Latest news with #StuartDouglas
Daily Mail
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Can't Sell, Must Sell viewers jump out of their skin as woman reveals VERY unusual collection of ornaments in 'cluttered' home - gasping 'it's my idea of hell!'
Can't Sell, Must Sell viewers jumped out of their skin as a woman revealed her very unusual collection of ornaments - gasping 'it's my idea of hell!' The Channel 4 programme sees property developers Scarlette, 38, and Stuart Douglas, 47, help guests transform their unsellable homes to become market ready. The fourth episode of the new show, which aired on Wednesday night, had the siblings visit two homeowners in Kent who had been struggling to shift their houses. They first headed to the seaside town of Margate where they met retired cleaner Gail, 68, who had lived in her four-bed home for 36 years. But in that time, she acquired a taste for some very unsettling collectibles - a series of life-like dolls, which cluttered every room in her house. Viewers found the eerily realistic toys very creepy, taking to social media to say it would have stopped them snapping up the property too. One said on X, 'Gah f***ing hate dolls', adding: 'There's a hotel in Broadstairs [in Kent] that's full of porcelain dolls and lots of lace. 'My parents say it's lovely (apparently the rooms aren't dated, just the hallways etc) but it's my idea of hell.' Another commented on the social media platform: 'Look like dead babies!' Someone else wrote: 'To be fair, I'd never buy that house in case the dolls came back.' In keeping with this, Gail - who was struggling with living alone amid various health struggles - had been advertising her property for seven months without success. She had managed to secure four viewings but had received zero offers. Presenter Scarlette invited some local property experts along to see the house, to figure out what might be putting buyers off. They said the jumbled house felt too 'busy' and like it had 'no space' - an assessment Gail was not impressed by, calling them 'rude'. She toured the camera crew around her doll collection too, explaining: 'They're very heavy because they're weighted, like babies... I just love them.' The homeowner even pointed out two particularly strange dolls in her collection of some 22, named for some notorious gangsters: 'They're Ronnie and Reginald Kray.' Speaking with her daughter on the programme, Gail said: 'Nobody's coming through my front door and I don't understand it. It's not a bad house.' Her daughter replied: 'It's not a bad house but it's very cluttered.' The mother shot back: 'It may be cluttered for you but I don't think it's cluttered for me.' Despite her determined defences of the current state of her home, Gail eventually embraced the renovation process. She liked a fair few of the changes the Douglases made, even jokingly asking the hosts whether they would like to move in to enjoy the transformed home with her. When the show caught up with her two months after the renovations, she was enjoying continuing decluttering and was feeling hopeful about making a sale. Speaking with her daughter on the programme, Gail said: 'Nobody's coming through my front door and I don't understand it. It's not a bad house' Her daughter replied: 'It's not a bad house but it's very cluttered' Elsewhere in the episode, a woman named Nicky was trying to sell the property she inherited after her father passed away. She put it on the market shortly after his death but 18 months later, there had not been any enthusiastic interest, with only 12 viewings in that time. Nicky choked up as she told of how difficult this period had been: 'Everything is starting to hold me back.' But everything changed after her appearance on the show, with the renovations pulling in more viewers - and even a possible buyer. It comes after Scarlette spoke out some of the most memorable moments from filming Can't Sell, Must Sell - which included discovering Gail's doll collection. The property expert, known as a presenter on Channel 4 house hunting programme A Place In The Sun from 2015 to 2022, just launched the show earlier this month. She co-hosts the first series' six episodes with her retired footballer-turned-property expert brother Stuart. It follows the pair's presenting collaboration on Channel 4 renovation programme Worst House On The Street. The property expert (left, with her brother and co-host Stuart), known as a presenter on Channel 4 house hunting programme A Place In The Sun from 2015 to 2022, just launched the show earlier this month Before the new show's release, Scarlette recalled working on Gail's house. 'One lady was very attached to her house and its Victorian style - she has lots of dolls', she said. 'When you walked in, everything felt oppressive. It was dark, dingy and scary. Even her daughters were trying to get her to sell it. She didn't want to listen.' It was not the only tricky project Scarlette found herself helping with, having also worked on a quaint cottage that unfortunately stank of dogs. The presenter explained: 'I love dogs but you can become nose-blind to them. 'One of the properties was a really beautiful cottage but the minute you walked in, it smelled of dog. 'They were so used to the smell that they couldn't get their head around it. Those are things you're not going to see but they affect a sale.' Stuart recalled fondly how happy the renovation made the guest: 'What made it important for me was how important it was for the owner. Before the new show's release, Scarlette (pictured on Lorraine in June last year) recalled working on Gail's house 'She was a really lovely lady. The transformation of the house itself was amazing but the transformation in her was memorable. She was so grateful.' Filming got even more emotional when the siblings visited a widow, whose home was stuffed full, overflowing with memorabilia, particularly china plates. Scarlette explained how this had happened: 'Her husband did the DIY. She couldn't do anything around the house. 'She was so grateful at the end, I was an emotional wreck.' The siblings also emphasised that throughout the shoot, no one on set, including them, was afraid to get their hands dirty. 'We're not just walking in, saying our piece and walking out. We really do get involved, even off-camera', she said. Her brother agreed: 'We had great teams. But we needed lots of hands on deck to complete the transformations. 'Even the cameraman took things to the skip. Everyone chipped in.' Scarlette added: 'That level of involvement was essential, given the scale of the jobs – and the tight turnaround. It was hard and stressful. 'We started around 8am and wouldn't finish until about 11pm. We cover two houses in a week. But the end result made it all worth it.'
