'We bicker while filming Worst House on The Street'
A Place In The Sun star Scarlette Douglas and her brother Stuart tell Yahoo about their fun sibling rivalry on Worst House on The Street.
As Worst House on the Street series two airs on Channel 4, the brother and sister take us behind filming for the show and their special bond. Here is their story.
Sometimes we will be filming and one of us will say something wrong or whatever it is, we just start bickering.
It can go on for five or 10 minutes and the cameraman just puts the camera down while we're still like, 'No, you said that.' Or, 'No but you were supposed to say that.' That is quite funny!
It is a dream come true working together though. We love working on Worst House on The Street and we get on really well. The good thing about us is what you see on camera is exactly what we are like. We do renovate properties, we do have that brotherly sisterly banter. One of us picking on the other or telling each other off. People always say what's it really like working together? But actually, it's really cool, we have a lot of fun.
What sets us apart from Grand Designs, Homes Under the Hammer and other property shows? It's us. We are very different to the presenters that you've seen before doing these property shows on Channel 4. As brother and sister, we have that banter. Obviously, Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp have got that banter too but it's the sibling rivalry that really does stand out for us.
Read more: Martin Roberts questions why Homes Under The Hammer doesn't win awards
We are very competitive but we have learned a lot from each other too. For Stuart, it was about learning to be a presenter because that wasn't necessarily his field. There is definitely a skill to presenting. For Scarlette, it was about not needing a script all the time and just being in the moment. If we miss anything, we do have a director on set with us to remind us to pick things up. Together we go with the flow naturally and whatever feels right.
Our brother Andrew may not be on the camera but he looks after us on the PR side. We are a very close knit family, the three of us as well as mum and dad. They are the people we trust and can rely on and be brutally honest with, whether you want to hear it or not. It's good to have people like that in your circle because they only want the best for you.
Worst House on the Street is light hearted but it's informative. It's a faster pace and it about real people. So if these people make mistakes, we show it. If they have unbelievable success, we show it but everything that we do, it's real. For us, that's important. These houses are not being renovated in one hour. These are real people. It's their hard earned money and they're renovating for real. We've got the opportunity to help them on that journey.
We probably wouldn't have taken on the property in Worst House on the Street's second episode because it's a lot. It's a derelict three-bed house and shop on Kent's Isle of Sheppey that has been empty for almost 20 years. When we first saw the property, we couldn't help thinking: 'Have you really bought this?'
Ian bought it at auction without telling his wife Steph and he's not a spring chicken! We're very experienced in doing this, with 15 years in property. But we looked at it and thought we didn't think we would take this one on.
Ian and Steph have determination. Maybe we've been beaten down over the years and we probably know too much of properties that can be problematic. They're going into it, with that energy, that vigour. We looked at the house and thought, 'This guy is crazy!' It needed so much work done to it. They were doing a lot of the work themselves as well, which we really praised them for and commended, especially Ian. It's a big renovation. It makes a great episode.
Our biggest skill is listening to people. That's super important when it comes to property because you are turning a house into a home. It’s someone’s safe haven and it's a place where people are gonna be spending a lot of their time. An interior designer to a certain degree can be a counsellor because you are trying to work out how you can give someone the best feeling when they walk in. We have done property development before we did it in front of camera and we've really learned how to hone our craft.
When we first started in our journey in property, we weren't as experienced. Thinking back 15 years, we made mistakes and we learned from our mistakes. So for us now, we give homeowners advice based on our experiences, based on the hurdles that we've had to overcome and the problems that we've had to solve. We've gone through all that already, we are going to now tell you what not to do.
We are genuinely blown away with these Worst House on The Street transformations. We don't see the final touches until we walk through the door. So the wows and the gasps and the oh my goodness, those really are real.
Worst House on The Street is totally different to filming shows like I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here and even A Place In The Sun because it's a big family affair. Absolutely we would love a series four, all the way to series 44. So as long as the general public enjoy the shows and and they want more, then we'll definitely make more.
Scarlette Douglas and Stuart told their story to Lily Waddell.
Watch Worst House on the Street series two on Channel 4 streaming services now. Series three has been filmed and will air at a later date.