The DIY SOS presenter talks going OTT along with his own residence this Christmas, rising up in easier instances, and the way he retains his huge blended household joyful
Nick Knowles loves Christmas… and he desires the neighbours to learn about it. “We’ve had decorations up since early November. We reside on a standard avenue in a standard kind of home…and I’ve acquired a sixteen foot inflatable Christmas teddy bear within the entrance backyard,” says DIY SOS presenter Nick, 63, who lives in Berkshire along with his new spouse Katie Dadzie, 35. The pair married this June in a lavish six-figure wedding ceremony ceremony at Braxted Park, Essex. They’ve six youngsters between them, Nick has three sons and a daughter from three earlier relationships; Katie has two daughters.
“The children all find it irresistible,” says Nick – however the identical can’t be stated for a few of the locals. “I’ve gone loopy. There’s lights everywhere in the home, I’ve achieved an archway across the door. We’ve acquired lights all the best way alongside the eaves. It seems extra like an American Christmas home than a British Christmas home, lit up like a visitors mild. And also you get a number of completely different reactions to it…
“We get grinchy older folks saying, ‘I believe it’s a bit showy, don’t you?’ I’ve additionally had a bunch of blokes pull up and say, ‘Thanks loads pal, now my spouse’s seen this I’m going to must do it too’. But it surely’s bringing most individuals a number of pleasure. Some youngsters have even been strolling a distinct approach residence from college simply to allow them to see it. We had a bus pull as much as the home too. I don’t reside wherever close to a bus cease.”
Born on a council property in Southall in London, Nick has at all times beloved Christmas. “There wasn’t some huge cash about, however my dad labored so exhausting. I believe that is most likely why I work like a nutcase on a regular basis, I by no means cease. My dad labored for the civil service, however he’d additionally work in a pub within the evenings to earn more money after which the publish workplace used to tackle further folks to type mail at Christmas, and he’d do this too. He was working three jobs – typically three in the identical day – to verify all of us had Christmas presents and Christmas dinner.”
There have been no 16ft Christmas bears, says Nick, who was lately unveiled as an envoy for Sensible Vitality GB. “It was a quite simple time. Would you imagine it, my grandad used to imagine for those who put conkers on the windowsill it might keep at bay spiders? At Christmas we made our personal decorations, chains out of crepe paper. We as soon as made one thing horrendous out of coat hangers that we noticed on Blue Peter too, that my mum most likely consigned to the bin fairly rapidly.”
Nick continues: “She’d make the Christmas cake in summer season so it had time to mature. After which there can be just a few sixpences hidden in it on Christmas Day for us to seek out. I’ve tried telling my very own children concerning the pleasure of discovering a sixpence in a Christmas pudding… let’s simply say they don’t get it. They’d be hoping for a £20 notice.”
One Christmas, the DIY decorations spelled catastrophe for Nick and household. He has three sisters and a brother. “We pinned our home made paper chains all the best way round the lounge utilizing drawing pins, and this one Christmas we had horrible TV reception. We’d circled a great deal of issues to observe within the Radio Instances. Do you bear in mind how thrilling that Christmas challenge was? Fing out what the large movies had been that 12 months. Anyway, after we went to observe any of the issues we’d chosen, they had been fuzzy and jittery, and we couldn’t work out why. It was so disappointing. It wasn’t till we took the decorations down that we realised that we put a drawing pin by way of the aerial twine.”
Nick was a contestant on the 2018 sequence of I’m A Movie star, ending in sixth place. He additionally competed on Strictly Come Dancing within the 2024 sequence, partnered with Luba Mushtuk. His time on the present was lower quick attributable to a knee damage. However which was tougher? “Gosh – I am A Celeb was troublesome due to the boredom and the dearth of meals. You already know, I am six foot two and a fifty inch chest – I like my meals. In order that was the primary problem there. And with Strictly, it was the health that acquired me. …I’m six foot two and a fifty inch chest – I’m probably not constructed for dancing.”
He’s by no means watched himself on both. “I used to be there. So for me, it is actually a case of kind of achieved that, onto the following factor, what am I doing subsequent? I’m at all times extra concerned with what I am doing subsequent quite than what I’ve achieved prior to now,” says Nick. “John Barrowman instructed me that he sat down along with his complete household and watched the entire sequence, however I’ve by no means seen a single bit.”
If Movie star Traitors known as, nonetheless, he would possibly. Though he needs I might have been on the present with rugby star and finalist, Joe Marler, 35. Nick says: “Now that was humorous. I used to be actually happy to see everyone fall in love with Joe, ‘trigger I’ve recognized him for a very long time and he is a fully prime man.”
Nonetheless, there’s no relaxation for the depraved as developing for Nick is a DIY SOS Christmas particular, together with a ebook about Roman archeology – Nick’s passion. He even holds up a Roman helmet as we chat. However up first, can be an enormous blended Knowles household Christmas.
“Christmas can be at residence on the couch, falling asleep surrounded by the household,” says Nick. “We’re a blended household so the youngsters are between the assorted completely different dad and mom. However all of us get collectively and ensure all of us have a stunning time. I’m loads like most males. So long as your spouse is joyful and the youngsters are joyful, then that’s a cheerful Christmas. We’ll simply strive to not argue an excessive amount of over Trivial Pursuit.”
*Nick is working with Sensible Vitality GB to spotlight how good meters may also help you entry power reward schemes.
