Sarah Lucinda Beeny (born 9 January 1972) is an English broadcaster and entrepreneur, best known for presenting ''
Property Ladder
The term property ladder, widely used in the United Kingdom, describes the relative differences in constant terms from cheaper to more expensive housing.
According to this metaphor, an individual or a family can progress by stages from more aff ...
'', ''
Property Snakes and Ladders
''Property Ladder'' is the original British version of the television series ''Property Ladder'' which ran for 7 series between 2001 and 2009. Hosted by Sarah Beeny, it follows the journey of amateur property developers
Real estate developme ...
'', ''Streets Ahead'', ''Britain's Best Homes'', ''Sarah Beeny's Selling Houses, How to Live Mortgage Free'' and ''
Sarah Beeny's New Life in the Country''.
Beeny is a high-profile campaigner for buildings at risk and has personally renovated
Rise Hall
Rise Hall (formerly Rise Manor, or Rise Park) is a Grade II* listed stately home in Rise, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
History
Rise is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having been owned by Cnut (the son of Karli) in 1066. The e ...
, a 32-bedroomed
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
hall in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Beeny has written regular columns for national newspapers and magazines, in addition to numerous books. She launched her podcast ''Round the Houses with Sarah Beeny'' in 2018, featuring a variety of wealthy and famous guests who allow Beeny into their homes and their lives.
Early life and education
Sarah Lucinda Beeny was born on 9 January 1972 in
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...
, to Richard (an architect for
Bovis Homes
Vistry Group, formerly Bovis Homes Group, is a British house-building company based in Kings Hill, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
Vistry Group was the result of a 2019 m ...
)
and Ann. Beeny has an elder brother. The family lived in two converted brick cottages in a nine-acre plot on the edge of the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
's estate at
Stratfield Saye
Stratfield Saye is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane and the English county of Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of West End Green, Fair Oak Green and Fair Cross.
Etymology
The name means 'Street-F ...
in Hampshire, in a style that Beeny describes as "a bit like ''
The Good Life''."
After her mother died aged 39 of breast cancer when Beeny was 10,
she was educated as a weekly boarder at the all-girls
Luckley-Oakfield School in
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell.
History
Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...
. Although her friends went to university, Beeny did not; she was encouraged to study drama by her English teacher and took a leading role in
Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
's ''
Caucasian Chalk Circle
''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a bet ...
.''
Pursuing the idea of becoming a professional actress, she studied drama at
Queen Mary's College, Basingstoke, but failed to get into a drama school.
Beeny travelled around the world solo at the age of 17 and felt "lonely and seasick" most of the way round.
She returned to the UK to take a series of jobs, including: working for
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
; window-cleaning; door-to-door vacuum cleaner-selling and running her own sandwich-making business.
Assuming she would be self-employed for the rest of her life, at weekends she would study the property market, which gave her a good grounding in the market. Having saved up a deposit, without any formal training, Beeny began her own property-developing business with her brother and her husband. Beeny is also the co-founder of the UK dating website
MySingleFriend.com.
Career
After meeting the sister-in-law of Sarah Delafield-Cook, a talent hunter at
Talkback Thames
Talkback Thames (stylised as talkbackTHAMES) was a British television production company, a division of Fremantle (part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann). It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Tel ...
,
at a
hen party, Beeny was asked to undertake a screen test to front a new television series about
property development
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
.
The success of ''
Property Ladder
The term property ladder, widely used in the United Kingdom, describes the relative differences in constant terms from cheaper to more expensive housing.
According to this metaphor, an individual or a family can progress by stages from more aff ...
'' led to various spin-off series, including ''Streets Ahead'', ''Britain's Best Homes'' and ''
Property Snakes and Ladders
''Property Ladder'' is the original British version of the television series ''Property Ladder'' which ran for 7 series between 2001 and 2009. Hosted by Sarah Beeny, it follows the journey of amateur property developers
Real estate developme ...
''.
