Channel 4 severs ties with Escape to the Chateau stars
Decision follows an independent HR review into the couple’s relationship with producers
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Your support makes all the difference.Channel 4 has cut ties with Escape to the Chateau stars Dick and Angel Strawbridge following reports that the couple had clashed with producers.
The pair have appeared on the programme, which follows their renovation of a 19th-century chateau in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France, for nine seasons beginning in 2016 and ending in December 2022.
Deadline first reported Tuesday (17 May) that the broadcaster had ended its relationship with the Strawbridges.
According to the report, an independent HR investigation was ordered by Channel 4 after Two Rivers Media, the company that produces the Escape To The Chateau franchise, raised concerns about the couple.
“Following a review, we have taken the decision not to work with Dick and Angel on any new productions in the future,” a Channel 4 spokeswoman said.
Two Rivers Media also confirmed that they “will no longer work with Dick and Angel and cannot comment further at the moment”.
While the nature of the concerns raised were not disclosed, Deadline’s sources say “there has been a deteriorating relationship between Two Rivers and Dick and Angel’s Chateau TV for various reasons and it all came to a head”.
The Independent has contacted Dick and Angel’s company Chateau TV for comment.
The news follows a 2021 report in The Times, which obtained clips of Angel, 45, calling a producer a “f***ing c***”.
Another hears Dick, 63, telling a producer “f*** you”. Sources from the show’s previous production company, Spark Media, accused the couple of bullying and said they made working on the programme an “anxiety-inducing ordeal”.
Representatives for the couple at the time denied that they were aggressive or had bullied staff.
Dick is an engineer and former Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army. Before Escape to the Chateau, he appeared on a number of reality TV shows including, It’s Not Easy Being Green (2006), Coast (2006), Scrapheap Challenge (2009), The Hungry Sailors (2011), Saturday Farm (2011).
Meanwhile, Angel runs a hospitality business called The Vintage Patisserie, which she sought investment for on Dragon’s Den in 2010.
Dick generally performs the mechanical and construction elements of the renovation while Angel provides the home’s style and interior design.