Escape to the Country star hits back over 'huge budget for first home' amid viewer backlash
Escape to the Country star Jack Drury has addressed public backlash to the episode of the BBC show featuring himself and his girlfriend, after viewers were left stunned by the couple's £850,000 budget for their first home.
Speaking to The Express, Jack revealed that the broadcast was "a very fair reflection of the three days we had with the team". However, he added that viewers are aiming their frustration in the wrong direction.
"The right source of frustration here is that the government have failed to build enough houses for decades, which means that property prices have outstripped wage growth for the best part of 50 years. And this is a time bomb. It's an economic, demographic, societal time bomb," he opened up to us from his home in Hertfordshire.
He further said: "The real story I think of that episode is that our budget does not buy us the average detached house and Buckinghamshire - Escape to the Country gave that number as £881,000, which is above our budget. So we can't even buy the average detached house according to the show."
"We've moved from well we have stayed in Hertfordshire - but we were looking at leaving here and in St Albans, the going rates for a Victorian worker's terrace - a three-bed house that was put up for Victorian labourer with one income - is three-quarters of a million pounds, which nowadays demands two people, two salaries and some sorts of deposit. Now people should be frustrated with that! " He exclaimed.
Despite the couple appearing to have a hefty budget on the show, it was made clear that both Anna and Jack work - she's a civil servant and he's a consultant. They also both owned properties already, which they were selling to pool resources for their new home purchase.
The pair were on the hunt for a place where they could potentially start a family in the future, and more immediately, provide a garden and space for their dog Dexter. However, many viewers questioned how the young couple had access to such a substantial amount of money.
"I will say that people's assumptions are wrong," he said, "but I'm not going to stoke the fire by talking about finances. What it takes to be on the property ladder today is better than average-paid jobs to buy the average house and discipline when it comes to outgoings.
"I mean, what people have assumed is totally false. And let's be honest, the vast majority of this budget is the banks," he admitted.
"There has been intense speculation about our own circumstances. While I consider this to be largely a private matter, to quell the 'mummy and daddy' nonsense, I will say that we inherited in circumstances nobody would choose, and recognise that we are very fortunate to earn salaries that we can leverage."
Revealing why they opted for the show despite potential backlash, he disclosed: "They do a lot of the legwork and research. The researchers had looked at dozens of houses."
He continued: "We were shown the paperwork of several and we viewed three. We were shown areas that we hadn't thought about or hadn't really made the time to think, 'Actually let's go and spend a weekend here and explore', and that was really useful in this process."
Finally, he said: "And we applied to the show because we wanted to move to a village which we have. So you know, a year ago, I wanted that kind of house and life that we have now as of right at the end of last year. So it's about as genuine as it gets for moving to the country."
Despite the controversy and not finding their dream home through the show, an articulate and down-to-earth Jack reflects on his experience, admitting: "I am possibly as furious [as the people who complained] about the general state of the housing market. And I have been for years. I spent years in London paying my landlord's mortgages because they were lucky enough to buy their flats when they did."
