Kevin McCloud reveals the one thing he always looks for in a Grand Designs house

Grand Designs is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, having made its on-screen debut back in 1999. Kevin McCloud, 59, has fronted the show since its birth. Over the years, viewers have been treated to no shortage of impressive builds. But, how are the different projects selected for each series?

With another season of the programme set to make it onto the small screen, the British designer has spoken exclusively to Express.co.uk about what goes into the decision of which builds to cover.

Taking a look back on the array of impressive challenges, Kevin was quizzed on whether there had been any particularly shocking or stand-out episodes for him?

And, rather than remembering one particular build, the presenter instead recalled how the catering options in the nearby areas had sometimes come as a surprise.

“It’s sometimes shocking to discover how bad the food is in the local pub. That’s the thing that’s shocking” he said.

Kevin went on to share a lesser known fact about how finding a nearby pub was a rather important aspect when it comes down to picking the next story to film – and teased that it could sometimes be the “clincher” as to whether the project is filmed or not.

“When I go to film a project, it’s so often the case that the house is OK but the people are really nice,” Kevin said. “Or the house is fantastic and the people are quite dull. And then, the clincher well, the two clinchers, is how far do I have to travel to get there, and secondly, how good is the local pub?”

He continued: “It’s all about the wonderful confluence of good things coming together, which mercifully, in nearly every case, it does.

“I work with extremely talented people and we choose projects very carefully.

“We choose our contributors very carefully, and we choose the pubs extremely carefully!”

So, just how thorough are the team when it comes to their research of the local area?

While a lot of it may involve spending quite some time online – and in the pub – Kevin assured Express.co.uk that they ensured the nearby amenities would suit the team’s needs.

“Television is a great art of wasting time,” he said. “It’s a huge number of people involved to not produce very much and a lot of mistakes are made by people who don’t need enough research.

“So, yeah, researching the local pub is a key thing,” Kevin lightheartedly said.

“Most of it is desktop research of course, done beforehand, with a little bit of sampling.”

Kevin went on to discuss the importance of improving biodiversity on construction sites, following Grands Design Live teaming up with charity partner Friends of The Earth in order to launch the new Green Finger Campaign.

“What we should be doing is ensuring that, in terms of what we plant, we plant species of tree, bush and wildflowers which are beneficial and which promote being used by the widest amount of animals – from butterflies and bees to a wide variety of birds. And squirrels, mammals, and hedgehogs for example.”

READ MORE: Kevin McCloud warns of one thing having a ‘greater effect’ on UK property than Brexit

Kevin McCloud will be appearing at Grand Designs Live at London’s ExCeL, from 4 – 12 May 2019. For more information and tickets visit www.granddesignslive.com.

Grand Designs: The Street begins on Thursday at 9pm on Channel 4.

source: express.co.uk