DIY SOS: BBC One 'axes' Nick Knowles show after 27 years
Fans will be devastated
DIY SOS fans will be devastated to hear that the long-running TV series has been axed, in a disappointing decision by BBC One.
The long-running series first premiered in October 1999, and has been running for 27 years. The show renovates homes and community spaces for families and charities facing extreme challenges.
Having originally started as a low-budget show fixing unfinished, botched do-it-yourself home projects, it eventually transformed itself – this time into DIY SOS: The Big Build.
Now, the team recruits an army of local tradespeople, suppliers, and volunteers to completely transform a deserving family’s home. Heroes without capes, they often make properties wheelchair-accessible or life-changing for seriously ill or disabled children and adults…
But sadly, the BBC has made the decision to shelve the show, but why has DIY SOS been ‘axed’?
Has DIY SOS been axed?
The BBC has made the unpopular decision to axe DIY SOS, The Sun has confirmed. And it’s a choice that will leave its millions of viewers utterly baffled, not to mention angry.
Upset staff who work on the show have told the tabloid newspaper that everyone involved in DIY SOS – including host Nick Knowles – have been left “devastated”.
The show has helped hundreds of families over nearly three decades. Some of the bigger projects have included building a £1million children’s cancer unit in 12 days.
A source told the paper: “It’s a disgusting outrage.”
Why has the BBC axed the Nick Knowles show?
The BBC made the decision to axe DIY SOS in a bid to cut costs. The broadcaster told The Sun it is “resting” the series due to “savings challenges”.
The BBC also confirmed there will be no Big Build for Children in Need this year.
It’s a bold choice for the channel, and one that will cause outrage. After all, the show genuinely “helped some of the neediest people in our country”.
A staffer said: “DIY SOS is one of the few shows on television that genuinely represents working-class people.
“Thousands of tradesmen and women offer their time, and often the materials, for free to people in need, even when they’re struggling to make ends meet themselves.”
What is the DIY SOS spin-off show?
A BBC spokesman continued the news, and promised a “DIY SOS spin-off show instead”.
The much cheaper DIY SOS Rebuilt My Life will revisit successes from the show’s past. According to a BBC insider, this is “just a fancy way to say they’re repeating old episodes”.
They added: “This is the end of DIY SOS as we know it and it is so upsetting.”
How many series are there?
DIY SOS’s current series 35 will be the last, now that we know it’s been axed. It airs on Tuesday nights at 8pm before Blue Lights.
This week, Nick and the team adapted a Preston bungalow so severely-disabled Daniel Flemen could finally leave hospital and return home. Viewers saw Nick in tears as he questioned the enormity of the build.
As the pressure mounted, Nick admitted: “The message is coming through loud and clear that actually taking what we’ve done is beyond even our capabilities to get the thing done. I mean, all of the evidence says that I should have said no, other than your heart. And you shouldn’t let your heart rule your head in business, should you?”
Nevertheless, he decided to proceed with the build. Against the odds, Nick and the team subsequently created a room specially adapted for Daniel’s needs.
Next Tuesday’s episode follows Nick and the team in North Wales as they help a family make their home accessible for their two children, including two-year-old Macsen, who has Kabuki syndrome — a rare genetic disorder.
Read more: DIY SOS’s Nick Knowles tells family they have to move out of unsafe home immediately in show first
