DIY SOS Gladiators Special: Nick Knowles cries as he recalls council estate childhood during 'personal' build
The project reminded Nick of where he grew upDIY SOS star Nick Knowles was left choking back tears during the show’s Gladiators special as he was reminded of his childhood on a council estate.
Nick was joined by the DIY SOS team and four Gladiators in the special episode, which was one of the BBC show’s most ambitious builds yet.
Hammer, Cyclone, Giant and Fury helped Nick and his co-stars, including Gaby Blackman, Chris Frediani and Billy Byrne, to build a youth club in East Riding of Yorkshire.
The Cherry Tree Youth Club is located in the bottom 15 per cent of deprivation in the country, but it lost its building five years ago.
The building was turned into a food bank during lockdown and still supports more than 1,500 people today.
As a result, the kids had been meeting under a single gazebo in the park. They were forced to endure wind, rain and snow as the volunteers battled to feed them a hot meal.
DIY SOS: Where did Nick Knowles grow up?
Nick Knowles found himself in tears before the DIY SOS big build had even begun.
He was told by Cherry Tree Youth Club manager Jo: “We speak to kids who haven’t eaten anything for days. There are young people who don’t have support at home or trusted adults to go to.”
Nick also met youth club worker Chloe, who was previously a member. She was a young carer for her siblings while growing up in an unsafe home.
“What helped me the most was being able to confide in an adult [at the youth club],” Chloe told Nick.
Nick addressed the army of volunteer tradesmen and women before the build got going. But he ended up in tears as he thought back to his own childhood.
The TV star spent the first 11 years of his life living on a council estate in Southall, West London.
Nick voice cracked as he said: “I grew up in a place like this. The kind of place that people say, ‘Don’t bother building anything nice there, it will just get destroyed’. You have to build stuff in tough places, you have to make a difference and change…”
Gathering his emotions, he continued: “I didn’t expect it to get me. You will change the futures of young people around here with what we’re about to do.”
DIY SOS Gladiators Special: Cherry Tree build
Nick and DIY SOS team had just eight days to construct the Cherry Tree Youth Club a building from scratch. In the three months prior, plans were submitted and concrete foundations were laid.
The building was made from a combination of 18 timber wall frames, two shipping containers and a prefab roof.
But the team hit a huge snag when trying to install toilets. The nearest sewer was 80 meters away in the garden of a residential property.
Gladiators Fury and Giant – real names Jodie Ounsley and Jamie Christian-Johal – helped lift the enormous pipes needed to connect the loos up. Giant told Nick: “I’m just glad I can put the muscles to use!”
The Gladiators, including Hammer and Cyclone – Tom Jack Wilson and Lystus Ebosele – also managed to source a range of outdoor exercise equipment for the youth club’s garden.
With just 24 hours to go, DIY SOS’s Ashley Edwards was faced with laying 950sqm of turf. The Gladiators helped him with the almost impossible task.
Against the odds, the build finished on time. Thanks to DIY SOS, the brand new Cherry Tree Youth Club has a stage, an area for beauty treatments, DJ equipment and a karaoke machine.
There is a state-of-the-art kitchen and areas for arts and crafts. The building also has a calming ‘breakout room’ for children who need to take some time out.
Outside there is a sensory garden, table tennis and an outdoor pizza area, complete with oven. And an outdoor gym, thanks to the Gladiators.
Nick Knowles: ‘This reminds me of where I grew up’
Nick cried again as he showed Jo, Chloe and their colleague Fiona around the new Cherry Tree Youth Club building.
He told the trio: “The first few years of my life were on an estate like this. The trouble is, it’s represented so badly whenever it’s featured.. about what’s bad about places like this.
“But we’ve just spent a week working with people to show what’s good about places like this.”
Nick then whispered to himself: “Pull yourself together.”
Wiping his eyes, he continued: “It’s massive what you do, so we had to give you the tools to do it.
“And more than that, we wanted to give you something beautiful, so when people walk in here they know people do care. It’s such an important message.”
Reflecting on why he agreed to take on such an enormous project, Nick said it was “too personal”.
He told the cameras: “I sat there that night seeing kids eat pizza and chips under a gazebo in the rain and thought, ‘This reminds me of where I grew up’. Those places are often overlooked. People who live there think people don’t care.
“We had to build here. I couldn’t walk away from it. It is too personal. There are kids here who can do amazing things if people just believe in them.”
Read more: DIY SOS: Nick Knowles helps siblings whose mum died in a freak accident falling down stairs
