‘It’s only when a change starts that you realise how unbalanced it was’
Women are finally getting bigger roles on television, Angela Scanlon, host of new makeover show Your Home Made Perfect, tells Gemma Dunn
Angela Scanlon is having quite the moment. Whether it’s fronting her own documentary series, standing in for Alex Jones on The One Show, co-hosting cult hit Robot Wars with Dara O’briain – or even landing her own BBC Radio 2 slot, the onetime journalist has proved she’s got what it takes to make it to the top of the TV ladder.
And her latest appointment as the presenter of BBC 2’s brand new offering, Your Home Made Perfect, continues to demonstrate it.
A property makeover series like no other, the show offers up cutting-edge virtual reality and visual effects to enable people to see what their future home could look like, before building it in reality.
In each episode, a family will be presented with two radically different designs by architects Laura Jane Clark and Robert Jamison. It’s then up to them, the home-owners, which ambitious renovation idea they choose.
“The VR aspect of it just makes it feel so fresh and new and different – and I love that,” says Scanlon, 35.
“But also what’s important is at the moment tech is getting an absolute hammering,” notes the Irish star. “We’re down on social media for ruining our lives and [the fact] AI and robots are taking our jobs, so I think the idea that you can use technology in a really positive way is a good thing.”
Of her passion for property, she adds: “I spend a lot of time peering creepily through the windows of estate agents, so it’s something that’s a massive interest to me.”
So, what else do we need to know?
On... how the show works “We have a couple of home owners per show and they hate their house – or a part of their house – and there’s quite a lot of disagreement between them. So, enter our two architects, who have a brief, and after looking at the home, come up with two different designs.”
On... the virtual reality concept
“The designers create a virtual reality (VR) using visual effect or photo real effects. Sometimes it can take up to three months to make these models, in consultation with the architects [Laura and Robert], and then the homeowners put on the VR goggles and get to explore their newly imagined home. They then decide whether they want to go with Laura’s or with Robert’s design.”
On... the home-owners’ experience
“I suppose on a practical level what the [VR] does is allows the couples to really experience it and, as a result, they can be so much braver and bolder with the choices that they make. To wrap your head around how something will look on paper is very difficult and probably prohibits us from taking risks.”
On... future series
“You just never know. We all have that tendency to be a bit nosy and want to rummage around people’s homes, so you can be totally voyeuristic but then you can be in three homes at once, which is nice. Property and interior shows tend to be popular and this just feels like a fresh approach, so hopefully it will go down well.”
On... her own rise to success
“There are moments when I go, ‘Oh my God, when are they gonna sack me?’ But no, it’s great, and I feel really lucky that I get to do these kinds of shows. I’m quite conscious to do things that I feel passionate about, and that’s for selfish reasons, but also my face doesn’t lie. But even with The One Show and Radio 2, it’s just been so lovely and I’m having a ball.”
On... being a new mother
“[Ruby] will be one next month and it’s bonkers, it’s life-changing, it’s gamechanging, it’s exhausting, it’s overwhelming and it’s magical. So quite a heady mix. I mean everyone talks about getting the balance right, so I don’t know if I still manage that or if it’s just an endless thing that you try to do and you play around with, but she’s great and she’s cool and she’s got a filthy little laugh.”
On... the changing role of women in TV
“It’s only when a change starts that you realise just how unbalanced it was, so it’s brilliant that that’s being addressed and that it’s changing. When you look across TV, a lot of the bigger shows are fronted by women now; and radio, with Zoe and Sara [on Radio 2]. Now the next thing that needs to happen is for a woman to have a big, fat, prime-time chat show, because that’s the one thing that is missing.”
● Your Home Made Perfect begins on BBC2 tonight at 8pm.