Kevin McCloud has hosted Grand Designs for 25 years (Image: PA)
Kevin McCloud has revealed just what Grand Designs participants get paid.
Grand Designs has been on our screens for 25 years now, celebrating its quarter-of-a-century anniversary earlier this year. Kevin is gearing up for Grand Designs Live, which kicks off today (October 2nd) and runs for the rest of the week.
Ahead of the live event, Kevin spoke to us about 25 years of Grand Designs and just what the participants get paid for appearing on the programme, with fans of the show curious about how much they shell out to get the homeowners on the show.
Speaking exclusively to us, Kevin confessed the participants don’t get paid anything for their time – just a small amount to cover the stopping and starting of work for filming. He said: “They do not get paid for being on the show.
“They get a very very small amount of money to cover the stop-and-start nature of filming. So when we film scenes and want half an hour quiet, which means asking every builder on site to put their tools down and go for a tea break, they get paid for that.”
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Kevin buried a time capsule outside Grand Designs Live today (Image: SMD Photography/Grand Designs Live.)
Kevin explained that the time they have to stop for filming can add up over the weeks so they’re compensated accordingly for the disruption that filming can sometimes cause. He added: “We film for about 20 days and over time that can build up and can impact a building project so we contribute a small amount to cover that and that’s it.”
Whilst they might not be raking it in for starring on Grand Designs, there is something the homeowners get at the end of it, which is worth its weight in gold for most – the most high-quality video of their home renovation.
Grand Design’s presenter Kevin McCloud has spilled secrets from filming (Image: Channel 4)
“I think they do it because they’re going to get a really high-quality home video and they’re also sensible enough to realise the weight of the journey they’re going on. Therefore, they want to have it documented,” he told us.
“In giving them the film, we give them a truth, we give them an account of what they’ll always recognise as their story. They’ve got to recognise themselves and recognise their story.”
Kevin McCloud was speaking ahead of Grand Designs Live at NEC Birmingham, the UK’s premier home and design exhibition, taking place from 2-6 October.