DIY SOS: Nick Knowles helps siblings whose mum died in a freak accident falling down stairs
Tragic mum-of-five Zoë Scott broke her neck in the horror fall at homeDIY SOS star Nick Knowles and the team are back to help five siblings whose mum tragically died when falling down the stairs.
Zoë Scott had been talking to eldest daughter Somer, 30, on the phone when she tripped and fell down the stairs at home.
The single mum-of-five broke her neck and died instantly, leaving her children orphans.
Despite their grief, Somer and her brother Samuel, 23, immediately agreed to raise their little sister and two younger brothers. The youngest, seven-year-old Seth, is blind, autistic and has chronic kidney disease.
But their three-bedroom mid-terrance home in Eltham, south London, is far too small for the five of them. Somer, especially, is haunted by images of her mum whenever she looks at the stairs.
Thankfully, Nick and the DIY SOS team are here to transform their lives for the better.
DIY SOS: What happened to Zoë Scott?
The children’s mother, Zoë, died on February 18, 2023. In DIY SOS, Somer recalls: “I’d had a few phone calls with my mum that day. All of a sudden the phone cut out. About 15 minutes later, Shay called me and was like, ‘Mum’s dead’.”
Somer continues: “When I got home, I went in and laid down next to her. All I kept saying was, ‘I promise I’ll look after them. I’ll just do everything I can to make sure they’re happy and safe’.”
She later adds: “There was never any doubt in our minds that we weren’t going to stay together. We’d have to send the children into care and it wasn’t a possibility.
“It was just such a freak accident. The actual stairs haunt me every day. I see visions of it all the time. It’s really horrible having that constantly.”
Samuel also tells Nick: “She fell down the stairs and she broke her neck. It made me wonder as to why something like that could happen to someone so great.” He stoically adds: “I was planning to go travelling around South America. I know I’ll still be able to do that eventually.”
Later in the show, Shay also recounts his painful memories of that day. He tells Nick: “It was me and Seth in the house. I got downstairs and I thought she’d passed out. I just ran to my neighbours and I got help.”
He added: “I’ve tried counselling but I’d rather just speak to my siblings. We are so close. I like to speak about my mum because it brings me happy emotions.
“Whenever I see a mother with a child, it makes me genuinely happy. It makes me think of my mother and I was a child of hers.”
DIY SOS: Scott Siblings’ New Chapter
The latest episode of DIY SOS, called Scott Siblings’ New Chapter, begins with Nick visiting the Scott family at home. He takes a tour of the house and is shocked by their current living arrangements.
Somer is training to be a doctor, so lives in Liverpool from Monday to Friday. Samuel, meanwhile, is his siblings’ full-time carer while she is away.
Having parked his ambitions to go travelling to South America, Nick is upset to see Samuel is living in the loft. There is no heating and it is accessed via a ladder and hatch.
Brother Shay, now 19, is in a cupboard, while little Seth shares a room with sister Sadie, 11. Somer still uses her bedroom when she is back from university.
The team get to work and draw up plans for a single storey, rear extension. This will be a new living area, meaning Samuel can move out of the loft and into the existing front lounge. Shay, Sadie and Seth will each have their own bedrooms upstairs.
Somer will be given her own studio flat in the garden, which will arrived as a pre-made pod. It will have a kitchenette and shower room. In very tense scenes, the 4-tonnes pod will be lifted right over the house by one of the biggest cranes in the UK.
The DIY SOS team will also address the stairs where their mum died.
Nick’s tears for the Scotts
During the show, Nick becomes overwhelmed with emotion as the army of builders run into difficulty. It becomes apparent the pod needs to be dug into the ground to avoid a huge drop out of the front door.
The team come to this realisation as the crane – which they have for just a few hours – arrives. Trying to compose himself, Nick says to DIY SOS plasterer Chris Frediani: “Here we are trying to do this magnificent thing and the world is conspiring…” His voice then cracks with an emotion as he starts to cry.
Comforting his colleague, Chris tells Nick: “That’s alright, mate, it’s alright. We’ll get through it, we always do.”
DIY SOS: Stairs transformation
DIY SOS star Gabby Blackman is particularly keen to change the entire look of the staircase where Zoë had her accident. Before the build, they were located in the lounge.
To help with the siblings’ trauma, a new entrance hall is created to hide them away.
Gabby tells Nick: “I just feel like this is just the scene of the most awful tragedy. I want different spindles, newel post and handles.” She adds: “This is just, psychologically, one of the most important things we can do for the family.”
Nick agrees, telling Gabby: “I think the most important bit of joinery is changing this staircase.”
As the current bannister is thrown into a skip, Nick says to the cameras: “That’s a terrible memory we have been able to get out of the house. Hopefully that will stop that constant triggering of bad memories every day.”
DIY SOS: Joe Marler guest appearance
Rugby star Joe Marler makes a guest appearance in DIY SOS: Scotts Siblings’ New Chapter. Nick surprises keen rugby player Samuel by introducing Joe to him during a training session with his local team.
Later, Joe accompanies Samuel, his team mates and Nick to a nearby bar where they discuss Zoë’s accident and the impact its had.
Joe tells him: “Do you know what I’ve noticed since meeting you? That smile on your face has not stopped.” Samuel replies: “This is such a surprise you coming down, I have not stopped smiling!”
Samuel tells Joe his rugby team mates are his “rock”, adding: “Without playing every Saturday, honestly, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Joe says he is “blown away” by Samuel’s decision to step up and take on the role of parent to his siblings. Samuel tells Joe: “It was so sudden. Overnight I turned into a parent. The only thing that keeps me going is my siblings.
“I live for my siblings. We’re all in this together and we all talk to openly together. We know how important it is to get those feelings out of our heads.”
Joe admits to Samuel that he wants to be “his mate”, adding: “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone as inspiring and as strong as you. I am absolutely blown away by you, mate. I just think you’re wonderful.”
The big reveal
The Scott siblings can’t believe their eyes when they are shown their newly-transformed house. They are then brought to tears when they see all the little nods to their mum Zoë included within the decor.
A painting of a daffodil Zoë painted hangs proudly on the wall, while a local sewing group has made a quilt from a selection of Zoë’s clothes. Six fruit trees have also been planted in the garden; one for each child and one for Zoë.
Samuel is particularly emotional when he sees his new bedroom. Hanging on the wall is a map of South America, where he hopes to travel to one day. Nick tells him: “I want you to keep that dream alive.”
Once outside, the siblings thank the hundreds of DIY SOS volunteers who made it all possible. Somer tells them: “I was so worried going into this that the essence of mum would be lost from the house.
“But the house has been built with so much love and kindness that actually, everything mum embodied, runs through the core of it now.”
She adds: “The last thing I said to her was that I would look after the kids, and you guys have really helped me keep that promise.”
Read more: DIY SOS star Nick Knowles in tears as Rafi Amer, 9, sees his transformed bedroom for the first time
