EXCLUSIVE: Grand Designs has been fronted by Kevin McCloud since 1999, yet despite being on its 26th season he says he’s found the perfect trick that means he can keep his ‘addiction’ going for a while yet
Kevin McCloud owes the longevity of his career to hot pants – not that kind – ones with batteries.
The longtime Grand Designs host has been a tastemaker for Britain’s homes since 1999 and has become as obsessed with his work as the nation has with his programme. Still, even he doesn’t know how long he will carry on.
“That I can’t tell you, I don’t know,” he said over Zoom, making no promises about how many more years he would be the face of Channel 4’s flagship property show. “I’m reasonably fit and able and still going and I’ve figured out how to keep warm now, thanks to the miracle of battery-heated underwear and thermal vests.”
Grand Designs has the power to pull in millions of viewers and Kevin has found himself hooked. .
“I’m quite addicted to it, I’m addicted to doing it, and as long as the opportunity exists I want to do it and if I’m made to stop I’ll be very annoyed about that,” he said breaking into laughter.
Making something good for more than 25 years is no mean feat, but he thinks the knack is obvious, keeping viewers entertained and ensuring the show is at the forefront of both its genre and the wider world of design.
“We just make sure we don’t repeat ourselves – that’s a good start in life, make sure that what you’re doing you haven’t dealt with before and that it’s pushing you. I find that a decent rule of thumb, generally speaking.
“There’s also the fact that innovation changes, buildings change, building technologies change, there’s always something new to film in the built environment, and new issues and agendas in the built environment in planning, and design and construction, new standards.”
Innovation is going on behind the lens too, revealing they use the same camera as breathless smash-hit drama Adolescence, which left viewers gasping for air at its relentless, one shot style.
“It gives you that lovely, gentle, push through the building,” he said.
Quality in a build or design, he says, is easy for anyone to see regardless of taste, and it is fair to say that this commitment to it has contributed to the show maintaining a consistently high standards over such a period of time. Like the houses he looks at, the show is made right, and from the perspective of the viewer it seems one informs the other.
“Making stuff well is really hard, and designing it well is really hard,” Kevin said. “So when you find stuff that is [exceptional quality], wow, that’s so exciting, to see great craftsmanship that’s well made in architecture, or a chair, or in a spoon, or in a street or city centre.
“When its there we all instinctively recognise it, we don’t need to be taught that, it’s got nothing to do with style, its got everything to do with approach and care and skill and there for we shouldn’t ever discount [styles we don’t like] – I look forward to the day when I come across something that challenges my perceptions, which might represent a style of architecture that I’m not particularly a fan of.”
Kevin spoke to the Daily Star ahead of Grand Designs Live at London’s ExCel centre from May 2 to May 5.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
