RTÉ presenter Baz Ashmawy said he’s been bowled over by the generosity of Irish people on his hit home makeover series DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland.
At a time when the country faces huge challenges like the housing crisis and the lifting of the eviction ban, he is “always surprised” at how much communities rally together to help those in need.
“Every time you start a new project you go, ‘I wonder if we have run out of goodwill?’. But it never happens,” he said.
“A big part of DIY SOS are the suppliers and the companies who come on board to help – and that’s never an issue for us, which is amazing.
"You can’t put a price on people’s goodwill. And sometimes I think the harder the times, the more people will dig together because they know how difficult it is and they need to feel they are doing a bit of goodness.”
Now in the fourth series of his hit RTÉ show, crucial to its success is getting up to 1,000 tradespeople to volunteer their expertise and time free of charge to help families in need to get their dream home.
In the latest series he travelled to Cork, Athlone, Ennis and Sligo as the team complete work on four different home makeover projects to improve those families’ lives for the better.
Many volunteers find the work “addictive” as they donate their time, he said, to help total strangers.
“People get very parochial about it and then other people come from all over the country and this is their ‘thing’. They take a whole week off work and they go away with their crew to the project site just to help us. Then you get people who just do it for a day which is really important too,” he said.
“I think anyone who volunteers, they’re getting something from it. You’re getting paid in something spiritual, you’re getting something deeper out of it.
I don’t think anyone wants to see a 47-year-old man running around doing the kind of stuff I did on that show
“When you see the family on the first day of the build and then going back into the house on the last day, it’s very moving. It’s also very addictive. Doing good stuff for other people is very contagious, it feels good. That’s why the volunteers are like, ‘When’s the day one?’. And you’re like, ‘I’ve just spent nine days straight with you’. We have such a laugh but it’s very intense.”
He said the show has the “ultimate feelgood factor”.
“It has a nice balance. It’s palatable and moving and inspiring – it’s got all the right ingredients,” he said.
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In last night’s episode Ashmawy was seen visiting Co Westmeath, where the team renovated the home of homeowners Pa Berry and his partner Nicky, who have three children together.
The firefighter suffered extensive injuries in the line of duty which has left him out of work and on a long road to recovery. They started renovating their home seven years ago before the project stalled, and last night viewers saw Ashmawy and his team stepping in to help them finally finish the job.
Meanwhile, the Emmy-winning star said he’s also going back to his roots by gearing up to do a new travel series with RTÉ. He first started out his TV career making the globe-trotting show How Low Can You Go? but he said this one will be “lot more sedate”.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see a 47-year-old man running around doing the kind of stuff I did on that show,” he added.
