Sarah Beeny is a force to be reckoned with – and she makes no apologies for it. The TV presenter became a household name in the heyday of daytime property shows in the early noughties, and has since added master renovator, cancer survivor and podcaster to her list of achievements.
At 52, she's still making TV, is nearing the end of a mammoth house build and has just spent close to four months on a tour bus with her four sons and husband of 22 years, Graham Swift, as they performed sellout gigs with their family band, The Entitled Sons. Her life, as she tells us during our exclusive photo shoot at her incredible countryside mansion, is a healthy mix of chaos, love and ever-changing to-do lists.
"I'm a doer – if I have an idea, I need to just do it," she laughs. "All my kids have dyslexia and one has ADHD, and sometimes I think, 'Wonder where that came from?!'. My husband says it's me, but of course I say it's him! "Five years ago, Sarah, along with Graham and their children Billy, 20, Charlie, 18, Laurie, 16, and Rafferty, 15, upped sticks and moved from East Yorkshire to 220 acres of beautiful Somerset countryside, and began building their stunning home – involving the odd skirmish with planners along the way.
Amid the build, Sarah was dealt a devastating blow when she learnt in August 2022 that she had breast cancer – the disease her mum Ann sadly died from at the age of 39, when Sarah was just 10.
Sarah documented her journey in the candid Channel 4 programme, Sarah Beeny vs Cancer, back in June 2023, where she bared her soul about her battle from the get-go. She recalls, "It seemed the easiest option. Secrets are complicated to keep. I decided to throw it all out there," wanting transparency in her fight against cancer, reports the Mirror.
Aware of her luck in getting top treatment, Sarah has no second thoughts about going public. "I was very frightened of the diagnosis, really scared. But I felt that if everyone was up to date, they wouldn't be as scared. It feels like a lifetime ago now. Maybe that's something I'm lucky about – I'm a mover-on-er. I had thousands of letters, not to mention Instagram messages, from people saying it helped. If I helped just one person, I'm happy."
She didn't journey alone; her steadfast husband Graham was an unwavering source of support. While the road wasn't without its bumps, Graham proved his mettle amid the storm.
"There are bumps along the way in life and marriage – it's not all plain sailing," she shares. "But during my cancer treatment, Graham was absolutely as I'd expected him to be – great, because he's a good man. I don't have a husband who will come in with tea trays, I don't have a butler! But I don't want one, I'd find that annoying. Whenever he's needed to step up, he's stepped up, and that was one of those times."
"We had a conversation once. I said, 'I know you might not be OK all the time, but don't talk to me about that please. Can you talk to my brother or someone else?' And he said, 'Yes, I know.' I think he did talk to my brother and some friends. He knew I didn't have any space for him not to be OK."
She also shared insights from her life which she describes as "therapy", learning more about herself each year. In her new podcast, Seriously?! With Sarah Beeny, she delves into the importance of open conversations with family.
Recently, she's been examining her attachment to objects and made a startling discovery about its origins. Fans of her Channel 4 show, Sarah Beeny's New Life In The Country, may note her knack for interiors, but Sarah believes it's time to reassess her approach.
"Home is really important for me," she explains. "But it's not about how it looks, it's about how it makes people feel. My mum died when I was quite young and I've been sentimental since then. I've released myself from some of it now – and I've realised that my kids aren't sentimental at all."
She recounted a heartwarming moment with her children: "We had a long chat around the fire the other day. They said, 'Mum, we're not sentimental because you're here. You're sentimental because you hung on to all the things that reminded you of your mum, but you're our mum and you're sitting right here.' And I realised it was so true. Maybe I should let some stuff go."
Fans of the show have watched Sarah and Graham create their dream country mansion, which is a perfect blend of Sarah's beloved "classicalist" style with a twist of "chaos". They've also added a new film and TV studio to their estate, not to mention a charming boathouse – a project Sarah took on to master thatching on a small scale.
Sarah shared, "I've been with my husband since I was 19, and living with someone that long, you end up with an 'us style'. Our styles are similar and we are classicists, traditionalists. That's partly because of how we live. I'm a bit chaotic and if you have a traditional interior, it weathers being shambolic. I love minimal interiors, but you've got to really keep them tidy."
Their home is a treasure trove of antique furniture and timeless design. Sarah believes in designing for durability, preferring to embrace the beauty of wear and tear rather than obsess over perfection.
She's opted for practical yet stylish vinyl flooring in the bathrooms – a smart choice for a household with boys, she insists, adding, "Historically, they've had bad press but when you find a cool print, it can look fantastic."
Sarah can't help but giggle when asked about her favourite bit of furniture. Is it the well-stocked antique bookcase or their chic, bespoke Shaker-style kitchen?
"A brass toilet cistern with Swift and Beeny Sanitary Engineers printed on it – it's lavish and ridiculous," she shares with a laugh. "We brought it from our old house."
Home life is a bustling affair, as the family's four boys are still firmly nested at home– and there's no sign of them packing up soon thanks to the rent-free deal they've got. Their eldest, Billy, began a music degree at Goldsmiths, University of London, but left after one term due to his blossoming tour schedule.
"He said, 'Mum, why am I trying to go and learn to do what I'm doing? '" Charlie wrapped up his A-levels and opted out of uni to commit to his band full-time, too.
The household pulses with creative energy as all sons participate in nightly two-hour jam sessions in their home studio. "If they didn't work really hard I wouldn't be so supportive, but they're completely driven. So, as long as they're working hard, they've got as long as someone would spend at university and I'll support them, then we'll have a conversation. But at the moment, they're doing brilliantly."
Although she's not officially in the band, Sarah became an honorary member during their epic four-month UK tour. She shared her enthusiasm, saying: "People ask what I've been up to. I'm like, 'Obviously, I'm on tour with the boys! ' I'm on the band bus and going with them, eating chips along the way. It's flipping excellent!".
