Liz Fletcher has spoken about the devastating fire that forced her family out of their home, revealing that her twin children don't remember living there and now refer to it as "the burnt house".
In the latest episode of Fletcher's Family Farm, airing on Sunday on ITV, Liz admitted it would be a long time before the family moves back into their home. The fire broke out while the family was on holiday last year, leaving the property unlivable.
Liz's hopes for the future
Speaking in a voiceover, Kelvin Fletcher said: "With back-to-back bookings, the cottage is now established as an essential income stream for the farm, and it's Liz's pride and joy. And even if the farm or our own home is in chaos, this place always looks immaculate."
He added: "I find my calm being alone in the Laming shed, but for Liz, the cottage has become her sanctuary."
While preparing the cottage for guests, Liz shared her frustration with a broken mirror piece: "So I've got a bit of maintenance to do today. This little piece just came off the mirror, so it should just slot in like that, and if I hold it for long enough, I'm hoping it stays."
She continued: "Let's put some glue on it. I've tried every glue from every hardware store going, and none of it works. And this is the glue that I use to gem Marnie's dance costumes, and it is the strongest stuff in the world, so I'm hoping that this works instead."
Rebuilding the family home
Liz then spoke about her hopes for their home, saying: "The next big project is actually our house, which I didn't ever think was going to be on the list. But yeah, it'll be nice to put this energy and effort into the house now and build a home for the kids."
She added: "The twins don't remember living in it. That's how long it's been. They call it the burnt house, which is sad, really, but listen, one day we'll be able to move back in, and it'll just be their home."
Discussing the likely timescale, the mum of four explained: "I imagine it'll take us forever to finish it, but I guess that'll be part of our story now, won't it? I can't wait to lay some bricks, start mixing some cement, doing some hard graft. I'm excited for it."
Emotional reflection on the fire
In a previous episode, Kelvin and Liz looked emotional as they discussed the extent of the damage. Kelvin said he felt "so detached" and "lost his connection" to the house since it was destroyed.
In a voiceover, Kelvin reflected: "It's hard to believe how long it's been since the fire at the farmhouse. The smoke damage made the house unlivable, and insurance rules meant the place had to stay untouched for months. But today's a big moment, we can finally start clearing the site and begin the journey towards rebuilding."
Liz added: "This is the moment we've been waiting for. The delivery of the skip, because that means that we can finally clear it out and rebuild the house, and we can get back in the house."
She concluded: "And it has felt like forever, like over a year ago, when we stood here just looking at the damage and thinking, 'what are we going to do?' And now we stood here thinking, 'You've got to start somewhere'."
Fletcher's Family Farm airs on Sunday at 11.25am on ITV.
