Extras Kevin McCloud Interview

Date Published:

20/06/2008

4Homes catches up with Kevin McCloud for a sneak peek at all the surprises he has in store for Grand Designs Live Week, six special live shows airing every night on Channel 4 from 4th-9th May 2008.

By Benjie Goodhart

If you met a man who told you he was going to build his house in a week, you’d think he was a bit strange. If he then told you he was going to do it using revolutionary design techniques and materials, you'd probably conclude he was mad. And if he said he was going to do it all live on national TV, in the company of Janet Street-Porter, you'd begin to edge away casually, looking around you for help. But if you happened to be talking to Kevin McCloud, then you'd be hearing the truth.

After years of playing the role of critic of other people's houses, McCloud is putting his reputation on the line in Grand Designs Live, a week of programmes on Channel 4 dedicated to architecture and design. As if he hadn't taken on enough, he'll also be leading the search for the Grand Designs Home of the Year, testing some building products in a uniquely extreme style, and controlling a veritable cornucopia of stars dropping in to the studio for a visit. Here, he seems to wonder if he'll make it out alive...

Grand Designs Live is about to hit Channel 4 for a week. Amongst other things, after all these years of passing judgement on the efforts of others, you’re finally building a house yourself, and a nation can pass judgement on you.

[Laughs] Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's enough of that!

What've you got planned?

Well, it'll all be done in a very controlled way, of course! I'm particularly worried that I won't be in control of what's shown at all, that'll all be down to my producer. So there may be some selective editing.

Your getting your excuses in already, aren't you?

Um… Yes.

What have you been doing by way of preparation?

I've been doing press-ups, practising hammering, that sort of thing.

And the whole thing's got to be done in a week?

Yeah, it has. Six days, actually. We'll obviously not be putting in ground services and digging foundations - we're building on an existing platform, which helps. We're building a house which is prefabricated, but it won't have been put together before, and it doesn't come from a kit factory either. We're building it using two different systems. One for the ground floor and one for the first. The ground floor is a big, heavy, modular system, using recycled materials, and the first floor is a more lightweight timber frame. But both are very hi-tech.