Jules Hudson, the 56-year-old presenter of BBC One's Escape to the Country, has found his calm in the Herefordshire countryside after years of city living. He shares the rural home with his wife Tania, whom he married in 2016, and their son Jack, and prefers to keep his family away from the spotlight.
Though he is closely associated with the greenbelt and some of the UK's most idyllic locations, Hudson once lived in London to be near his wife's workplace. That experience confirmed his need for open space. As he told The Times in 2020: "I found London very claustrophobic. There's an energy about it that I absolutely love, but I need green fields and space."
A rural retreat
The couple knew they wanted a different kind of home. "We knew what we were looking for — something with space, something with outbuildings. And having its own plot was really important to me," he said. They eventually settled on a property in Herefordshire.
Hudson's own roots are in Essex. He was born in Colchester in 1970 and grew up in a bed and breakfast hotel run by his mother.
From archaeology to television
Before his broadcasting career took off, Hudson studied archaeology and then joined the military at Sandhurst. In 1996, he was part of the production team for BBC2's Horizon, Channel 4's Time Team and numerous military history series.
He became the host of Escape to the Country in 2007, and also appears alongside Helen Skelton on This Week on the Farm. He is set to return to filming on Escape to the Country in April.
Grief and loss
Hudson has spoken openly about a difficult period in his life. In 2022, he announced that his father had died aged 93. He told The Sun: "He was a great guy, I loved him to bits. When you are trying to steer your loved ones through the final stages of their lives, it is really challenging, and it's very emotional."
He later reflected on the aftermath: "I made the mistake of trying to put it to the back of my mind. With all the stuff that comes with the loss of somebody very close to you, there's a horrible amount of administration that you have to go through. I probably didn't spend enough time dealing with it. I find myself now having to catch up a bit, and it's catching me quite unaware. You can get quite emotional when you least expect it."
The presenter also faced the loss of his two dogs, both of whom died after a cancer battle. He said: "You absolutely can put the death of a pet on a par with people. They are a huge part of our lives."
Family life
Becoming a father to Jack changed his perspective. He shared in Hello!: "I'll be honest with you, I never had any ambitions to be a parent when I was younger. But [Jack] has absolutely gifted our life with a purpose and a richness which we could never have expected."
Hudson once admitted it took him about a decade after leaving education to find his direction, and he is keen for Jack to be encouraged to follow his own passions.
Escape to the Country airs on BBC One and iPlayer.
