Who will win Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It?

Spending a lot of time in one place can eventually give you a strong urge to change it.

And with many of us struck in our houses for long period during the pandemic, there were no end of people considering either renovating their property or moving home, as they sought the perfect balance of space, seclusion, work and play.

Like many other TV renovation shows, Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It follows a strict formula, with every episode having the same premise.

Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer meet a couple, with one partner usually wanting to stay in their home and the other desperate to move.

So Kirstie shows them options (preferably within their budget) to renovate, and draws up grand plans to knock through walls or extend.

Meanwhile, her TV husband Phil shows them alternative properties – most of which, admittedly, tend to be either unsuitable or too expensive.

Then, to cut a long story short, the featured homeowners make a decision if they’re going to ‘love’ their existing home and do it up, or ‘list’ it and put in up for sale with the intention of moving.

It’s basically renovate versus relocate.

Although each edition may seem similar to the last, in a 2016 interview, Kirstie explained why it was important that each set of homeowners got a balanced view from the presenting pair.

“It’s all about the family and what they need,” she said. “I can’t bear those shows where it’s all about the designer or the makeover.

“It’s not that, it’s about them and their needs and what works for them. Nothing is imposed on anyone, because it’s their money at the end of the day.”

She also explains that although the show plays on the rivalry between Kirstie and Phil, there are times when they actually agree with the other’s view.

She says: “Sometimes Phil will say to me “Don’t you ever think they should move?” And I often think they should move. But if I say it and Phil says it, then the partner who doesn’t want to move is going to feel very ganged up against. I realise that it’s weighted in my favour, because change is difficult.”

Kirstie and Phil are back to settle the squabbles of warring couples tonight, beginning a new series in Poole, Dorset.

Here, Sue and Roy are at an impasse over whether to love or list their extraordinary four-bed chalet bungalow complete with a pool.

Supply teacher Sue is ready to downsize but knows that they can’t sell the house in its current state.

She’s waited 35 years for their home renovation to be finished by builder-husband Roy and the end still isn’t in sight.

Sue wants to move to somewhere that’s already finished where they can enjoy retirement, but Roy loves the space their house offers and doesn’t think it can be replicated elsewhere, certainly not with room for all his builder treasures and sheds too.

Kirstie may be facing her biggest challenge yet – trying to get a builder to finish jobs in his own house – but she has a cunning plan.

Meanwhile, Phil has three incredible homes up his sleeve, all complete with plenty of space for the sheds and the rest.

But have they done enough to convince this steadfast couple to come together?

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