BBC SHELVES DIY SOS AFTER 27 YEARS

The BBC has shelved DIY SOS after 27 years. In an episode filmed in Preston, Nick Knowles became tearful as builders neared the end of a house conversion. The team worked to adapt the home for Dan, who has spent three years in hospital following surgery to remove a brain tumour. Knowles wiped his eyes and said: “I am a total mess.”

Dan has complex disabilities following the surgery and has been ready to leave hospital for 18 months. His family home could not meet his needs, so he remained on a ward while his mother, Julie, stayed with him. His father, Nigel, cared for their daughters, Charlotte and Emily, at home. The family has lived apart during Dan’s hospital stay. The DIY SOS team undertook one of its most ambitious conversions to make it possible for Dan to return home.

Budget cuts prompted the BBC’s decision to shelve the programme. Knowles, who has presented DIY SOS for more than two decades, told cameras that the team still faced hours of work before finishing the conversion. He said he had doubted whether the builders could complete the project and had felt guilty about its demands. As he tried to describe their work, he stopped speaking and raised his hands, unable to continue.