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Mark Gatiss stars in new murder mystery series Bookish
8pm, U&AlibiAn atmospheric postwar drama created by and starring Emmy-winning writer Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentleman, Sherlock). He plays enigmatic bookshop owner Gabriel Book, who has a taste for solving crimes – armed with a letter from Winston Churchill that allows him to investigate crime scenes. His first case is a bunch of remains 'tossed together like a skeletal salad' at a nearby bomb site, with his bewildered new worker Jack (Connor Finch) in tow. Hollie Richardson 7pm, BBC OneEvery year, small butcher shops head to Perth to battle it out in Scotland's biggest haggis contest. This short film follows four competing families, each armed with their own recipe (and one of them, controversially, from England). We meet them on their farms as they prepare, and follow them on the day of the big competition. HR 7.30pm, BBC TwoIn September 2023, a 150-year-old sycamore in a dip alongside Hadrian's Wall became the most famous tree in the world. Locals and visitors were devastated to find that it had been chopped down overnight. Two men were found guilty of criminal damage – but the big question is why was the tree destroyed? This documentary investigates. HR 8pm, Channel 4Sibling property developers Stuart and Scarlette Douglas are in south Wales, transforming two unlovely time capsules from the 60s and 70s. Can they turn these nightmares into buyer-friendly dream homes with just £3,000 – or will the properties remain stuck on the market? Ali Catterall 8pm, U&WThe female entrepreneurs in this US reality show have been polishing up their products – from hot sauce to emergency undies – under the tutelage of model-turned-mogul Ashley Morgan and savvy Londoner Emma Grede. Their latest task involves learning to apply the dark arts of marketing to their nascent brands … and themselves. Graeme Virtue 9pm, Sky Arts A lovely two-parter in which Kate Bryan finds stories behind the masterpieces in Tate Britain in London, starting with star of the Romantic period William Blake, and the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood – looking at one of the museum's most popular paintings, John Everett Millais's Ophelia. Other artists include David Hockney and Tracey Emin. HR Women's International One-Day cricket: England v India, 12.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. The first ODI in the three-match series in Southampton. England will be led out by new captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. Women's Euro 2025 football, 7.15pm, ITV1. The opening quarter-final game. The second is on Thursday at 7.15pm, and the third is on Friday at 7.15pm (or BBC One at 7.30pm).
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
A Place In The Sun's Scarlette Douglas horrified by 'scary, oppressive and dingy' house - as unusual feature sends a shiver down her spine
A Place In The Sun 's Scarlette Douglas was horrified by a 'scary, oppressive and dingy' house as an unusual feature in it sent a shiver down her spine. The property expert, 38, known as a presenter on the Channel 4 house hunting series from 2015 to 2022, is about to launch a new house programme. Can't Sell Must Sell, co-hosted with her brother, retired footballer and fellow developer Stuart Douglas, 47, is set to hit Channel 4 on July 2. The six episodes see the siblings - known for presenting renovation programme Worst House On The Street - help sell homes their owners are struggling to shift. With the help of a team of designers and carpenters, they assist guests with getting their houses properly market-ready. But ahead of the programme's launch in less than a week, Scarlette recalled one particularly unsettling house she worked on during filming. 'One lady was very attached to her house and its Victorian style - she has lots of dolls', she said. 'When you walked in, everything felt oppressive. It was dark, dingy and scary. Even her daughters were trying to get her to sell it. She didn't want to listen.' It was not the only tricky project Scarlette found herself helping with, having also worked on a quaint cottage that unfortunately stank of dogs. The presenter explained: 'I love dogs but you can become nose-blind to them. 'One of the properties was a really beautiful cottage but the minute you walked in, it smelled of dog. 'They were so used to the smell that they couldn't get their head around it. Those are things you're not going to see but they affect a sale.' Stuart recalled fondly how happy the renovation made the guest: 'What made it important for me was how important it was for the owner. 'She was a really lovely lady. The transformation of the house itself was amazing but the transformation in her was memorable. She was so grateful.' Filming got even more emotional when the siblings visited a widow, whose home was stuffed full, overflowing with memorabilia, particularly china plates. Scarlette explained how this had happened: 'Her husband did the DIY. She couldn't do anything around the house. 'She was so grateful at the end, I was an emotional wreck.' The siblings also emphasised that throughout the shoot, no one on set, including them, was afraid to get their hands dirty. 'We're not just walking in, saying our piece and walking out. We really do get involved, even off-camera', she said. Her brother agreed: 'We had great teams. But we needed lots of hands on deck to complete the transformations. 'Even the cameraman took things to the skip. Everyone chipped in.' Scarlette added: 'That level of involvement was essential, given the scale of the jobs – and the tight turnaround. It was hard and stressful. 'We started around 8am and wouldn't finish until about 11pm. We cover two houses in a week. But the end result made it all worth it.' It comes after Scarlette spoke out about what it was really like to work on A Place In The Sun. Despite travelling to many stunning locations and meeting a range of interesting people, she said working on the show is not always fun. The presenter told The Express shooting the show is actually 'really hard' and five days of filming is put into creating just one '47-minute show'. 'There's a lot that goes into it. It's hard work,' Scarlette said. She also revealed two sorely-needed items presenters are banned from wearing: 'You can't wear sunglasses or a hat.' The property expert admitted: 'You just about have time to drink some water. 'You keep going and going and going, so as much as it looks glamorous, it's actually a really difficult show.' Can't Sell Must Sell will be available to watch and stream on Channel 4 on July 2.
