Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud shares financial struggles due to Channel 4 contract
Kevin McCloud has admitted that the financial struggles he faces due to his contract with Channel 4 mean he must act "reasonable".
The Bedfordshire-born designer and presenter, who's appeared on Grand Designs since it first aired in the 1990s, admitted that he'd been "very lucky" to enjoy a long career on the much-loved Channel 4 show.
However, with Kevin, 65, fast approaching retirement age, he's now revealed that the financial situation that has resulted from his contract means he must be both "reasonable and astute".
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He told the i that he felt "very lucky" to have had a television job for the last 25 years. He continued: "But it doesn't come with a pension (as he works freelance), so you've got to be very reasonable and astute: much as I might enjoy the creations the Grand Designs contributors pursue, my best option is always to enjoy them vicariously rather than imitate.
"Financially, I decided a long time ago that I wouldn't confuse my own circumstances with those of the Grand Designs contributors. I shouldn't mistake their passion for an investment in amazing historic furniture, or modernism or contemporary architecture as something that - just because I can talk to them - I should also be entitled to."
Kevin added that he's not "financially robotic" and he has been accused of "acting on whims", yet he admitted that it's "not the things that money can buy" that truly make him happy.
Grand Designs initially aired in 1999, with Kevin marking its 25-year run last year by visiting the very first house to appear on the show, situated in Newhaven in East Sussex.
In the episode, Kevin spoke to Tim and Jules, who had four daughters between them, owned a paragliding school and were attempting to complete their home in three months as Jules was expecting.
Yet, the couple faced a range of problems, including issues with groundwork, costs and the timber frame. When Kevin returned to the house, however, he found that it was now surrounded by trees.
He discovered that the house had remained relatively unchanged, with the exception of a few extra tiles on the roof and a conservatory to help the family's plants and to trap the sun in the warmer weather.
When Kevin was previously quizzed about the changes the show had seen over the course of its 25 years, he said the market has changed "partly because of Covid and partly because of Brexit".
He revealed that the projects they see "are often very very slow to get off the ground", adding that they had a "backlog of stuff" that was "going to be three years ago" but remained unfinished.
