Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CASTLE HASSLE
Dick and Angel reject claims of bullying on C4 biggest show
ESCAPE to the Chateau stars Dick and Angel Strawbridge have been accused of bullying crew members on the hit Channel 4 series.
Staff working for production firm Spark Media claim they were on the end of physical and verbal abuse and described working with the couple as “like being in an abusive relationship”.
Former army major Dick, 61, and wife Angel, 43, deny the historical claims.
He is said to have threatened to throw one worker out of the window while wielding a hammer, while she called the producer who raised concerns over the incident, a “f***ing c***”. The series has followed the pair since 2016 as they renovated a run-down 45-room chateau in France bought for just £280,000.
One former crew member told The Times: “I haven’t experienced anything as pernicious and spiteful as Dick and Angel and working with them took a very heavy toll on staff. It was almost like being in an abusive relationship, waiting for what small thing one of them would blow up at.” Another insider said:
“Conversations among staff at the time were constantly ‘imagine if the public knew what they were really like,’ but you’re all too frightened to do anything about it.” Spark parted ways with the Strawbridges after four series. Two production companies have been involved since. A representative for the couple said that in early series producers “tried to make it a trashy reality programme”, adding: “Escape to the Chateau is set in their home. They wanted an honest portrayal of their family journey rather than to enact the vision of a TV producer.”
Tom Thompson, director at the 19th century estate in Martignésur-mayenne, northwest France at the time of the allegations, blasted them as “all nonsense”.
He called the Strawbridges “professional, hard-working and generous”.
Channel 4 said it was not aware of the claims but did know of a collapse in relations between Spark and the couple.
Current producer and director Sean Lewis said: “I have never felt they were aggressive or unpleasant.”