The BBC has confirmed its long-running home renovation television series DIY SOS will be “rested” next year amid the corporation's ongoing “savings challenges”.
The hit programme, hosted by Nick Knowles, first aired in 1999 and helps transform the homes of families facing severe illness, disability, bereavement or building disasters. It began as a low-budget show with Knowles and a small team helping homeowners fix botched DIY projects, and relaunched as DIY SOS: The Big Build in 2010.
Shift to larger-scale projects
The reality renovation programme shifted focus to larger-scale projects and followed Knowles and his team as they repair and transform people's homes across Britain with the help of local communities.
The BBC has confirmed the show will be “rested” after its latest series, which is currently on air, but said it has not been axed. A new spin-off show revisiting families and renovation projects from its history is set to take its place.
BBC statement on the decision
A BBC spokesperson said: “In light of the BBC's savings challenges we have taken the decision to rest DIY SOS in 2027 and commission a new spin-off show instead from producers South Shore.”
“DIY SOS Rebuilt My Life will revisit successes from the show's past and expand the brand on the BBC in a more cost-effective way next year.”
Recent cuts and notable projects
The BBC has also confirmed its annual Children In Need instalment of DIY SOS, which involves a large-scale charitable build often focused on supporting vulnerable young people, has been rested. It comes amid a series of recent cuts by the corporation as part of the first phase of its bid to save £500 million over the next three years, which have included the cancellation of TV shows Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live At The Apollo.
DIY SOS has taken on many ambitious projects through the years. In 2015, Knowles worked with the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Sussex and hundreds of volunteers to transform a derelict street in Manchester into housing for veterans. William returned to the programme in 2018 for its two-part special focused on supporting the survivors and community affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people.
The emotional episodes saw the DIY SOS team build a brand-new community centre and also work to restore the Dale Youth Boxing Club, which was destroyed in the June 2017 fire. The programme launched its 35th series earlier this month with a moving episode which saw Knowles break down in tears during a “physically and emotionally draining” house renovation. The TV host was emotional as his team helped 16-year-old Dan, who has spent the last three years in hospital after life-saving surgery to remove a brain tumour left him with complex disabilities.
DIY SOS is available on BBC iPlayer, with new episodes airing weekly on BBC One.
