Fans of Escape to the Country were left annoyed by what they called an “unnecessary” focus on Chesney Hawkes during the latest celebrity episode, aired Tuesday, December 30.
The BBC show featured the pop singer best known for his 1991 hit “The One and Only” and his wife Kristina as they looked to leave their rented Surrey home and find their dream property in the scenic Cotswolds. With a generous budget of £1.3 million, the couple wanted a characterful home with modern amenities, including four double bedrooms, a music studio, and a dog-friendly garden—a combination host Jules Hudson admitted was challenging to find.
Their property search began in Edge, Gloucestershire, and continued at a converted pub in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, but momentum stalled when Chesney took the opportunity to give Jules a guitar lesson. The pair then improvised a song by an outdoor fire, followed by a quirky singing quiz where Chesney and Kristina guessed famous musicians from incomplete photos. The episode also included a quiz about events from 1991, marking the release year of Chesney’s iconic track.
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Many viewers took to social media to express their disappointment with the episode’s focus on filler content rather than the house-hunting process. Comments ranged from “Oh god this filler material is so unnecessary!” to “For Christ’s sake BBC,” with some criticizing the celebrity format as featuring “Z listers” and calling it a “total waste of money.”
Later, the couple viewed a five-bedroom house in Chalford Hill and toured a sprawling 17th-century manor in Sevenhampton, the show’s largest viewing yet. Although they fell in love with one of the properties, Chesney and Kristina said they would keep searching. “What you definitely have shown us is that the Cotswolds is very, very lovely,” Kristina said.
Celebrity Escape to the Country is available for streaming on BBC iPlayer.