When I was little, Kirstie Allsopp she could often be found sitting alone, at the bottom of her family’s garden, playing with twigs. Far from engaging in imaginary sword battles or using them as makeshift magic wands, the school-age Allsopp was meticulously building houses. Fairy houses.
“You get under a tree or in a corner of the garden and sweep the leaves,” says the 51-year-old presenter matter-of-factly.
The rooms were built with speckled sticks. The leaves were used as rugs and wall coverings, and the stones doubled as miniature tables and chairs. It was, to all intents and purposes, a sure sign of things to come when it came to the future career of the property maven, presenter, and craft aficionado.
A joyously sentimental pastime, the memory brings a smile to Allsopp’s voice.
“I had completely forgotten!” admits Allsopp, 51.
The host of Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location describes how she would build these “little rooms” for hours on end.
“So you imagine the fairies come and sit in the rooms when you’re not around,” Allsopp says.
“Weirdly, what I do now is see through walls… At my job, I look at floor plans all the time, and I can see through walls.”
Creativity is the clear common thread that connects Allsopp’s on and off-screen efforts. In the transition from ownership to craft, TV star’s returning festive foray, Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, sees Allsopp take on a variety of seasonal challenges. From making rugs to baking pavlova, at-home craft challenges offer something for everyone.
“There is a process that we go through in the office, when we choose things,” Allsopp explains of the featured crafts.
“One thing must be something you did in childhood, so the thing with pulping the paper. Really? Making paper with paper isn’t very sensible, is it? But everyone did as a child.
“So that’s one of the emotions we want in every show.”
Describing how each episode calls for a “wow” moment, the list also includes a holiday cocktail party and a project “nobody could do at home.” In this case, carving an extravagant ice sculpture.
“The process is fascinating,” Allsopp explains. “You’re never going to do that at home, you’re never going to buy a huge block of ice and get out your chainsaw, are you?”
With Allsopp picking up on power tools, it’s a series that aims to inspire, invoke nostalgia, and get creativity flowing. A source of joy amid a deluge of negative news and gloomy forecasts, the host says that, at its core, the show offers a hearty helping of positivity.
“My job is to entertain first and foremost,” says Allsopp. “I think it’s really important not to take the whole thing too seriously: to be serious in your excitement about what’s going on, but not to take it too seriously in any other way.
“I think we’re all a little sick of people getting paid a lot of money to do a job that’s so much easier than most people’s jobs, taking themselves too seriously.
“I mean, if I see a more serious interview with an actor or an actress, I’m going to scream. It’s like: you get paid a fortune, you have a great job, that’s it. You don’t have to be so, you know, serious about everything.
It’s a conversation that leads Allsopp to explain the origins of the show’s production company, Raise the Roof Productions. Founded by the host and her Location, Location, Location co-star phil spencerthe owner duo has spent the last 22 years creating TV shows, including Love It or Leave It and Relocation Relocation, which it hopes have been “useful” to viewers.
“I think TV can be a bit of a bloodsucking user,” says Allsopp. “So part of that is how can we make sure that [participants] you have a good day?”
With the aim of creating programs that make you feel “hot”, the presenter explains the growing need for television content that is “fun” and harmless.
“The world is becoming more and more polarized and critical and many different people are being misunderstood on many different levels.”
“Many people feel that no one understands them, wherever they are on the political spectrum. And our shows should never leave you feeling uncomfortable. They should never leave anyone with an uncomfortable feeling.”
Feeding into that sense of judgment and polarity, it becomes increasingly clear that Allsopp is not a fan of labels, particularly when it comes to class and privilege.
“What annoys me the most, in this context, not globally, is people who say crafts are for the middle-class housewife,” Allsopp says.
“For starters, using housewife in a pejorative way pisses me off. Second, you know, the idea that crafts are somehow a middle-class thing.”
It’s a creative hobby that Allsopp believes is accessible to everyone, regardless of class or income level. However, he is realistic about the place of the program, in the context of the cost of living crisis.
“I really don’t believe for a second [crafting] it saves you money,” Allsopp confesses. “Because if you work in a job where every hour is an hour’s salary, or not, if [you’re] not at work, so doing your own thing doesn’t save you money.
“The way it saves you money is if you do things in batches,” he says, citing “Homemade Baileys” as an example. “If you do that, you save a fortune.”
The host goes on to describe how crafts, no matter what time of year they’re done, help with fine motor skills and have a positive impact on mental health. Pointing out the show’s work with caregivers and people who suffer from anxiety, the host says there’s only positive to come from the humble hobby.
“There is a lot of evidence around working out, dementia and Alzheimer’s. There is so much breadth within the craft community to help people in all sorts of ways,” Allsopp says.
“Really, it’s not a Christmas show,” he smiles.
“It’s a ‘How can you do something fun with your hands and calm your mind?’ show, but I don’t think if we put that in the show’s title, people would watch it.”
Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas airs on Channel 4 on December 9
