The nation’s favourute Chateau owners Dick and Angel Strawbridge embark on a UK theatre talk to inspire others
Q: What inspired the terrific idea of doing this new live theatre show?
A: We receive many lovely e-mails from viewers that have followed our journey and they tell us that one day they intend on coming to meet us. So instead of waiting for them to come to us, we decided to go to them!
A: Life at the Chateau is busy for us; hosting events, balancing family life, and filming.
So there aren’t many opportunities for people to spend time with us here at the Chateau.
We thought a tour of the UK would be a family adventure and allow us to meet many more people!
A: Dick’s used to standing up in front of lots of people, whereas Angel is used to being bossy in a smaller group!
The Theatre will be a challenge and we already have far too many ideas in discussion for content and design of the stage!!
We will undoubtedly be a bit nervous but are really looking forward to having lots of fun.
A: Hopefully, our story will encourage people to follow their dream and if they leave us realising that life is for living, we will have done a good job.
A: When we come home, people always stop and chat to us, but that’s one-on-one. We know talking to an audience will be different and we can’t wait to see what questions we get asked!
A: We always say that you can’t write the script that puts a crusty old Colonel and a city girl in a castle in France with two beautiful children.
Our story is a love story that has been shaped by us dreaming about our life together and then doing it. Hopefully, this is a strong message and may encourage others to ‘dare to do it’!
A: Passion and a good work ethic.
A: After a romantic holiday early in our relationship we decided that the simple life and long lunches in France were for us…we haven’t fully embraced that lifestyle yet, but it’s a beautiful country and when we discovered what we could get for our money our fate was sealed!
A: I loved school. I loved maths, science and business and hated languages! I was a late developer with reading and scraped through my GCSE by giving a brilliant speech to a class full of students. Outside of school, I had already started collecting ‘vintage’ and spent all my pocket money at the charity shops!
A: I did work experience at a local accountant’s firm who then offered me a job. I actually quite liked reconciling numbers, so instead of further education I jumped straight into the world of work and trained to be an accountant! I carried on collecting ‘vintage’ in my spare time and by the age of 21, I had letters after my name and a ridiculous amount of vintage clothes that did not fit me!
A: At 21, I moved to East London. I had pink hair, a quirky style and could do monthly profit and loss accounts.
I became self-employed and managed the Books for lots of London companies - record companies, model agencies, fashion brands – and I started to have real money!
So ‘on the side’ I started vintage events in my flat, called the ‘Angel-A Vintage Experience’ – they went on for 9 years.
I had thousands of ladies who would come to my house to shop and gossip about life with a glass of wine in their hand!
A: Oh yes, family. Mum and Dad have always had an incredible work ethic. I am what I am because of them.
On my mum’s side of the family (apart from all the ladies always being so glamorous) they were all natural hostesses.
From the second you walked into my Grandma’s or Aunt’s house, you had a drink in your hand! It’s not until you are older than you realise how your family shape you.
A: I started my education in Northern Ireland at Ballyclare High School and spent a fair bit of time in detention – I had a tendency to argue! Having been to 6th form at Welbeck College I headed off to Sandhurst with a clutch of A-levels. It’s worth noting I failed my French O level twice. But that was well before Angela was born!
A: I went straight from school to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and went off to join my first unit as a 19-year-old 2nd Lieutenant commanding soldiers in West Germany.
A: I had a 20-year career in the army, moving regularly and learning lots. I was privileged to meet and work with some amazing people before I retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Just before I left the army, I was persuaded to audition for Scrap Heap Challenge and had a ball but never thought I’d end up working in television.
I competed in the first three series (Series 2 & 3 with my brothers in a team called ‘Brothers in Arms’ – we were all army officers). When I left the army, I started my career in industry.
I worked for a large multinational called General Dynamics and it was all going really well until, in one week in February 2003, I received five television offers out of the blue, for five different production companies – five different series for five different Channels.
It was a bit spooky and led me to the decision of becoming a full-time TV tart!
A: My parents were always role models. My father was both a family man and provider. My mother was the heart of the family. It’s no surprise I think families are the most important thing in life.
A: This is a real-life fairy tale and we’ve shown it is actually possible to make your dreams come true. It does involve working together as a team and working very long hours, but the message definitely is that pursuing your dreams is the right thing to do!
A: We film one series a year of Escape to the Chateau. In addition, we have been filming a series of Escape to the Chateau: DIY, which involves us meeting other Chateau owners.
A: We’ve been hosting weddings, events and celebrations at the Chateau from the moment we had a guest suite available.
There is no such word as ‘compromise’ when it comes to hosting special events and they have to be perfect.
This involves a lot of planning, preparation, execution and then tidying up!
Without passion and a real love of what we’re doing, there is no way we could sustain such a lot of hard work. We love it!
A: Over the past five years, there have been lots of design decisions about the look and feel of our Chateau.
The Chateau, in some instances, led the design. For example, finding a wardrobe in the attic full of original wallpaper used at the Chateau led to the Wallpaper Museum.
Dick’s love for the walled garden (the potagerie) and the incredible view to the south, inspired the Potagerie Suite design.
From the emails we receive, there are lots of people who want to buy the designs so we launched The Chateau by Angel Strawbridge range of wallpaper and soft furnishings as well as personalised items available on our website.
Lots of independent shops across the UK are stocking the range and it’s also available at Sainsbury, Next and Argos.
A: William Morris, Etré, Georges Lepape.
A: I love my grub and I have a real passion for cooking. I did a cookery course as part of my resettlement when I left the army.
That said, I am mainly self-taught but when I competed on Masterchef, I did get a taste for working in restaurants.
I’ve made cookery programmes with my son James and I’ve run restaurants to gain more experience!
Interestingly, Arthur is a chip off the old block and is never happier