The final episode of DIY SOS aired on BBC One on Tuesday night, bringing an end to the long-running home renovation series after the broadcaster shelved the programme. Presenter Nick Knowles, 63, has already moved on to a new venture, joining English second-tier rugby side Cornish Pirates as an investor.
Knowles is hoping to help transform the Penzance-based club into a household name with the help of a new documentary series. The project has drawn comparisons with Welcome to Wrexham, the hit documentary following Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's takeover of the Welsh football club.
End of an era for DIY SOS
The BBC confirmed the programme had been shelved as part of its £500 million savings plan. Knowles recently revealed he had been told the show would never return in its current format, bringing an end to an era after 26 years on screen.
In an emotional video shared on Instagram, he said: "We have been told the programme has been shelved and not ended but I have asked the question, 'Will it ever come back in the form it is where it builds whole houses for people or builds these hospices and charity places?' and I've been told no, if it comes back in the future it will be smaller and more cost effective."
He added: "I thought I would be OK with it but actually it's a little bit emotional."
Tribute to volunteers and tradespeople
Knowles, who has fronted the home renovation programme since 1999, paid tribute to the volunteers, tradespeople and suppliers who had helped make the show such a success.
"I'd like to thank everyone we've worked with over the last 26 years. If you're a volunteer, a tradesperson, if you're a supplier – love you all. It has been an honour to work with you all. We've loved every minute of it," he said.
"It's been the most extraordinary experience and there is more work to go on to and to do but I don't think it'll ever be like DIY SOS."
The BBC has confirmed it will instead launch a lower-cost spin-off, DIY SOS Rebuilt My Life, which will revisit successful transformations from the programme's past.
New chapter with Cornish Pirates
Knowles is already looking towards a new challenge, with his investment in Cornish Pirates offering the prospect of a fresh chapter away from his familiar television role. The presenter, who has served as an ambassador for the club for more than a season, has brought in a film crew to make a documentary exploring the Pirates and the importance of rugby to the local community.
Knowles hopes to capture a similar sense of community and local identity, with the Pirates aiming to secure a place in PREM Rugby when the competition expands from 10 to 12 teams ahead of the 2029-30 season.
Speaking to The Telegraph about the club's potential, he said: "When I looked at Cornish Pirates, you've got the history of Cornwall, which is phenomenal."
"You've got a Celtic history; you've got a massive fanbase which is like a sleeping giant. Rugby is as much part of their culture there as fishing or tin mining or anything else. Cornwall has that identity, spirit, has that love of rugby."
He added: "If I can strap all those things together, and then make something that's stunningly beautiful and then weave in all of these beautiful characters. I'd want to watch it, and I wouldn't have to be a rugby fan to watch it."
"I want the series to be a postcard to Cornwall, a love letter to Cornwall, with a sporting underdog story running through it."
Replicating Wrexham's success
Knowles believes the key to replicating Wrexham's success lies in telling the stories of the people around the club, rather than focusing solely on what happens on the pitch.
"They haven't just bought a football club and gone: 'This is what we're doing'," he said of Reynolds and McElhenney. "They've engaged with the whole community. We fully intend to do the same, because if you don't take the whole community with you, you've got a team with no support."
He also pointed to the appeal of the people and history featured in Welcome to Wrexham, arguing that viewers do not necessarily need to be sports fans to become invested in a club's story.
Knowles' rugby venture follows a difficult period in his personal life, with the presenter having stepped back from television work earlier this year to support his wife, Katie Dadzie, following serious complications after a hysterectomy. The 36-year-old businesswoman, whom he married last summer, required urgent surgery after her cervix ruptured. Knowles subsequently revealed that she faced another significant operation and that he would be taking time away to care for her.
"I've been looking after my wife a lot because she has been through it," he told the Mail earlier this year. "She's had a lot of tough times. She's got another operation coming up. I will disappear for a while because I'll be looking after her. I'm always worried [about her], but she's a warrior and a fighter, so I know she'll be fine."
