Phil Spencer opened up about the emotional moments on set of Location, Location, Location (Image: ITV)
Emotions often run high when people are searching for their perfect home. Property expert Phil Spencer has witnessed plenty of tear-jerking moments, having fronted hit property shows such as Location, Location, Location and Love It or List It for many years. Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, which he has co-presented alongside Kirsty Allsopp since 2000, follows the duo as they help guests find their perfect home while navigate challenging markets. The pair offer expert advice on everything from location and budget to property value.
For Phil, one of the most rewarding aspects of the show is its ability to change people’s lives. The 56-year-old, who recently became an investor and board director at LodgesAndCaravansForSale.co.uk, reflected on the moments from filming that have stayed with him over the years. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Phil said: “Lots has stayed with me long after filming. I love doing a deal. I think the ones that stay with me longest are when we have helped or offered to help somebody who has experienced difficult circumstances.
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“We have helped people who have had trauma. We’ve had blind people. I always wanted to find a house for a blind person and I managed to do that.”
Phil went on to say the programme has helped injured war veterans to those who have struggled with their mental health, explaining they are determined more than ever to help them as their needs are greater than others.
He continued: “Those are the deals that I particularly remember. It’s really emotional. There have been times where everyone in the crew is in floods of tears because you really want it to work. We want it to work every week but pulling off for somebody who perhaps couldn’t achieve that on their own is very satisfying.”
Phil admitted that tears are shed behind the scenes at least a few times each series “because we put so much effort and care and love and respect into the people that we’re looking after”.
Phil has presented Location, Location, Location with Kirsty Allsop for more than 25 years (Image: Channel 4)
He added: “When you do a deal and you save somebody money who have looking for years for themselves and not pulled it off and we manage to pull it off, that’s a deeply satisfying place to be.
“At the end of the filming week you can come home and say, ‘I did something different here’ because we’ve changed somebody’s life.”
Phil confessed that he enjoys revisiting the homes of past house-hunters to see how their property journeys unfolded, revealing that there have even been occasions when they’ve added a photo of him and Kirsty to their fridge. “It’s just great,” he added.
After new research revealed a hidden cost crisis facing Britain’s lodge and caravan owners, Phil backed the launch of LodgesAndCaravansForSale.co.uk, created by founders Robert and Sarah Kingsley in direct response to what they describe as systemic failure in the holiday home resale market.
Opening up about the major issue within the caravan and lodges sector, Robert said: “I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years and I’ve seen a huge decline over the past 10 years. The industry has become almost broken. The owners are getting really affected when they want to sell because there’s no direct route to market, ever. In my whole 20 years there never has been.”
Following Covid, private equity and venture capital firms moved heavily into the UK lodges and caravan industry, driving up site fees across the country’s thousands of holiday parks.
“The normal working class person who buys caravans can’t budget for the huge price increases. It’s been a very challenging time,” Robert added.
Explaining what made him want to back the platform, Phil said: “It’s giving people direct access to the market. When it comes to the time to sell, there isn’t a legal process like when you go through buying a house. Consumers are being ripped off and it’s totally unnecessary. But it’s been the status quo for such a long period of time, it’s almost like that’s just become the norm. The market is broken.”
The property expert has invested in LodgesandCaravansForSale.co.uk (Image: Getty)
The star continued: “Without the due diligence on the way in when people are buying it and without the knowledge of what the costs of ownership might be, added to which, when it comes to the time to sell, without a direct route to market, and because there’s no marketplace, they are being forced to sell back to the operator, some of whom are absolutely ripping them off.”
“I’d love to get involved in levelling a playing field. This is a market that needs fixing and actually creating a marketplace is what we’ve done with the platform and therefore it will be fair and transparent.
“It’ll be much easier to find information about values of your property or what to pay for another property and the whole process will become a lot more fluid.”
Determined to change things, Phil added: “There are a lot of people who are mighty pi**ed off and I can see why. But I think we can put that right.”
