The DIY SOS Children In Need Special is back again this year, and the team will be taking on one of their biggest projects yet: building a new home for a Leeds-based charity.
With just 10 days scheduled to complete the build, it's yet another tall order — and presenter Nick Knowles and the team will need to pull in a lot of favors from kind-hearted local suppliers and tradespeople to get everything done. Fortunately, this year they've teamed up with BBC Radio 2 to help get even more people involved.
Here's everything we know about this year's heart-warming special for Children In Need 2022...
DIY SOS Children In Need Special: when is it on?
This year's DIY SOS Children In Need Special will air on Wednesday, November 16 at 9 pm on BBC One.
DIY SOS Children In Need Special: who is presenting it?
After comedian Rhod Gilbert stood in for him during last year's special, long-serving DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles is back on the site for this year's edition.
DIY SOS Children In Need Special: what charity is it for?
The charity that inspired this year's build is Leeds-based organisation Getaway Girls, which supports girls and young women across the city who are often facing challenges in their lives.
Getaway Girls originally operated out of a terraced house, but as demand for their services increased, the charity outgrew its original space and worked from rented spaces in the city. This is where the DIY SOS team comes in: they're planning to build a bespoke, safe, long-term home for the charity with all the facilities that they need to serve their community.
DIY SOS Children In Need Special: who are the celebrity helpers?
Because this year's build is taking place in partnership with BBC Radio 2, you can expect to see some of your favourite Radio 2 presenters stopping by to lend a hand. Among the stars donning a high-vis jacket and a hard hat to help out on the site are Scott Mills, Rylan, DJ Spoony and Sara Cox, while Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball meet some of the people whose lives have been changed by Getaway Girls — and in a DIY SOS first, Zoe presents her breakfast show live from the big reveal of the completed building.
DIY SOS Children In Need Special: Nick Knowles interview
What can you tell us about this year's project?
"We did it for an organization that does extraordinary things for young women and girls in the Leeds area. They have a history of doing great work, but they didn't have a facility to be able to help more. That's where we were able to bring the construction industry together, and people in the workforce that they wouldn't normally be able to afford, and as a result there is a fantastic new facility, out of which they'll be able to help a lot more people."
What were some of the challenges you faced this year?
"Well, we had the terrible news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen at the start of the build, and then the funeral was in the middle. Our schedules are so tight, but ultimately we had to show respect, and give people the opportunity to see the funeral, so that put a pretty huge hole in it. But having worked with lots of the royals over the years, one thing I was absolutely sure of was that the Queen would not have wanted the facility not to have been built because of the funeral, so we were respectful of it and marked it, but also pressed on and got the job done.
"Also, the site was in the middle of a housing estate, so we had to be aware of the people who lived in the area — we were bringing a lot of disturbance for a very short, intense time. And another problem was materials — the wood for building has gone up something like 50% in the last year and a half. Would our suppliers, when they're struggling to get supplies from their building contractors, still be generous with the much more expensive materials so that we could actually get the job done? And as usual, people went the extra 100 miles and pulled out all the stops."
How helpful were the presenters from Radio 2?
"It was interesting — I think they all arrived slightly nervous that they wouldn't be able to help out much, and they might feel a bit of a fish out of water! But in actual fact, they all came away really moved by the people they met on site, and genuinely got stuck in themselves.
"A lot of them brought good ideas to the build, which we managed to incorporate as we went along — DJ Spoony in particular suggested the way we were about to build something in the media room was the wrong way round, and it would work a lot better if we shifted things around. Rylan brought tooth whitener and hairspray, but he also brought an attitude to join in, and it worked very well!"
What was it like having Zoe Ball broadcasting her breakfast show during the big reveal?
"In order to hit the timings, we had to start the reveal really early! I was trying to reveal one part of the building and there was a whole load of noise outside the front door, and I went out and said, "you'll have to be quiet out here because we're doing the reveal" — and it was the Radio 2 crew! I was like, "oops, sorry!"
"Actually, at the end of the reveal, this is the moment where I had shown them all around and they were in shock, and Zoe walked in live on Radio 2, we were able to get that magic moment where they responded to what the people had built for them. Organisationally, it was an extraordinary reveal to put together, but well worth it."
How do you cope when the build is over? It must get quite emotional...
"Yeah, it is! People can suffer what we call "the SOS dip", which is the week after you've done one, you have a sort of comedown period where you're quite sad. You've been in an intense cauldron for 10 days normally — it was 13 days on this particular one because we had an overrun — and there is a bit of a down feeling afterward because of all the emotions that you've got going on, and you've been keeping it together for the show. It's not unusual for me and the other members of the team to pull over in a service station and have a little emotional moment on the way home!"
