''House Doctor'' is a

television programme A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

, originally broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK. Each week, the House Doctor –

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

n real-estate stylist,

Ann Maurice Ann Maurice (born November 11, 1951) is an American interior designer and house stager perhaps best known in the UK as Channel 5's " House Doctor". She also hosted two series of ''Ann Maurice: Interior Rivalry'' for the same channel in 2006 and ...

– helps UK home-owners sell their houses with her industry know-how and style tips. The popularity of the show has lent the word "house doctoring" to the

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

lexicon, which is similar to the American term

home staging Home staging is the preparation of a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace. The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money. St ...

. This programme is now shown in many countries around the globe, which is broadening the use and familiarity of this term.

Format

Developed by Talkback Productions, the 30-minute show opens with a presenter (a male to off-set Maurice), who shows to the present owners a video recording of the reactions of a number of prospective purchasers viewing the house, and their (negative) feedback. Maurice then enters the house during the video, and chats with the owners about the feedback and the major areas they can improve for a budget of around 1% of sales price. Maurice then instructs the presenter, the owners, and some hired-in local tradesman, on the work, which is seen in some detail, with an explanation as to why this is being done and how to make best costs. The show then ends with Maurice touring the revamped house, and new feedback from the original viewers. The owners then give feedback on the experience, and a voiceover at the end confirms the current sales status.

History

The show was broadcast on 24 August 1998 on Channel 5, and has run for seven series. The presenter for series one was William Van-Hague. The presenter for series two was Tris Payne, but he left the show to move to

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

to present the daily morning show Real Rooms. He was replaced by

Alistair Appleton Alistair Appleton (born 12 February 1970) is a British broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher. Biography Born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to Peter and Sally (née Cooper) Appleton, the younger of two sons, Alistair was brough ...

for series three to six. Maurice then became the presenter and House Doctor, and the show was extended to 60 minutes to include gardens. There have also been a series of spin-off shows and specials, including ''House Doctor – Top 10!'' things that you need to fix to sell your house, ''House Doctor – A-Z of Design'', ''House Doctor: Inside and Out'', ''House Doctor, Designs for Living'', ''Interior Rivalry'' and a documentary entitled, ''House Doctor: We Love You!'' The series is regularly repeated on Channel 5 in the early hours of the morning. ''House Doctor'' returned to Channel 5 for a new series on 3 October 2016 with American interior designer Tracy Metro replacing Ann Maurice. Channel 5 have ordered 45 new episodes. The show is often repeated early in the morning on Channel 5 usually at 4am or 5am before

Milkshake! ''Milkshake!'' (stylised as milkshake!) is a British children's television programming block on Channel 5 and is currently aimed at children aged 3–7. History The block debuted on Channel 5's first full day on air, at 7.30am on 31 March 1 ...

begins.

Overseas editions

"House Doctor" is now broadcast in a number of countries via the BBC Worldwide network and its partners, including

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

References

External links

Ann Maurice's official website – housedoctor.co.uk
* {{IMDb title, id=0338614, name=House Doctor. 1998 British television series debuts 2016 British television series endings 1990s British reality television series 2000s British reality television series 2010s British reality television series Channel 5 (British TV channel) reality television shows Home renovation television series Property buying television shows Television series by Fremantle (company)