Wills & Nick answer Grenfell SOS
DIY SOS host Nick Knowles says a project for Grenfell residents is the most ambitious in the show’s history.
A £2million renovation saw the team – helped by Prince William – build a gym and community centre close to where the tower burned last June, killing 72 people.
Producers went all-out to get it done within nine weeks.
Nick, 55, said: “I have hit my little black book for everyone I know to come and help and they were all only too happy to do so.
“We’re very proud of the people who volunteered and gave their time for free and delivered £2m of buildings.
“There used to be a gym on the second floor of the tower which looked after a lot of kids in the area and kept them off the streets and out of trouble. So we decided to build a gym. And we’ve also built a community centre. It’s somewhere the residents can go to get counselling, which is so important.”
The DIY SOS team were at the Grenfell site just a few days after the fire happened to see what they could do to help.
But they faced a battle to convince residents to trust them.
Nick said: “When we came to the area the people were understandably angry. And they were suspicious of all media and TV. But we spent time listening and talking with them and they were just amazing with us.
“Since then we’ve spent a year in the community. We’ve spent a year in consultation with community groups and families to ask what they needed and what they wanted.
“I felt emotional and angry about what happened at Grenfell. But it wasn’t my job to feel those things. We didn’t get involved in the politics of it all.
“My job was to listen to the community and find out what they needed and then go and ask people in the construction industry and suppliers to help us deliver it for them.”
The episode featuring the renovation is due to air this autumn and is set to be one of the most emotional in the history of DIY SOS.
Prince William donned a hard hat and wielded a paint roller when he dropped in to help.
Nick has worked on hundreds of projects since the BBC show first launched in 1999 and this one was one of the most rewarding yet.
He said: “It’s been an extraordinary year. We hope it will benefit hundreds or even thousands of people who will be able to use the facilities.
“The reaction from the residents has been fantastic. We have seen the best and worst of humanity since Grenfell. And the best has won out because that community is amazing.
“Working on DIY SOS is incredible. I have the best job in the world. Whenever I do a project to see the reaction we get from people is fantastic. And we get a positive reaction from viewers from across the country when episodes air.”