12 18 APRIL 2024 News&Views Stacey Solomon has spent much of her life confounding expectations. Stepping onto the X Factor stage in 2009 as a shy, 19-year-old single mum – her speech barely intelligible between fits of nervous giggles – she was almost written o by the show’s judges, until a pitch-perfect rendition of What a Wonderful World left them reeling. “I don’t know why I had a preconceived idea, but I didn’t expect it to be that good,” admitted Cheryl Cole. “I am rarely surprised,” added Simon Cowell. “But that completely took me by surprise.” They certainly weren’t the first – or the last – to underestimate this Dagenham dynamo. “I do think anyone with an Essex accent and a happy disposition is automatically cast as an idiot,” reflects Stacey. “People just listened to me talk and thought: ‘Oh, she hasn’t got a clue.’ That used to really upset me. I used to think: ‘I’ve got to prove myself. I’ve got to prove I’ve got brains.’ But now I’m actually quite relieved when people underestimate me. I just think: ‘Well, it means I’ve got to work less hard to impress you.’” A decade-and-a-half on from that audition, no one who’s been paying attention could fail to be impressed by the 34-year-old television presenter, businesswoman, bestselling author, home improvement guru and mother of five. Her hit BBC show Sort Your Life Out scooped a prestigious Royal Television Award last month, she regularly dishes out advice on everything from self-care to ceiling joists to her six million Instagram followers – and now she’s been chosen to front the first UK commission from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine TV production company. Closer to home, she’s been busy renovating Pickle Cottage, the part-Tudor Essex pile she shares with her husband, actor and presenter Joe Swash, their three children Rex, Rose and Belle, and her sons, Zachary and Leighton from previous relationships. Little wonder that, in a recent Mother’s Day Insta post, she paused to reflect on the journey the teenage single mum has been on over the past 15 years. “I don’t know why that’s such a clichéd word, because it is a bloomin’ journey, and it’s an incredible one,” says Stacey, talking to Weekend over Zoom from Pickle Cottage, where she’s packing in a day of interviews and meetings before the school run. “I often like to reflect back, because it puts things into perspective for me, moving forward. Reflecting on the past, and how I handled situations, helps me put to bed some of my anxieties and fears.” It’s this wise head on relatively young shoulders that makes Stacey such a fantastic, empathetic host of Sort Your Life Out, in which she and her band of experts help people declutter not just their chaotic homes, but also their overloaded minds. Now she’s bringing the same mix of warmth and practicality to Stacey Solomon’s Renovation Rescue, a new Channel 4 show which finds her riding to the rescue of homeowners whose properties – and finances – have been left in a mess by run-ins with cowboy builders. “We find out what we need to do to get people’s renovation projects where they need to be, without breaking the bank,” in on Stacey carrying out her own renovations at Pickle Cottage – where it’s immediately clear who wears the overalls. “Joe has a very di erent approach to DIY,” she says, diplomatically. “It’s very haphazard, all guns blazing. He’s just a bulldozer. He doesn’t do anything with wiring, or where you have to add up. That’s not for him. But he’s very good in the kitchen. He’s the chef of the family.” On a good day, Pickle Cottage is a shining monument to the Sort Your Life Out philosophy, with shelves and cupboards neatly labelled, clothes and accessories sorted by colour and packets of crisps pegged out on a line like washing. But not every day is a good day. “Sometimes I feel like I’m smashing it, but other days I’m definitely not,” admits Stacey. “I’ve got five kids, two dogs, a Joe Swash and a full-time job, so I do have to have structure, otherwise things fall about. But some days, I can’t be bothered. I don’t think being organised means you have to have a meticulously perfect house all the time. It’s about having systems that support you.” On Sort Your Life Out, she is rigorously non-judgemental about the hole some hoarders have got themselves into. “We all consume too much, “ she says. “None of us can say: ‘I’m living o the land, I’m never buying anything.’ We’re all conditioned to consume a lot, and it’s easy to get to a point where you’re totally overwhelmed, thinking: ‘Why have I got all this stu ?’ The people we see on Sort Your Life Out are in really vulnerable situations, and it’s a big thing for them to open up their home to us.” Most weeks, it’s more than just physical clutter – there’s a fair amount of emotional baggage too. “You get into those situations for a reason,” reflects Stacey. “I can totally relate to that. I’m a collector, I find it really di cult to let go. ‘I’ve got five kids, two dogs, a Joe Swash and a full-time job, so I have to have structure, otherwise things fall about. But some days, I can’t be bothered’ she explains. “It’s about teaching them new DIY skills, but also boosting their confidence generally. When you’ve worked with people who’ve let you down, or put you in a vulnerable position, it’s your confidence that’s often the most damaged. You’re too scared to do anything, so you get stuck. “It’s also about getting back the love for the project. Most people go into a renovation really excited and hopeful. They’ve often put their life savings into it. They want a better home, a better future. When that doesn’t happen, they don’t believe they’re ever going to get there – or that they even deserve to get there. So our main goal is to help them take the power back.” As with Sort Your Life Out, Stacey is a hands-on presence – in the first episode of Renovation Rescue, she plumbs in a sink. “I plumb in a sink with help,” she stresses. “I do have basic DIY skills. My parents always made sure I knew how to do things myself, because when we were growing up, it wasn’t always an option to call somebody. But there are many limits to what I can do. I’m not a professional. There are professional tradespeople out there for a reason.” Renovation Rescue’s resident forewoman is Agata ‘Aggie’ Hawrylak, an experienced builder who, as a woman, is still a relative rarity in the industry. “Hello Sunshine are a female-led company, who want to invest in women in television,” says Stacey. “But it wasn’t easy finding Aggie, because women still aren’t encouraged to go into that trade. Even in 2024, they’re still almost laughed o building sites. But she is incredible.” Will Reese Witherspoon be watching the show? “She bloomin’ better!” laughs Stacey. “I want to FaceTime her when the first episode goes out.” As well as helping homeowners in a fix, the show drops Photographs: Getty Images, Shutterstock, Eroteme, BBC/Optomen Television/Neil Kent, Matt McQuillan / Channel 4
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