| The Honourable[1] Kirstie Allsopp |
|
|---|---|
| Born | Kirstie Mary Allsopp 31 August 1971 Hampstead, London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | TV presenter, businesswoman, journalist |
| Domestic partner | Ben Andersen |
| Children | Bay, Oscar |
| Notable relatives | Baron Hindlip (father) Sofie Allsopp (sister) |
| Ethnicity | White British |
| Nationality | British |
| Notable credit(s) | Co-presenter, Location, Location, Location |
Kirstie Mary Allsopp (born 31 August 1971)[2] is a British TV presenter known for the Channel 4 property programmes: Location, Location, Location; Relocation, Relocation; Location Revisited; The Property Chain; Kirstie's Homemade Home and Kirstie's Handmade Britain. All but the last three were co-presented with Phil Spencer.
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She is the daughter of former chairman of Christie's Charles Henry Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip and Fiona Victoria Jean Atherley (née McGowan, born 1947).[3] She has a younger brother Henry, and two younger sisters, Sofie and Natasha.[4] Due to her father's peerage, she is entitled to use the courtesy style The Honourable Kirstie Allsopp. Designer and businesswoman Cath Kidston is her cousin[5].
The ten schools she attended as a child [6] included St Clotilde's in Lechlade, Gloucestershire[7] and Bedales, near Petersfield, Hampshire. After spending time in India teaching English, Allsopp returned to the UK and began a series of positions, working for Country Living and Food & Homes Magazine and her mother's business, Hindlip & Prentice Interiors, and studying at Christie's. Allsopp set up her own Home Search company, Kirmir, in 1996, focusing on top end purchases in Central and West London.[8]
Allsopp was reported in 2008 and 2009 to be an advisor to the Conservative Party on housing matters,[9][10] but has said that she is not.[11]
Her partner is property developer Ben Andersen, and they have two children: Bay Atlas (born July 2006), and Oscar Hercules (born August 2008).[12] She is also stepmother to her partner's two children from a previous relationship, Hal and Orion. They live in London. In 2009 they, along with another family, bought and restored a house in rural Devon called Meadowgate, which had been empty for 39 years. The restoration and interior decorating was the subject of the series "Kirstie's Homemade Home". [13] It was again the setting for her "Kirstie's Homemade Christmas" show showing people how to have a individual Christmas using second hand and homemade products such as wreaths from material found in the nearby wood. [14]
Allsopp has been accused (along with fellow property TV presenters) of fuelling irresponsible house purchases that led to the housing crash.[15][16] Allsopp has defended herself from the charges, writing in The Times that "blaming such shows and their presenters for the present uncertain state of the property market is akin to blaming TV chefs for the great bulge in obesity."[17]