'I host Escape to the Country and I wanted to buy two properties for myself'

Escape to the Country star Steve Brown has revealed which properties he almost bought on the show. After competing for Great Britain in wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics, the 44-year-old became an esteemed sports pundit, before landing several TV presenting roles. He has worked on BBC's Truth or Scare, The One Show, Springwatch and Countryfile.

Steve then joined the presenting line-up of Escape to the Country, where he takes potential home buyers on a search to find their dream home in rural UK areas. The hit daytime programme features a regular roster of hosts alongside Steve, including Sonali Shah, Jules Hudson, Nicki Chapman, Briony May Williams, Denise Nurse, Ginny Buckley and Alistair Appleton.

That's not all, as it was recently revealed that former Strictly Come Dancing star Richie Anderson would be joining the cast for season 26.

In an exclusive chat to mark the premiere of the new season, Steve revealed that he fell in love with two properties on the show after showing them to a pair of prospective buyers.

"There's been two properties that I've looked at that was within my price range and both of them were properties that I actually phoned my partner up and said, 'Look, if the house hunters don't put an offer in, can you get on a train and come have a look at this property?'" he said.

"One of them was in Powys on the English-Welsh border just there and another one was much closer to home in Kent, where I live and, of course, I know the area of Kent because of that.

"The property that I had the opportunity to see on the show was something that I thought, 'Well, do you know what? It's not a million miles away from home.'"

Steve added: "The location, the setting and everything like that was so much nicer. It's one of them ones where we [could have moved] hours away to Powys and another one was to move 15 minutes away in Kent."

The presenter also shared his pride at working on the flagship show after spending years watching it from his own sofa.

"I was watching the show a long time before I was presenting on it, the same as an awful lot of people at home on an afternoon. It was just an [integral] part of the TV being on in the background," Steve explained.

"I'd always remember stopping and watching, being drawn into the programme. From there, enjoying watching it, to the different pathways I've done as a presenter, to be asked to join the team was a real honour."

He concluded: "I have so much fun with the team and the people that are looking, the house hunters - they're always such a joy to be around."

Escape to the Country is available to stream on BBC iPlayer