Catch up TV

Series 6: 1. It's Good to Be Back

The average family home is often overflowing with items we don’t need, creating stress, clutter and chaos. But what if everything you owned was laid out in front of you, forcing you to decide what to keep and what to let go?\n\nJoin tidying extraordinaire Stacey Solomon and her team - organiser Dilly, carpenter Rob and cleaning expert Iwan - as they help families transform their homes and lives. In each episode, a family undertakes a life-changing declutter, while the team delivers a budget-friendly makeover and a supersized spring clean, all within just seven days.\n\nIn this episode, Stacey and the team are tackling the Kings’ home, where retired architectural technician Gerry and care worker Trish live with two of their three grown-up kids. Home to 30 years of memories, knick-knacks and unfinished DIY projects, Stacey challenges them to sort their life out in just seven days by letting go of half their belongings, paving the way to let the joy back in.\n\nWith Stacey and the team’s help, the family begin by packing all their possessions into boxes, stripping every item from their home to reveal all its hidden potential. During the process, Stacey and the team learn that 62-year-old Gerry has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. This affects both Gerry’s memory and his visual awareness, meaning the clutter makes getting around the house challenging. Trish, who has taken over the household DIY since Gerry’s motor skills have declined, shares her hopes of getting the house sorted while they have time. She wants to hold on to the items that will spark memories for Gerry, while letting go of all the things they no longer need.\n\nOnce packed, the family’s belongings are displayed in a vast warehouse – an awe-inspiring art installation of their lives. Among the 350 boxes, the team find 1,296 greetings cards, 762 knick-knacks and 106 instruction manuals for random electronics. The couple’s grown-up children reveal that their mum keeps everything, including their umbilical cord clips and old teeth. Trish struggles to let go – even in the kitchen section.\n\nEmotional moments unfold as Gerry shares his experience of dementia, how he has used poetry to help him journey through his diagnosis, and how he feels he is no longer the man Trish married. The couple’s love for each other shines through as they work together, with the team’s support, to decide what to keep and what to donate, recycle or sell.\n\nMeanwhile, back at the family home, Rob creates a stunning sliding wall art display inspired by Gerry’s poetic artwork, integrated into a huge storage unit for the open-plan kitchen-living room. Iwan helps move Gerry and Trish’s bedroom downstairs, creating fully accessible single-storey living for the couple, and moves their daughter into her parents’ old room – giving Steph space to have fun with friends whilst remaining at home long-term to help care for her dad.\n\nFinally, with the essential and most treasured items carefully selected, Stacey and the team pack everything back into the house and begin the task of transforming it into a practical, ordered and stylish home for four adults. Their challenge is to create a calm and organised space while still bringing memories alive for Gerry through key items on display. Rob gets closer to completing his masterpiece, Iwan continues his spring clean, and Dilly uses her organisational expertise to create effective systems for the household.\n\nIt’s a race against the clock to complete the makeover before the family’s return. Will the team’s efforts to declutter and upcycle bring about the organised home the Kings have been dreaming of?

Source: BBC 2