The Home That 2 Built

Remembering that this docuseries was first aired in 2014, and is being re-aired April 2024 and as it is my first time of watching, here is my tuppenyworth: Watching BBC's #Thehomethat2built I feel I must put my tuppenyworth in. The ever-watchable Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen with #ChangingRooms sort of started the reality programmes that were more than just chat. Many of us love to see the dull brought to life, especially in normal homes, but of course, especially to transform as did #GroundForce.

The wonderful thing about all of this was #transformation. We live vicariously, in front of our TVs. Many of us do not connect with #soap and #drama which means that good reality programmes like #diysos #masterchef #bakeoff #sewingbee and others with a similar format are very watchable. Reality programmes have so much more to offer when they have a creative focus, and not an emotional focus.

Too much focus on the emotional can just tip the reality programme into something that needs to be muted. And BBC has been a real pioneer in the wonderful world of creative reality TV.

Apalling I share all the opinions reviewer, l_rawjalaurence,so well expressed about the content and tone of this series. I cringe at its uninformed one-sided judgements. Having lived through the entire period and remembering it well and having some interest in interior design and architectures, later being a long term member of the Victorian Society I'm not a nostalgic, Such expertise that does appear comes either from self-promoting design gurus such as Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen or in effect marketing people whose world-leading business it is to sell flat pack cheap and cheerful furniture to a mass market. The clue to ihe programmes uncritical approach is its repetition of that promoted by those with something to promote, that to choose the current dominant style is to "express one's individuality" it is instead to express conformity ie lack of individuality - hence many individual current mega-projects all ending up looking the same - white and minimalist with vast purposeless spaces. "Individuality" means personal choice - whatever that may be. That's the reason for vernacular housing and interior design in all periods. This includes all the whimsical, comfortable or homely, let alone changes make older houses easier to use and maintain, all so derided and pushed aside by the programme. Even that most style-conscious group, the Georgians, got their style from style books. I once knew a bespoke furniture-maker who visited Scandinavia in the late 1940s so became aware of the forward thinking creative furniture designs compared to the backwards designs at that time.I've seen breathtaking modern design, interior and architectural. None though dominant. It's a subject which deserves intelligent independent expert treatment and publication - not that of people with something to sell - either themselves or products.

The history of home improvement (aka style) programs on television is a potentially fascinating one. In the 1960s the vogue was for practical advice, with experts such as Fanny Cradock and Barry Bucknell offering viewers the chance to improve their culinary and/or DIY skills. In subsequent decades Delia Smith and others continued the tradition of upholding the Corporation's public service remit to educate and inform as well as entertain.

The Eighties saw a sea-change in the way such programs were planned, as directors realized they could be repackaged as entertainment. Series such as FOOD AND DRINK made stars of Jilly Goolden and Oz Clarke, who were obviously experts in their chosen field (wine- tasting), but managed to come across as eccentrics, to be admired for their verbal and visual quirks as much for their knowledge. The age of the style-celeb was born. In subsequent decades, a plethora of series on gardening, cooking and DIY made stars of so-called gurus such as Charlie Dimmock, Anthony Worrall-Thompson, Ainsley Harriott and Laurence Lllewelyn Bowen, while at the same time involving hordes of contestants who could be simultaneously astonished yet appalled by the results of the stars' handiwork.

The result, as a cursory glance at the BBC's schedules will show, is that style programs now comprise a major part of most daytime and early evening fare. THE GREAT British BAKE-OFF is just the latest hit, following in an august tradition established by READY STEADY COOK, CAN'T COOK, WON'T COOK and others.

Sadly THE HOUSE THAT 2 BUILT fails to do justice to the richness of the material. Mel Giedroyc's narration remains irritatingly jokey throughout, and the program's treatment of past programs suggests an inability to take them seriously. Fanny Cradock is dismissed by Dame Esther Rantzen as an eccentric; her invaluable contribution to people's cooking lives is studiously ignored. The program also makes some superficial comments about the interaction between politics and media: Thatcherism apparently produced a radical increase in the number of style programs, as viewers took advantage of the opportunity to purchase their own houses from their local authorities and subsequently decorated them. This might be true, but DIY as a recreation was highly popular well before the Iron Lady came to power in 1979.

It seems that directors cannot make such series without being jokey - almost as if they lack confidence in the historical material to speak for itself. This is a shame, but perhaps someone in the future will take the plunge and adopt a more even=handed approach.