Kirstie Allsopp

The Honourable
Kirstie Allsopp
Born Kirstie Mary Allsopp
31 August 1971
Hampstead, London, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Ethnicity White British
Occupation TVpresenter, businesswoman, journalist
Notable credit(s) Location, Location, Location
Partner(s) Ben Andersen
Children 2
Relatives Baron Hindlip (father)
Sofie Allsopp (sister)
Cath Kidston (cousin)

Kirstie Mary Allsopp[1] (born 31 August 1971)[2] is a British television presenter, best known for her onscreen partnership with Phil Spencer, co-presenting Channel 4 property shows including Location, Location, Location; Relocation, Relocation and Location Revisited.

She has also presented The Property Chain, Kirstie's Homemade Home, Kirstie's Handmade Britain and Kirstie's Best of Both Worlds, also for Channel 4.

Background

Allsopp is the daughter of Charles Henry Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip, a former chairman of Christie's, by his marriage to Fiona Victoria Jean Atherley McGowan (1947–2014).[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'.[5] The designer and businesswoman Cath Kidston is her cousin.[6][7]

The ten schools she attended as a child[8] included St Clotilde's in Lechlade, Gloucestershire[9] 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.[10]

Allsopp was reported in 2008 and 2009 to be an advisor to the Conservative Party on housing matters,[11][12] but has denied this.[13] In August 2014, Allsopp was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[14]

Television

Since 2000, she has co-presented Location, Location, Location on Channel 4, its spin-off Relocation, Relocation between 2004 and 2011, Location Revisited, and Kirstie & Phil's Perfect Christmas all alongside Phil Spencer. She has also hosted The Property Chain. In 2009-2011 she hosted Kirstie's Homemade Home and Kirstie's Homemade Christmas. In 2011 she hosted Kirstie's Handmade Britain. In 2012, she hosted Kirstie's Vintage Home. In 2013, she hosted Kirstie's Fill Your House for Free, Kirstie's Crafty Christmas, Kirstie's Handmade Treasures and Kirstie Allsopp's Home Style. In 2014, she hosted Kirstie's Handmade Christmas and Kirstie's Best of Both Worlds all for Channel 4.

Personal life

Her partner is property developer Ben Andersen, and they have two sons, Bay and Oscar, born July 2006 and August 2008.[15] She is also stepmother to her partner's two children (Hal and Orion) from a previous relationship. 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". [16] It was again the setting for her "Kirstie's Homemade Christmas" show showing people how to have an individual Christmas using secondhand and homemade products such as wreaths from material found in the nearby wood. [17] In 2010 Allsopp was reported to be a Conservative Party supporter.[18]

In 2014 Allsop revealed to The Times that her mother, who died on 6 January aged 66 from breast cancer,[19] had been buried, at her own request, in a wicker coffin, in the garden of her Dorset home.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Bryony Gordon (7 April 2009). "Kirstie Allsopp: 'I'm too opinionated for politics'". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 31 December 2010. the Honourable Kirstie Allsopp (her father is the sixth Baron Hindlip)...
  2. ↑ "Pass notes No 2,666: Kirstie Allsopp" The Guardian (19 October 2009). Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  3. ↑ "'I don't know how I do it!' says presenter, mother and now FHM pin-up Kirstie Allsopp". Mail Online. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "- Person Page 7974". Thepeerage.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Sarah Rainey (25 September 2013). "Kirstie Allsopp: 'I don’t do things I don’t want to succeed in’". Daily Telegraph.
  6. ↑ Wood, Zoe (9 August 2009). "Queen of florals Cath Kidston bucks the recession to profit from love of nostalgia | Life and style | The Guardian". London. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  7. ↑ Layton, Josh (7 May 2012). "Stranger relatives: Holly Valance is related to Benny Hill and the celebrities with fame in the family...". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Five minutes With: Kirstie Allsopp, BBC News Online, 22 May 2010
  9. ↑ Kirsty Allsopp: Class act, The Daily Telegraph, 25 September 2004
  10. ↑ Speakers Corner. "Kirstie Allsopp - Awards Hosts & Presenter - Speakers Corner". Speakerscorner.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  11. ↑ TV's Kirstie urges stamp duty axe, BBC News Online, 8 May 2008
  12. ↑ Thompson, Alice (11 April 2009). "Kirstie Allsopp's new look as Tory adviser". London: The Times.
  13. ↑ "Five Minutes With: Kirstie Allsopp". BBC News. 22 May 2010.
  14. ↑ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". theguardian.com. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  15. ↑ Kirstie Allsopp: no-nonsense, enthusiastic and exactly as she comes across on TV, The Daily Telegraph, 7 April 2009
  16. ↑ ThisIsNorthDevon – Kirstie Allsopp's rural retreat available for rent, 24 April 2009
  17. ↑ The Guardian – Kirstie's homemade Christmas: do not try this at home?, 9 December 2009
  18. ↑ Woods, Judith (16 February 2010). "Election 2010: The big fight for the support of celebrities". The Daily Telegraph (London).
  19. ↑ Tim Walker. Edited Richard Eden (8 January 2014). "Kirstie Allsopp loses brave mother to breast cancer". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Day we buried Mum in the garden, by Kirstie Allsopp". The Times. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.

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