Kevin McCloud has become synonymous with ambitious house renovation thanks to his long-standing tenure as the host of Grand Designs. Both Kevin and the popular Channel 4 programme have been a staple of British television since 1999, and after 27 years, Kevin is showing no signs of slowing down.
"I'm 67 in May and I've probably got more energy than I ever had," Kevin tells HELLO! in an exclusive interview. "I'll keep going. As long as I can squeeze under a scaffold and step over a big puddle of mud, I'll do it."
© Sam FrostSpeaking ahead of Grand Designs Live, sponsored by Daikin - the bi-annual home improvement and renovation event taking place in London from 1 May - Kevin reveals that he's the busiest he's ever been.
The TV star is presenting four new shows this year, including a new season of Grand Designs and its spin-off House of the Year, a TV show about "listed buildings," and another "about classic cars and culture".
"I'm now busier in the UK than I've ever been," said Kevin. "My plan was to retire at 60. It's gone the opposite way."
But with age also comes big changes, with Kevin having welcomed new life and suffered loss in the same year. "Life is mixed as you get older," he said. "You lose people and then, I've had a grandson born.
© Pete Dadds"I'm getting on so weirdly, people do pop off and you get sort of get used to it," he continued. "I remember when a friend of mine died, I felt really shocked by the impact of it. Now, it's always saddening to hear but more frequent."
Explaining how he marks time using life's milestones, Kevin continued: "You go through that point in life where all your friends are having children and families and then it goes quiet. Then everybody grumbles about paying for university and then the grandchildren start arriving.
"These great cycles of human life, they underscore architecture and what we build," he added.
"My plan was to retire at 60. It's gone the opposite way."
The latest change to Kevin's home
As for Kevin's own home, the presenter lives in Herefordshire with his wife, Jenny Jones. He reportedly purchased a 400-year-old, Grade-II listed farmhouse in 2021 and has spent the last few years restoring it.
The latest change he's made to his home is converting his "old fashioned" dining room into a library. "I thought, 'What am I going to do with this old fashioned room, which is kind of in between two other rooms?' said Kevin. "In the end, we put up lots of shelves, and I unpacked all my books, and so did my wife, and we made a library.
© Channel 4"A lot of people now want to have a media room. I have one. It's a media room, circa 1850," joked Kevin.
"I've always loved books and always collected them. I owe my life to books, and to be able to pick one up just like that, that's an adventure for me," he added.
"My whole family has been involved in design in one way or another."
Kevin's creative family
Creativity clearly runs in the McCloud family. Kevin's father was an inventor and engineer, and his son, Hugo, has followed in his footsteps as an architect.
"The whole family has been involved in design in one way or another, actually," said Kevin, who is a dad of four.
"I wasn't pushing anybody in any direction, but I think it's probably inevitable, isn't it? My eldest daughter is very proud that she can spot a line-pointed wall in a historic building from 50 meters."
The enduring appeal of Grand Designs
As for why Grand Designs is still so popular among viewers, Kevin attributes the show's enduring appeal to "a mixture of inspiration and aspiration".
"I think the thing about Grand Designs is still accessible," he said. "Some of our projects cost a million pounds to build, but we don't do 20 million pound projects. We deliberately don't do that, because I think they're too far beyond the aspirations of most people."
Kevin McCloud was speaking ahead of Grand Designs Live, sponsored by Daikin, the UK's premier home & design exhibition this 1-4 May 2026.
