The family whose DIY SOS story had the nation in tears this week have revealed some of the struggles they have faced after the film crews left.

Stuart 'Legsy' Philp, who is confined to a wheelchair by Multiple Sclerosis, his blind mum Lin and his daughter Lauren were the latest family to have their lives transformed by the BBC show, in Thursday's programme.

And while they stressed how eternally grateful they are for the amazing work done to their Torquay home in a bid to make it accessible and user-friendly to all of them, they have also shed light on some of the challenges the work left them facing, reports Devon Live.

Most of the issues stem from the fact that the DIY SOS team was denied permission to extend the home, so had to work within the fairly cramped existing space the house provided.

Stuart 'Legsy' Philp said he's incredibly grateful to the DIY SOS team

The programme showed teams of hundreds of volunteer tradesmen and women completely gutting the home, leaving just one original internal wall downstairs to totally change the layout and open up as much space as possible.

Where previously just Stuart and Lauren lived there, the house was reconfigured to allow Lin, in her seventies and blind since the 1980s, to move in too and make caring for her son easier. 

The work was finished 15 months ago and was revealed to the nation this week in a tearjerking episode.

But Stuart told Devon Live that after the dust settled, they were left facing a series of new challenges.

He has been left looking at a wall all day, while Lin doesn't have room for a chair in her small room. Lauren's bedroom is smaller than before the build and she had no storage space.

Presenter Nick Knowles and his team wanted to create a home suitable for Lin to give up her flat in St Marychurch so that she could move in with Stuart, who needs special hoists and a lift, and his 17-year-old daughter Lauren and their dog Doobie.

Hundreds of tradesmen volunteered their time in thr DIY SOS build

Lin said: "Two weeks before the build the BBC team were told by the council that they couldn't build an extension at the back."

Stuart said: "Don't get me wrong - it's lovely. We are so grateful and we don't want to sound greedy.

"Lots of things they did were amazing - especially repairing the end wall in the kitchen which was in a terrible state.

"But they had to squeeze everything into the existing small house space and house three people where there had been two. It's not the BBC's fault.

"I think that's why they did such a great job with the back garden - to compensate for the extension not going ahead."

Stuart admitted: "Mum was much happier where she was before. She had friends and she had more space."

Nick Knowles and the DIY SOS team transformed the Philps' home

Lin, who has been totally blind since the 1980s, is Stuart's primary carer and acts like a mother to Lauren.

Lin insisted: "I'm really pleased I'm here because Stuart is getting worse and needs me more."

After the rebuild Stuart did not have all the disabled adaptaions he needs - for example the double glazed front and back doors are difficult for him to get his wheelchair out of.

Stuart has been known as Legsy since he was a teenager at school because he is 6ft 7in. Despite losing use of his legs, and now partial use of his arms, Stuart has not lost his sense of humour and is determined to make the most of life.

He joked about getting in and out of his house after DIY SOS left: "It's a bit 'Wahey' and I nearly topple over backwards every time because it's not a disabled door."

Lin at the front door - the family say they love their new front garden

He added: "The front and back garden look great - aesthetically everything looked good. Every room had something with the WOW factor. I am fascinated to see the show because they changed everything about the house around."

His mum said: "Before the build, the BBC came and asked lots of questions. We said it was really important that Stuart could open and shut the back door himself to let the dog out or if he wanted to get out to the garden, or for fresh air in the summer.

"But after DIY SOS left we found that hadn't been done. The dog was peeing all over the place. There was no way Stuart could open the double patio doors."

At the start of the big build, Nick Knowles told the volunteers that they would be changing the family's lives, allowing all three of them to live together for the first time.

The build consisted of bespoke care facilities for Stuart, including a bedroom, physio space, a wet room and a living space.

Nick Knowles with Stuart during the DIY SOS big build

He was also given the ability to access the whole ground floor and garden. The dilapidated kitchen and bathroom were given a complete renovation and redesign for the family's needs to bring them together at mealtimes.

The Philps said part of the problem was that - as they hadn't employed the volunteers - they had no way of asking builders back to help put things right.

But the BBC says it worked with Stuart to replace the door with something more suitable and iron out any other teething problems since the DIY SOS team finished their work.

Stuart said: "Eventually I had to have a disabled facilities grant for a new door."

And he admitted that his daughter Lauren's room is actually smaller than before the show was made, although she does have an en-suite bathroom.

One funny story was that Lin was asked what colour she preferred for her room - and she said she didn't like pink. Lucky because she is blind she didn't know at the time of the big reveal that her quarters had been painted pink.

Stuart said: "I think they chose us because mum is blind - they got a double whammy with two disabled people.

The family dog on the new disabled ramp into the garden

Stuart, who used to work with his mum at the Herald Express, said after his first look around: "I can't believe it has all happened in such a short space of time, and I can't believe it is happening to me. It is quite overwhelming how many people are here, and how far they have come from."


"They include people who don't know us from Adam."

But the couple admit that after the big reveal they had to go away again and wait another three days for the film crew to leave and it was only when they went back in that they realised how difficult many things were.

Lin said: "They just left us the keys but we had no idea how any of the equipment worked or even things like where our boiler was.

"We didn't know who was responsible for the work or who to ring - the volunteers had already given their money and time. What we really needed was somebody here for the first three or four days to help us."

Stuart said: "One of the things I really wanted was to be able to look out at the view over the Moors - but I am facing the wall. They have put up mirrors for me to look at the reflection behind me - but the mirrors were too high for me to see."

Once again he stressed that he was still grateful for the show but said that the extra complications of fitting a house for disabled living had made the build impossible to achieve in the short time scale.

A BBC spokesperson said: "The DIY SOS team take the responsibility of building a home extremely seriously, and contributors are consulted throughout the build to ensure the design will meet their specific needs.

"We remained in touch with the Philips family regularly after filming to address and resolve their concerns as quickly as possible.”