George Clarke returns to our screens tonight in Flipping Fast – a new Channel 4 show which sees contestants buy and develop properties with a budget of £100,000 for the chance to win the whole amount in prize money.
While the architect and TV presenter has hosted shows like The Home Show and Amazing Spaces, Clarke revealed that fronting Flipping Fast was “a bit of a risk” for him.
On why he signed up for the show, Clarke told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that this type of property programme is “very new” to him.
“Most of my stuff’s about architecture, design and home, and we don’t really normally get into the money side of stuff other than what your build budget is,” he said. “So, you know, a bit of a risk for me – very, very new telly.”
He continued: “But I mean, I’ve been kind of doing refurbishing and developing property since I was in my early 20s, and probably not a lot of people know that. And it’s something that I’m really passionate about.
“So I agreed to do it because there’s obviously a lot of developers out there who don’t necessarily do a great job, and can build badly and cheaply and I think that gives the development industry a bad reputation.
“But there’s also a lot of really, really good developers out there – you know, people like me who have done this for years who really care and really want to do a good job and that’s really why it’s a part of the show.”
He went on to say that everybody competing on the series has “never done anything like this before”.
“Most of them don’t even own their own property so it was a chance for me to help and guide them along the way,” he explained. “Pick them up where they’re going wrong, make sure they maintain really good standards, make sure they did a really, really good job and hopefully made a few pennies for themselves along the way.”
The six-part series follows six people from across the UK as they see who can make the most profit from property developing over the course of 12 months.
With help from Clarke and professional property developers Scarlette and Stuart Douglas, the contestants are given £100,000 to kickstart their business – and while all of them can keep their profits, the winner gets a cash prize of the full £100,000 investment.
Flipping Fast begins tonight at 9pm on Channel 4. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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