A new series of the BBC’s much-loved ‘Celebrity Escape to the Country’ returns to our screens this winter, which sees a raft of celebrities looking to swap their city life, for a dream property in the countryside.
The new series welcomes the likes of TV presenter and Journalist Janet Street Porter, Choirmaster Gareth Malone, and pop star Chesney Hawkes, known for his 1991 hit, The One and Only .
Hawkes, whose top hit was in the UK charts for five weeks, appeared on Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year, finishing in fifth place. He also appeared on a 2024 series of ITV’s The Masked Singer.
Imagine receiving a call one day from estate agent Whitaker Seager, asking if you were ok for ‘the one and only’, pop star Chesney Hawkes, to come and have a nose around your house with his wife Kristina? Well that’s exactly what happened to David and Sue Elliot from Chalford, who currently have their home on the market.
The Elliot’s historic and charming five-bedroom house located in Silver Street in Chalford, has a guide price of £1,350,000 and was recently featured as Property of the Week in Stroud Times: https://stroudtimes.com/whitaker-seager-property-of-the-week-the-ferns-silver-street-chalford-hill-stroud/
Stroud Times’ Faye Hatcher sat down with David and Sue to find out why Chalford was on Chesney’s wish list?
How did this all come about?
David: Our house is on the market and I got a call out of the blue from our estate agents, Whitaker Seager, when I was on a train to London. They didn’t say who it was, but asked if we’d be willing to show our property off to a well- known celebrity. It’s quite an unusual property and I thought a bit more promotion for the property wouldn’t be a bad thing!
When did you find out it was Chesney Hawkes, and are you a fan of his music?
David: We were told it was going to be Chesney Hawkes very close to the filming. It made me laugh because he’s one of the headliners at Chalfest Music Festival in 2026!
So do you think there’s a connection?
Sue: Well, we were given a load of paperwork to fill in by the producer; information about the local area, shops, interesting facts, and so I mentioned Chalfest, and once we found out the celebrity was Chesney Hawkes, we said to the producer that they must include the information in the programme, that Chesney was performing!
So do you reckon Chesney was thinking if he bought your house, he could walk to and from his gig at Chalfest?
David: We did offer to put him up, but he said we might not want the whole band coming back to our house too!
What do you think was on Chesney’s property wish list?
Sue: We’ve done our research on the other properties included in the programme. I know one property was a mansion near Cheltenham; a doer-upper project. They all sounded much-of-a-muchness and all quite similar to ours, and then one oddball house; the wildcard! Our house is right bang in the middle of the village, so it might not be on every celebrities’ wishlist, to be so public
David: You never know! We’ve had a few celebrities live in the village before – Alfie Boe and Jamie Dornan!
Did you get to meet Chesney?
David: We cleared out of the way for most of the day. We met the presenter, Jules Hudson, and we’d heard Chesney had brought his wife along to the viewing too. Anyway, they filmed for about 3 hours and then we had a call to say they’d finished. Sue and I returned to our house… and who was in our kitchen, was Chesney and his wife! We got a lovely picture of us all with Chesney in our kitchen!
What did Chesney say about your house?
Sue: He was very complimentary about the property. It’s a shame because the day they filmed, it was tipping down with rain and it was very grey. The production crew did come back on a sunny day and filmed all around the village.
Did you give the house an extra good clean before Chesney arrived?
David: The challenge with viewings is that they’re always quite cumbersome, especially with 3 kids, dogs and cats! The prospect of it being on national TV did raise the stakes slightly, so we hired a team of people to come in – a cleaner and a gardener.
Your home is absolutely gorgeous! So why do you want to sell it?
David: We’re downsizing. We’ve lived here for 15 years and I am approaching retirement.
How would you describe your house in 3 words (or as many words as you like!)
Sue: The house itself is beautiful with stunning views and it’s olde worlde and has been contemporised.
David: It’s unique- the one and only! It’s a delightful, family home. It’s a fabulous mix of seclusion and sociability. Parts of it date back to 1640, so all that history. We are just custodians of these old properties. We’ve created it as our own family home and there’s a great connection with the garden. There are fruit trees and room for chickens, with lots of social spaces for entertaining.
If you’d like to find out if Chesney is moving to Chalford, the episode will be broadcast on 30th December at 18:30pm on BBC 1, and repeated on 31st December at 06:30 am on BBC 2 or available on the BBC iplayer after broadcast.
