The ECHO was in attendance as fans enjoyed a great evening at the Philharmonic Hall for their Forever Home show
Escape to the Chateau stars Dick and Angel Strawbridge were stopped in their tracks after a member from the Liverpool crowd went to extreme measures to catch their attention. The married couple were in the city yesterday as their Forever Home tour arrived at the Philharmonic Hall.
The UK tour sees Dick and Angel tell the story of how they fell in love and gives fans an insight into life at the fairytale castle in Pays de la Loire since their hit Channel 4 programme ended. The ECHO was in attendance for Saturday night’s show as fans braved the rainy weather to spend an evening in the company of the charming family.
Dick and Angel arrived on stage alongside their children, Arthur and Dorothy, to rapturous applause which set the tone for an entertaining night on Hope Street. The first half was devoted to the story of Dick and Angel’s relationship as they explained how two people from such different backgrounds met, fell in love and uprooted to rural France.
It’s impossible to not get swept up in the romance of their story and it was interesting to get a look back into the couple’s first TV appearances (Angel’s Dragons Den appearance in 2009 was news to me) before they had even considered making the move to France. Dick and Angel were able to make the show an interactive experience as they quizzed the crowd on a variety of questions about some of the things they had to contend with to make their chateau dream a reality.
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Members of the audience logged their answers on their smart phones and the winner of the quiz was invited on stage to compete in their Jack of All Trades challenge. The Jack Of all Trades challenge is the married couple’s latest project as they aim to show that people can achieve whatever they turn their mind to as long as they have the right mentality.
Each night of the tour sees members of the audience complete a variety of tasks to win a chance to visit the chateau and take part in a festival the couple are planning next year. However, the quiz winner wasn’t the only person given the chance to take part in the contest.
The atmosphere ramped up to the next level at the start of the second half of the show when Dick and Angel said there were three more spots available in the Jack of All Trades challenge. The couple told the crowd that anyone who wanted to win a spot needed to stand up and do something to catch their attention.
However, Dick was taken aback amid the whoops and cheers when someone in the crowd started removing their clothes to earn their place on the stage. The retired colonel laughed: “I’m really sorry. That’s completely not the show. Did anyone else see the chap out there taking his clothes off?” He was in stitches as he added: “It’s Liverpool.”
Angel confirmed the member of the crowd had done enough to convince them he deserved a chance to get on stage, before Dick went on to select who would take up the remaining two contestants. He added: “Sorry, I got a bit distracted there.”
The contestants were given four tasks each, which comprised making a wreath, tiling, upholstering a chair and rewiring a plug. They were given 10 minutes to complete the tasks and the winner was decided by a clapometer.
Arthur and Dorothy returned to the stage to judge the contest and the the victor of the quiz proved to once again triumph and will now be heading over to France to take part in the next step of the challenge. After this high energy section, which proved to be the highlight of the show, Dick and Angel settled the atmosphere by taking part in a question and answer session.
Fans had the opportunity to send in their questions and no subject was out of bounds. They took queries from fans on their family arguments, if they have any regrets and when they knew their chateau dream could be realised.
However, the biggest cheer of the night came when Angel confirmed they hoped to return for an Escape to the Chateau Christmas special. She said: “Not this year. We don’t get back from tour until November 19 so this year is out, but next year…”
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A night in the company of Dick and Angel makes it easy to see why fans have become so invested in their journey and would be so eager to see more episodes of Escape to the Chateau. The two were both personable on stage and the show at the Philharmonic felt as though you were catching up with a distant relative.
You get the impression that the couple are just as pleased to tour and catch up with their fans. Dick and Angel started the show by reeling off a list of names of people in attendance last night who they have corresponded with over email and who have stayed at the chateau.
Angel ended the show with an emotional thank you to fans as she explained how the people they have met along the way have made their chateau so special as they looked forward to catching up with friends and making new ones in the meet and greet after the show.
She said: “10 years ago we set out to create this family home that was a business. That was our dream and that is what we have. We have happy children, a lovely home, a wonderful business. We have just built lots of lovely people around us and we feel really blessed to share it with you all.”