In 2006, Beeny presented ''One Year to Pay Off Your Mortgage''. She wrote a number of books to accompany the series, as well as a weekly column for the ''
Mail on Sunday
''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...
''.
In 2007, Beeny appeared on the
Channel 5 motoring show ''
Fifth Gear
''Fifth Gear'' is a British motoring television magazine series on Discovery+. It is a continuation of the ''Fifth Gear'' format originally broadcast on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, afterwards moving to Discovery Channel in 2012, and then in ...
'', where she raced
Jason Plato
Timothy Jason Plato (born 14 October 1967) is a British racing driver who last competed in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BTC Racing. He has twice been BTCC Champion, in 2001 for Vauxhall and 2010 for Silverline Chevrolet. He ...
in an articulated lorry around a course. She has appeared on
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...
's ''
The F-Word'', where she offered up her garden for Ramsay's sheep to feed on.
Beeny regularly appears on television and is a friend of DJ
Christian O' Connell
Christian Liam O'Connell (born 7 April 1973 in Winchester, Hampshire) is a British radio disc jockey, television host, writer, and comedian living in Australia. He presents '' The Christian O'Connell Show'' on weekday mornings on Gold 104.3 ...
. Since August 2010, she has fronted the Channel 4 programme ''
Help! My House is Falling Down
''Help! My House is Falling Down'' is a Channel 4 show hosted by Sarah Beeny. She and her team of experts travel around Britain looking for homes that need urgent repair. The show dispenses advice on what constitutes a minor or major repair (usin ...
'', which had the working title of ''House Rescue'' before its commission.
In November 2010, she presented ''Beeny's Restoration Nightmare'' on Channel 4, showing her renovation of
Rise Hall
Rise Hall (formerly Rise Manor, or Rise Park) is a Grade II* listed stately home in Rise, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
History
Rise is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having been owned by Cnut (the son of Karli) in 1066. The e ...
, a Grade II* listed historic house near
Rise, East Riding of Yorkshire
Rise is a village and civil parish in Holderness, the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of the town of Beverley and south-west of Hornsea. It lies to the east of the B1243 road.
The place-name 'Rise' is fi ...
, to create a wedding venue. Beeny Sold
Rise Hall
Rise Hall (formerly Rise Manor, or Rise Park) is a Grade II* listed stately home in Rise, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
History
Rise is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having been owned by Cnut (the son of Karli) in 1066. The e ...
in 2019.
In August 2011, Beeny began presenting a new series for
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, p ...
titled
''Village SOS''. In this series, the programme follows a group of passionate villagers who want to restore their village to its former glory.
In 2012, Beeny presented ''Double your House for Half the Money'', a series that showed viewers how they could potentially have the home they have always dreamed about, even if they couldn't afford to buy it. This series ran for 3 seasons.
In 2014, she presented ''Sarah Beeny's How to Sell Your Home.'' ''How to Live Mortgage Free with Sarah Beeny'' followed in 2017.
In 2018, Beeny launched her podcast ''At Home with Sarah Beeny,'' a series where famous personalities give Beeny access to the inside of their homes and their lives. The series has included guests such as
Jo Wood
Josephine Wood (née Karslake; born 15 March 1955) is an English model, television personality, and entrepreneur. She is the former wife of The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. She accompanied him regularly on tour, looking after his diet.
W ...
,
Tim Lovejoy
Timothy Paul Lovejoy (born 28 March 1968) is an English television presenter best known for hosting Saturday morning football programme '' Soccer AM'' with Helen Chamberlain for over a decade and ''BT Sports Panel'' on Saturday mornings on the ...
,
Lynn Bowles
Lynn Bowles is a British broadcaster and a former traffic weekday mornings reporter for BBC Radio 2.
Early life
Bowles was born in Splott, Cardiff, Wales, and is the youngest of three siblings. Her father, Cliff, was a marine engineer; her mother ...
and
Pearl Lowe
Pearl Lowe (born Pearl Samantha Davis; 7 April 1970) is an English fashion and textiles designer, and former singer-songwriter.
Career
Music
Lowe was the vocalist of mid-1990s indie bands Powder and Lodger, which she fronted after a brief ...
.
In June 2022, ''Sarah Beeny's Little House Big Plans'' premiered on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
Personal life
Beeny met her husband and business partner, Graham Swift, when she was 18 years old. Her brother is married to Swift's sister, Caroline. Beeny and Swift have four sons. They previously lived in
Streatham
Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
Streatham was in Surrey ...
. In 2001, the couple bought
Rise Hall
Rise Hall (formerly Rise Manor, or Rise Park) is a Grade II* listed stately home in Rise, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
History
Rise is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having been owned by Cnut (the son of Karli) in 1066. The e ...
, in the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
paying £435,000 for the property, and began restoration work on it; Beeny and Swift sold
Rise Hall
Rise Hall (formerly Rise Manor, or Rise Park) is a Grade II* listed stately home in Rise, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
History
Rise is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having been owned by Cnut (the son of Karli) in 1066. The e ...
for £1.4 million in 2019. After selling Rise Hall, Beeny and Swift left London and moved to the
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
countryside.
In August 2022, Beeney revealed that she would be receiving
radiotherapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...
and
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
for
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
; Beeny lost her mother Ann to the same disease at the age of 39 when she was 10 years old. In November 2022, it was announced that Channel 4 had commissioned a documentary to follow Beeny and her family as she undergoes treatment.
Politics and charity
In 2014, Beeny was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the September
2014 referendum on that issue – which it did.
Beeny is a keen supporter of
Brain Tumour Research
Brain Tumour Research is a UK-based medical research charity dedicated to funding research, raising awareness of brain tumours. The charities vision is to find a cure for brain tumours of all kinds.
The charity works with, and funds a network of ...
. In March 2017, she said: " Brain tumours remain a forgotten form of cancer, receiving scant attention from potential funders. More research is needed so fewer lives will be devastated by this dreadful disease. I want my generation to look back in future years and be incredulous that anyone died of cancer. I want to see a day when cancer is no longer life-threatening, when the notion that cancer could be a killer is thought absurd."
Beeny is also a supporter of
Cardboard Citizens
Cardboard Citizens is the UK's only homeless people's professional theatre company, and the leading practitioner of Forum Theatre and the Theatre of the Oppressed methodology in the UK. The acclaimed theatre company works with people who have exp ...
.
Books
* ''Property Ladder: How to Make Pounds from Property'' (Cassell Illustrated, 1 November 2002)
* ''Property Ladder: Profit from Property'' (Cassell Illustrated, 15 November 2003)
* ''Property Ladder: The Developer's Bible'' (Cassell Illustrated, 31 October 2004)
* ''Sarah Beeny's Price the Job'' (Collins & Brown, 14 April 2006)
* ''Property Ladder: Hints and Tips'' (Cassell Illustrated, 14 September 2006)
* ''A Date with Sarah Beeny: Mysinglefriend.com's Guide to Dating and Dumping, Flirting and Flings'' (Harper, 1 May 2007)
* ''Property Ladder: Sarah Beeny's Design for Profit'' (Cassell Illustrated, 1 June 2009)
* ''Sarah Beeny's Green Your Home'' (Collins & Brown, 1 June 2009)
* ''Sarah Beeny's 100 DIY Jobs: The Essentials Made Simple'' (Quadrille Publishing, 10 April 2014)
* ''DIY Home Repairs: 100 Fix-It-Yourself Projects'' (Adams Media Corporation, 2 January 2015)
References
External links
*
Sarah Beeny profile on Octopus PublishingSarah Beeny Shed of the Year judge*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beeny, Sarah
1972 births
Living people
English women in business
People from Reading, Berkshire
English businesspeople
British real estate businesspeople
English television presenters
People educated at Luckley-Oakfield School