Great British Sewing Bee judge Esme Young has lived in the same rented council flat for decades, as she “can’t afford” her own home. The BBC star, 77, has lived in the same one-bedroom social housing flat in Islington since 1983, because she didn’t have the finances to buy her own property.
Life in Social Housing
Esme told The Telegraph in 2022: “I've never been able to afford my own home. I've lived in social housing since 1983 – in a one-bedroom flat in Islington, north London, rented from the charitable housing trust Peabody. It is rent-controlled, and I have tenure for the rest of my life. I also own a beach hut on the north Kent coast, which I bought for £500 many years ago.”
Early Career Struggles
Esme said she “earned more money as a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee” than from any other job she ever had – despite launching her own clothing brand. She told This Money of her early career: “I could not afford to pay rent so I lived in a squat with my brother and friends in a beautiful old terraced house in Elgin Avenue, West London.
“It was a big thing in the early 1970s – people would find houses that were not occupied, break in and change the locks. We had to pay for our electricity via a meter but otherwise we lived rent-free. I thought it was great.
“It was a way for young musicians and designers to get started. In that street, there was so much creativity.”
Business and Film Work
She also refused to take investment when a Greek business man tried to buy 51% of her business, which was designing costumes for pop music videos in the 1980s. Esme even made costumes for big-budget Hollywood films – but that didn’t translate into her own bank account.
