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11/07/2012

Couple's Complaint Over TV Makeover

A family in Perthshire have told the Scotsman newspaper a TV programme's DIY team ruined their 120-year-old cottage.

Colin Gibson and Judi Campbell were told their three bedroom home would be "transformed" with a £15,000 budget from the Channel 5 show Half Built House.

But instead, they said the team left them with half-finished jobs.

Mr Gibson said: "After they left, we noticed how badly their builders had done things."

He said one used an industrial sander on flooring, leaving it with a surface like "the Sahara Desert".

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A new handrail "looked like it had been fitted by a 12-year-old," the landscape gardener said.

The Channel Five team also fitted a cooker hood so low they banged their heads on it and painted over a window that can now no longer be opened.

Mr Gibson said he questioned the team after their 12-day stay and the workers admitted they had not had much time.

He said: "We still have a freezing kitchen that’s going to go damp. We still have bare plaster and uneven floors, but even worse than before. We're beyond angry."

Ms Campbell said: "I am sick of showing people my makeover and having their sympathy. I just wish I could go back to how we were before."

The pair will have a showdown meeting with the show's producers on Friday.

A Channel 5 spokesman said: "At the time the make-over was completed, Ms Campbell and Mr Gibson were thrilled with the results. We are aware of their complaint, however are surprised they now find the makeover substandard."

(NE)

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