. It’s true I’ve not looked at the plans in detail but this does not look like a house of special architectural interest. It looks like an oversized Alfred Homes on speed job. And I just don’t think that they would get permission for this if they weren’t well known and making a tv series about it.

So i am watching this and just so you all know - we had sarah go truffle hunting,chat to a falcon,go fishing as the hole for the house has some water in it .
I am guessing the last episode will have her sat in the finished house thinking " pied a terre in oxford for the kids uni " .

O thanks for the update bobbikato, I managed about 60 seconds and it made my teeth ache so had to leave. I want to see the house. I expect it will be fine, they have good taste and skill and can buy what they need so get on with it. I dont want to see their family life and pet projects. Please tell me the poor bloody wild rabbit didn't feature in the petting zoo. Ugh.

@longwayoff sadly the poor rabbit did when they mentioned the cat had brought in it I have no idea why they decided to keep it and put it in a cage. It's clearly a wild rabbit! Poor thing.

Dear me. Thanks @captainprincess. Rabbits must be more rare than I thought in Somerset if they're suitable for displaying in a cage to the neighbours. Although if they're keeping up the farming, the Beenys will be shooting them soon enough. Shades of Mr McGregor. I can visualise Mr B strutting about in plus fours with a shotgun, very country house.