From Arrochar to Hackney, Kirstie and Phil's secrets of their success

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They’ve been together now for 25 years, an’ it don’t seem a day too much. Apart from her effing and jeffing, him splitting his trousers, and her obsession with knocking down walls, that is.

A quarter of a century after they were joined together in unholy telly matrimony, house hunting duo Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer celebrated their union by not falling into each other’s arms. It’s their thing. 

“We have never been an item,” declared Kirstie. 

“But we are very good friends,” said Phil, finishing her sentence in true married style. “Most of the time”.

By way of an anniversary gift, Channel 4 gave the pair their own evening to celebrate all things Location. They made the most of it by starting a new series, having a wander down memory lane, and putting together a blooper reel. 

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Whether they are secretly a couple is one of the things people tend to ask. That, and whether Phil is as nice as he seems. No and yes are the answers. 

Of the four programmes, the retrospective was the finest hour, charting as it did the recent history of house buying and the changing face of the show and its presenters.

The original title was The Great House Hunt, but after a few pronunciations went badly wrong this was changed to Location, Location, Location. The year was 2000 and the average house price was £78,000. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive even if there was no internet and they had to use phone boxes. 

Couple after couple came along, all different but looking for the same thing: a hand to hold while they took the terrifying leap into buying a place. 

And help K&P did, as we saw with various case studies, including a couple who traded their flat in London for a house in Arrochar. That so many of the home hunters were still together was a testament to the strength of their relationships and, I’d like to think, the quality of K&P’s advice. 

Location, Location, Location with Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp (Image: free) What one forgets about this pair, but which soon became evident as they talked us through the boom and bust years, is that they genuinely know their stuff.  

The fascinating facts continued. Did you know that they give househunters their personal phone numbers? The only rule, said Kirstie, was not to phone while drunk. Only one person had broken it: a bloke at the races, showing off to his pals. 

As for regrets, they had a few. In Kirstie’s case it was evangelising for open plan living, only for Covid to come along. 

The night finished with a rerun of the first show, featuring a hunt for a one bedroom flat in Hackney. I’d like to say Phil had hair back then, but no. Kirstie, however, was a stone-cold fox, a young Julie Burchill lookalike in shades, knee-high boots and a killer fringe. 

Kate the renter eventually found her place for grand sum of £103,000. What the place is worth 25 years on I’d hate to say, but Kirstie and Phil will always be gold.