DIY SOS viewers were left in tears just minutes into the latest episode after widow Georgie shared the heartbreaking story of losing her husband Chris suddenly, just weeks before filming.
Georgie, who appeared on the BBC show, had been left to raise her three young children alone while living in a half-renovated property in Feniton, Devon. Chris, a talented carpenter, had been mid-way through renovating their fixer-upper home when he died unexpectedly, leaving Georgie and their children - Felicity, Eliza and Hugo - without a safe or finished place to live.
A devastating loss
Georgie explained: "We've spent almost ten years moving from house to house, and we finally got this place last year. It's only a two-bed, but it was all we could afford. And with his skills, we just thought we'd have a lifetime to do it up. He was the most hands-on dad. And then he died. It's all taken away."
The couple's two daughters found Chris unconscious upstairs, which Georgie described as "horrendous". During the episode on Tuesday (September 29), Nick Knowles arrived at Georgie's home just a week after Chris' funeral.
Viewers moved to tears
Georgie showed Nick around the home, including the room where Chris had died. "He was lying across here, with his head sort of on there," Georgie tearfully explained. "Hugo was asleep. I had to do CPR, which I've never done. I just remember thinking, it's just, it's never going to work. He already felt cold. His hands felt cold. And since, Hugo holds my face and goes, 'You're not going to die. Are you dead?' Yeah, this whole room, I hate it. I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I just see him lying across there."
Nick was visibly affected by Georgie's story, as he was seen putting his hand to his head in shock. Viewers were also moved, with many sharing their heartbreak on social media.
"Jesus wept, what an incredibly heartbreaking story," one person wrote on X. Another added: "Ok, I'm 10 mins in and already reaching for the tissue box." A third said: "#DIYSOS time, only just started and already emotional." Someone else commented: "Thank you very much @DIYSOS. Think it's a new record for me, bawling 6 minutes into the show [crying emojis]."
A transformed family home
At the end of the instalment, Georgie returned to her home, which looked unrecognisable after the weeks-long renovation. Nick said: "Before we arrived, this house was a building site. Georgie and Chris bought it as a doer-upper, but his tragic loss not only left the family without a husband and a father, but no means of being able to finish the work in the house."
In just eight days, the team transformed it into a family home. A light and airy living room had been built with an open-plan kitchen-diner that had plenty of built-in storage, and a secret fourth bedroom. Despite the changes, the team managed to keep a special bed for seven-year-old Eliza, after her dad had built it for her.
"What a space. Beautiful... [Chris] would have loved it as well," Georgie said. DIY SOS is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
