DIY SOS could have faced 'axe' if BBC bosses refused to let Nick Knowles return

DIY SOS would have been axed if the BBC had refused to let Nick Knowles return after his rule-breaking Shreddies advert, according to his co-star.

The presenter was suspended last year after playing a builder in a TV commercial for the breakfast cereal, which was deemed to breach Auntie’s editorial guidelines.

BBC bosses reportedly suggested that the ad breaches its advertising rules and that Nick was told that he needed to get it pulled otherwise he would be forced to leave the show.

Luckily, Nick and the BBC were able to settle their differences as he returned to the show later on that year.

Speaking for the first time since the star was allowed back on site, plasterer Chris Frediani says: “Nick is back steering – and the great DIY SOS ship sails on.

“It wouldn’t have worked if Nick didn’t come back. No-one has the passion and foresight to ask the questions he has – he’s a wordsmith.

“The BBC had to be seen to do something but we were in the pandemic and they had no work for Nick. It ran away but it’s all resolved now.”

Praising Nick’s commitment to the show, Chris, 52, insists he puts in as many hours as the professional tradespeople getting their hands dirty transforming homes and buildings.

He adds: “Nick’s right on the front line with you during builds. He comes back after dinner.

“You can’t ask people to do something you’re not prepared to do yourself.

“I call us door openers, as the volunteers – I’ve recently met police officers and IT consultants who took early retirement because of stress – are the ones who push the job over the finishing line.”

After being delayed due to the recent storms, the team will film a reveal in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, tomorrow (9th) then move on to their final build of the upcoming series.

Chris, who has worked on the show since it began in 1999, says: “They’ll air this series first then the Children in Need special in September and a new series next year.”

Brits splashed out an average of £2,011 per person last year on home improvements according to research done by Fix Radio, the only station dedicated to the trade and where Chris also works as a presenter.

Tradespeople are busier than ever as homeowners and companies seek to revamp living arrangements and offices after staring at the same walls during lockdown.

But the Construction Products Association estimates apprenticeships have dropped by 10% in the last year and more than 220,000 workers have left the industry since summer 2019 – pushing up work costs.

Chris says: “It’s boom time, and doom time. A lot of guys have walked away and youngsters have been put off so there’s a shortage of labour.

“It’s having an effect on mental health. Every week I meet builders through DIY SOS who say, ‘Two years ago I couldn’t see a way out’ and this is happening around the country.

He added: “I didn’t realise my best mate, who was a digger driver, was suffering from depression. He was wondering if work was ever going to pick up again.

“And what’s happening to the new guys jumping on a building site? If they don’t fit in, there’s no support to train them up.”

The sector has also been hit hard by a spate of tool thefts and Chris is calling upon the government’s Construction Minister Lee Rowley to step in with legislation to log items with local police stations to make it cheaper to insure them.

He says: “We need to wake up the Construction Minister. Every van has someone’s livelihood in the back.

“If we could register tools with local police, get certificates that you could take to insurance companies that would help.

“And to Daily Star readers I’d say if someone’s offering you a branded tool in the pub then report them.”

For more on the trade industry tune into Fix Radio (fixradio.co.uk) and sign their anti-tool theft petition at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/602211

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk