Grand Designs star Kevin McCloud is gearing up for this year’s Grand Designs Live as the Channel 4 show celebrates a quarter of a century on air. While the presenter is excited for the event, it was only a couple of years ago he was nervous to stand up in front of the huge crowds.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk he recalled his worries about facing the public after shielding throughout the lockdowns due to health issues. “I remember coming out of lockdown we did a couple of shows and we came back and at that time I was still shielding because I’ve asthma.
“I hadn’t gone anywhere or gotten a train or anything and I had the first exhibition [post lockdown] and I got very nervous about that,” he remembered. “I walked out on stage, and there must been 200 people there in the same room.
“I thought, ‘Are you the enemy? Are you gonna kill me? Are you gonna throw things at me or give me COVID?'” he confessed. “And actually what I realised about five minutes in, when people started to join in and laugh, is that we’re all in same club.
“We’re all there because we want to be there. Everybody was there because they wanted to have a good time. It’s a real lesson that when you think about standing up in front of public, if you are having to give a wedding speech or a presentation at work, is that nobody’s really willing you to fail.
“Everybody wants to you just to succeed – they want to be entertained – they want to join in.
“We forget that as live event; whether it’s a theatre show, or whether it’s an exhibition, is just that – it’s a live event and people are excited to be there in the first place,” he pondered.
Kevin was speaking via Zoom in advance of this year’s live show, and was clearly feeling excited about it, as he spoke animatedly every time it was mentioned, although he admits he doesn’t get involved in the organising.
“If it was left to me it would just be some kind of ADHD kind of obsessive thing,” he laughed. “Thankfully it was put together by brilliant people who understand exhibitions and understand events,” he reassured anyone attending.
“The thing [live show] is just an extraordinary set of events. Over the years, we’ve tried to build houses – show homes, we’ve got an assembly table.
“We’ve got big screen heroes, which is probably the most interactive element and the most fun is not on the stage, which is very entertaining, but the Ask the Expert centre.
“Every year we get about 50 experts and they give their time freely – architects, engineers to designers, landscapers, surveyors – and they come and they sit and you can turn up without an appointment [with your questions], although you can book on the website.
“And there’ll be there to help you. I love that. I love the fact that you can come along and just join in,” he smiled.
Kevin McCloud was speaking ahead of Grand Designs Live, the premier home exhibition, taking place at London ExCel between 4 – 12 May. More details available here.