Renovating with love.

Ben and Erin Napier (above) are the stars of the renovation show Home Town. They tell Sarah Nealon how they met and what is so special about the town where the show is filmed.

Property TV shows are nothing new but while some fold after just one season, others like Home Town stick around longer.

The programme, which is in its fourth season, centres on married couple Erin and Ben Napier as they renovate and restore homes in the town of Laurel, Mississippi.

It is where Erin grew up while Ben, who moved around a lot because of his parents’ jobs as church ministers, spent time as a child living about 30 minutes away.

“I wanted to be a magazine editor,” says Erin. “You can’t do that in Laurel, Mississippi.

“But once I finished college, I realised the place that I’m from is just as special as anywhere else.

“If you choose to look at what you can do to make it better instead of what’s wrong, then you’ll be a lot happier in life.”

The Napiers, who are parents to Helen, aged two, met at college. They say they admired one another from afar before meeting in person.

“We did a yearbook feature on Ben because he’s one of the most popular, most interesting people on campus,” says Erin.

“I was the yearbook design editor and I interviewed him. Six days later, we decided we would get married.”

After college, the couple moved to Laurel.

When they were approached to appear on HGTV, Ben, who is a furniture designer, was working in student ministry while Erin owned a stationery shop.

Arguably, the couple’s southern charm is part of the show’s appeal.

“Our director has always said he basically wants our show to be a romantic comedy or a love story that is centred around home renovation,” says Ben.

“There is a wide cast of characters because our whole town is kind of involved,” says Erin.

“Renovation is a small part of what makes the show special, I think.”