Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp have been working together since 2000 (Image: Channel 4)
Phil Spencer opened up about what it has been like working with Kirstie Allsopp for more than two decades. The presenters first teamed up for Location, Location, Location in 2000 and have since collaborated on various other property shows. Although they were forced to defend rumours of a rift, the pair have always maintained a close friendship. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Phil, 56, admitted there is never a dull moment working with Kirstie, 54, as he often has no idea what will happen from one moment to the next.
He said: “You never know what’s going to happen from one minute to the next. We work in very different ways but that is what keeps it fresh because you never know what will happen. You never know where she’s going to stand or what she’s going to say. She can often turn things on its head but that keeps it exciting.” Even though Kirstie doesn’t hold back when things go wrong, Phil maintained that she has a “warm heart”.
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Phil, who recently became an investor and board director at LodgesAndCaravans.ForSale, explained: “I think you see it all on screen. She doesn’t hold back. She’s got such a warm heart. She’ll call it out if it’s not going well and you’ll know about that but she’s got such a warm and generous heart.”
Although Kirstie sometimes makes controversial comments, Phil said she enjoys debating and discussing issues thoughtfully.
He continued: “She often gets herself in the news for saying something controversial, which she says she doesn’t like, but I say to her, ‘You do it so often, you must like it.’ She’s not afraid of airing her opinions but she’s equally very happy to have a debate and discussion.
“Perhaps some people don’t see that. She loves to have a proper debate and discussion. I think of the days in social media it can get just narrowed down into bullet points and taken out of context, which is often a shame.”
The pair have maintained a close friendship for more than two decades (Image: Channel 5)
He went on to agree that Kirstie is “a lot of fun” to work with. The pair marked 25 years of Location, Location, Location, last year, while Phil reflected on their first ever day of filming the Channel 4 show.
Due to a hilarious slip-up from Kirstie, he revealed the original title of the show was changed.
He recounted: “The original plan was to call it The Great House Hunt, but Kirstie got that wrong the very first time she said it in front of the camera. She didn’t quite get the word ‘hunt’ correctly pronounced.
“That was filmed and so it was quickly decided to change the name of the show because she didn’t know what she said and the rest of us were crawling around the floor laughing.”
Phil recently backed the launch of LodgesAndCaravansForSale, created by founders Robert and Sarah Kingsley, after new research revealed a hidden cost crisis facing Britain’s lodge and caravan owners.
Opening up about the major issue within the caravan and lodges sector, founder Robert Kingsley 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.
Phil recently backed the launch of LodgesAndCaravans.ForSale (Image: PA)
Phil explained that the new platform gives people direct access to the property market, cutting out unnecessary costs and legal processes that usually overcomplicate selling.
He branded the current broken and overpriced system “totally unnecessary”, adding: “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.”
He went on: “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.”
Highlighting that the lodges and caravan sector is a market that “needs fixing”, their new platform has created a marketplace which is “fair and transparent”.
He added: “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.”
