Property expert and TV presenter Phil Spencer, 52, on being protective of his Location, Location, Location and Love It or List It co-star , and liking life out of the limelight.
Hi Phil, how are you?
I’ve just got back from a week in Norway, raising money for a charity I’m a patron of called the Country Food Trust.
I was pulling a 45kg sledge with camping equipment and food 80km across the glaciers of Norway, which was pretty gruelling.
It was minus 20 during the day and camping in minus 35 at night so you can’t expose any skin. I said if I come back with 10 fingers and 10 toes and half a nose that would be good.
Did you enjoy it?
It’s a bit too early to ask that question! Right now I am absolutely battered. I did it with my sister and she described it as type-two fun.
But we raised a lot of money to feed a lot of people and 25% of the money raised is to feed people in so I’m really pleased with that.
How many times have you won Love It or List It?
I haven’t kept a full score. But if I kept score when I go and do the revisits two or three years later, I’d do a lot better.
They do a bunch of work to the house, spend money on it and Kirstie’s absolutely helped improve the current situation. Do they really want to move having been through all of that?
However, what they’ve often done is just kick the can down the road rather than sorted out the whole problem.
When I go back to revisit, they’ve stayed in the house for a year and then thought, it probably is time to move.
Are you very protective of Kirstie when she gets criticised on social media?
I’m protective of her anyway, she is a very dear friend. And it’s not nice to see – anybody really – .
She’s got a pretty thick skin and she doesn’t mind a debate. But social media has lost its ability to debate and has just become nasty.
and she’d enter into them. But it doesn’t seem that’s possible anymore, which is a shame.
Twitter seems full of very angry people.
Do you try and keep your family out of the limelight?
I really don’t live in the limelight. I enjoy the work that I do but appearing on television has no real bearing on me.
I’m going to walk the dogs later which is about as much limelight as I’m going to get and that’s how I like it.
How do your sons feel about what you do?
They’re 18 and 16 and because I’ve always done it, I don’t think they’re that interested. They watch a bit of Love It or List It.
They’d probably watch the end of Location if I forced them! It’s not a big topic – dad goes to work and whatever really.
They’re amused if people come up and want a selfie or recognise me but no more than that.
Do you watch any other property shows?
If there’s a new one then I’ll always have a little look to see if it’s any good and if I need to be worried.
There are a lot now but there are lots of different avenues to take. We were lucky with Location because it was the first property show so we had the pick of the format.
Can you ever see a time when you’re not working with Kirstie?
I can’t. As long as people keep watching, we’ll keep making.
Matching people to property is so intriguing. There can’t be too many property people that get to see all markets – rural, urban, wealthy, not wealthy – right the way across the UK.
What else are you up to this year?
We’re filming our 37th series of Location after Easter. And I’m developing a few new programme ideas at the moment so I’m really hoping to get one of those away. That’s my ambition for the year.
I’m really pumped about them. I’ve just got to convince Channel 4!
You’re also backing Airtasker’s Move Right Report. What is it?
It’s helping people make smart moving decisions and connects people who need work done with sKi**ed service providers.
Spring is traditionally the busiest time of year for moving but with the rising cost of living and inflation, which everyone’s feeling right now, moving is even more of a stressful time – financially and emotionally.
When you have a massive to do list, you have to be conscious of budget, your time and your skill sets.
Airtasker enables you to post a task that you either haven’t got the time or skill set to tackle and if you can outsource or a job on moving day and have it done locally within a budget you’ve set, that’s really useful.
Are you amazed people are still moving despite everything?
In the face of a global pandemic and recession, people have carried on moving.
But there’s nothing more important than your home and close environment. The four walls you surround yourself with are crucial to your sanity and safety.
So people thought if I want and need to move, then I’m going to crack on and do it. And they did in their droves.
How did lockdown affect you?
I had Covid-19 right at the beginning in March 2020 and right at the end in March 2022.
I feel very fortunate that it hasn’t drastically affected me, my family or my loved ones – and for having a nice garden, open countryside and neighbours close, but not too close.
We have ponies, dogs and chickens, and things I could do outside during the lockdowns like gardening and growing veg.
It’s also made me consider a new question when choosing properties for couples or families we’re helping is what would lockdown have been like here? Would it drive you insane?
Let’s hope it won’t happen again but it’s important to think about.
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