Nick Knowles broke down in tears during an appearance on This Morning as he recalled crying alone in his car after finishing emotionally draining DIY SOS jobs. The BBC presenter was speaking to Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley about the new series of his show when the conversation turned to the emotional toll of the work.
Emotional confession about life in construction
Ben highlighted that over the last two series, viewers have seen how emotional Nick can become with the families he helps. Nick responded by discussing the pressures of the construction trade, saying: "It's a terrible thing in the construction trade that you're four times more likely to commit suicide if you're in the construction trade than the average person in the street."
He added: "Our builders that we work with, people on the team, have lost friends over the last year, two years, it's absolutely brutal. I think a lot of it is down to men feeling that they need to get on, no matter what the pressures are, and just get on with it."
Nick then made a personal confession about his own coping mechanism after finishing jobs, saying: "I used to go away from jobs, they're so emotionally charged and so knackering. I'd pull up in a motorway service station and go to the far side and have a little cry in the car on my own. I mentioned this to the guys on the job, and they said, 'We do the same'. None of us knew that we did."
Upcoming episode and emotional moment
Elsewhere in the show, they discussed the upcoming episode, set to air on October 13, in which Nick and his team help a family make their home accessible for their son Daniel, who has complex disability needs.
Speaking about the reveal, Nick said: "There's this extraordinary thing at the end, we normally show the family around the house, and then the builders come down the road, which is a lovely moment because it's shocking to see 500 to 600 people come down."
He continued: "On this one, because it was his first time home from the hospital, the builder lined the route, and the ambulance came-" At this point, Nick was overcome with emotion and had to stop speaking to regain his composure. As Cat and Ben gave him a moment, Cat expressed her understanding of the emotion after watching the episode, and Nick attempted to keep the interview flowing, saying, "Ask a question."
The presenters all laughed at his remark as Cat shared that she had felt the same when watching the episode herself. DIY SOS continues Tuesdays on BBC One from 8pm.
