Granddad Baz is happy to be a home bird
BAZ ASHMAWY loves the fact that the first time his mother Nancy landed in New York, she was whisked off in a limo to attend the Emmys. But the statuette they picked up that night in 2015 for 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy didn’t give him a lust to work abroad – despite being a household name as far away as New Zealand.
‘It’s just something that happens, you know, it’s great. And you move on and you’re on to the next thing and it gathers dust in your house,’ he says with a smile
‘But the memories of all that time I spent with my mom on the show are the things that I would treasure greatly, much more than an award, and I had a very fun night with my mom.
‘I love the fact her first time in New York was getting in the limo and going to the Emmys.
‘It’s a nice thing but doesn’t have any big change in your life. I’m very much a home bird.
‘I’ve realised as years have gone by, I love being in Ireland. I love working here. That makes me very happy.’
The presenter’s emotional intelligence and easy way with his Irish mammy won over audiences in dozens of countries around the world. The same empathy and charisma shine through in the heartfelt makeover show, DIY
‘I love working here. That makes me very happy’
SOS: The Big Build Ireland, which has viewers smiling and crying in equal measure.
‘I’ve worked on a lot of TV shows, but I’ve never worked on something quite like this,’ he admits. ‘It’s a movement nearly.
‘When we’re down there we have great fun, but we have very sad days where we all feel affected by what’s going on with the families and how hard they have it.
‘It does make you very grateful, it does change your attitude to life.’
The first episode of the current series sees Baz and the DIY crew arrive to help provide a new home for Johnny Alyward – who was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of motor neurone disease in late 2020 – and his young family. His wife, Lynn, is a full-time carer for one of their two sons, who is on the autism spectrum.
The team set out to build a home to cater for Johnny as his disease progresses, in a ‘field of dreams’ gifted to him by his uncle John in Shanbough, on the Kilkenny side of the River Barrow.
Modestly, Baz downplays his role, saying, ‘What do I do? I lean on walls and chat to a couple of builders and hang out with families, but what I get out of it is a lot. I get a lot of inspiration from the builders and the volunteers that come forward. And then I’ve learned so much from all these families. It’s made me look at my own family in a different light’.
He refers to the show as being like ‘part of the circus’ but it’s clear he’s the ringmaster veering between cheerleading the assembled builders and volunteers, and providing an empathetic ear for the families.
‘Johnny was talking to me about stuff that was very personal, maybe that he wouldn’t say to a lot of people. He has his own friends, his own family but sometimes talking to someone else…,’ Baz says before adding, ‘We fell into a friendship. still kind of with me. I didn’t really know a lot about motor neuron and Johnny educated me on it. It’s a really, really horrible situation to be in. They’re an incredible family.’
Across the four episodes of the show, Baz is struck again and again by the resilience of families struggling with life-changing conditions and illnesses. The tagline for the show says it helps ‘rebuild people’s lives by rebuilding their homes’. It’s something the Dublin presenter echoes. ‘You see, you see these amazing volunteers and you see the best of people,’ he says.
‘It’s life-changing when you’re in a certain situation like a lot of these families are, your home is like a fortress.
‘Imagine not being able to come home or you can’t manage a wheelchair through the living room that you’re trapped in one room. So, all of a sudden your home becomes a prison.’
Baz views his own home with his partner Tanja Evans and their bustling family [he has two daughters with Tanja and four stepIt’s children] as his safe place. ‘I’ve got a lot of kids and my granddaughter comes over at the weekend. I love our home, it’s where we’re all together,’ he says.
While there is a new grandchild in the family, Baz isn’t at the stage of putting his feet up yet. ‘Lily’s a welcome addition to the family. All the grandparents are besotted with her. I still have a nine-year-old at home. Sadly, for us, I’m not quite Werther’s Originals and sitting by the fire just yet,’ he laughs.
‘But we’re lucky enough to be young enough to really enjoy it as well. Seeing Charlotte as an amazing
‘It does change your attitude to life’
mum makes me really proud.’
Currently, Baz is busy filming the third series for DIY SOS but there are lots of other ideas up on the whiteboard in his office. With his people skills, a chat show would seem like a good fit, but he says: ‘When you look at The Late Late and look at what Tommy [Tiernan] is doing, I think those lads are doing it so well. I don’t see there is a need for another chat show as such’.
And when it comes to teaming up with his mammy again, it’s a case of ‘never say never’, while another Emmy is on his long bucket list.
‘I’m very funny, because I won an Emmy and it’s always in the back of my head I’d like to win another,’ he adds. news@mailonsunday.ie DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland will be shown on RTE One, tonight at 6.30pm.