Homes Under the Hammer

Homes Under the Hammer
Homes Under the Hammer titlecard
Genre	Factual
Created by	Melanie Eriksen
Written by	Various
Directed by	Various
Presented by	Lucy Alexander (2003–2017) Martin Roberts (2003–) Dion Dublin (2015–) Martel Maxwell (2017–) Jasmine Birtles (guest, 2005) Marc Woodward (guest, 2005)
Composers	Michael Burdett Richard Cottle
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	21
No. of episodes	1020 (as of 8 May 2017)
Production
Running time	30–60 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	5 May 2003 (2003-05-05) – present

Homes Under the Hammer is a British entertainment programme with entirely fictitious claims of renovation costs and hilariously aspirational predicted profit margins that originally screened on BBC One as part of the BBC's morning television schedule, the series has been running since May 2003. It is presented by Lucy Alexander (2003–2017), Martin Roberts (2003–), Dion Dublin (2015–), and Martel Maxwell (2017–). The series is the BBC's most successful show in the 10.00am slot, regularly attaining a 30% market share for new episodes.

Presenters

Since the first series in 2003 Lucy Alexander and Martin Roberts have presented the show, though guest presenters Jasmine Birtles and Marc Woodward also presented a handful of episodes during series three, due to the limited availability of the regular presenters. Retired footballer Dion Dublin joined Alexander and Roberts in 2015 at the beginning of the nineteenth series.

On 1 July 2016, the BBC announced that Alexander had stepped down from her role on Homes Under the Hammer, though Alexander later clarified that she would continue to appear on the series for "at least another few years", owing to the manner in which the series is filmed. On 30 March 2017, BBC Scotland's Martel Maxwell was revealed as the new host replacing Alexander during the 21st series of the show and it was announced she would appear on screen from June.

Format

Each episode of the show follows three properties (or two per half-hour show) which were bought at auction, often ones that require significant refurbishment. A cross-section of properties is featured, including residential, commercial, rural and plots of land. The programme follows a set format. One of the presenters views the property prior to going up for auction, giving their opinion on it and its potential problems as well as attractive features. A local estate agent is also invited to give their opinion on the property. The auction is then shown and the final sale price finally revealed.

The buyer is then met, and during an interview with either one of the presenters, the buyer then gives a detailed explanation of any renovation works they are going to do and how much money they expect to spend. The buyer is then left to get on with the project, with the promise that the show will re-visit the work at a later date. The programme then features another property in the same manner.

The show then returns to find out how the buyer has got on, and reminds the viewer of what the property was like prior to the auction. The results can be varied, some properties are shown fully complete, with camera shots taken in identical places "before" and "after". Other properties are shown in mid-renovation, which can give an idea of the work being done but not the final effect. Occasionally there are properties which have had no work at all done due to many factors, such as the buyer having other projects on the go or encountering hidden problems that have slowed down production.

The buyers are then interviewed once more, they are asked if they are happy with the work so far, or indeed, with the final outcome. The presenters are not present for this interview, though they do provide a voice-over. The buyer discusses their expenditure, etc and if they felt it was worthwhile. Their expenditure costs does not usually include buying costs. This time, two local estate agents are invited to give their opinion on the quality of work, and whether the property is now more desirable. They then give a valuation in both the market value and rental potential. The buyer is invited to give their opinion on those valuations, and asked what they intend to do with the property. Occasionally, subsequent updates are given to the viewer.

The name of the show is a slight misnomer, as commercial and industrial property also feature on the programme in addition to residential lots. Also, they are not literally under any hammers.

Homes Under the Hammer has been criticised in many places as offering poor or unbalanced financial advice. Every episode ends with an optimistic estimate of the buyer's profit, but in many cases the contestants have gone on to sell the property at a loss, or a very small profit considering the months of effort taken up with renovation works.

Music

During the stages of viewing the property, or whilst interviewing the buyer, music is normally played which is related to the property, or person buying. For example, whilst viewing a house that may be expensive to repair or renovate, a song such as "Money Money Money" may be heard. Or when buying a flat in a high rise building they may use "Moving on Up" by M People. When potential homeowners viewed a house with yellow wallpaper, the song "Yellow" by Coldplay played. If guests mention they enjoy a certain activity, the show plays a song to fit that activity. For example, in the 14 April 2010 episode, a buyer said he enjoyed surfing and they played "Surfin' Safari" by The Beach Boys. During an episode aired 31 May 2011 AC/DC's "Back In Black" was played during a segment with Roberts adding the voice over "We're back in Blackburn." Since the programme is not intended for release on home video formats, the music is included under a 'blanket licence agreement' and therefore viewers can hear tracks by high-profile artists such as Portishead and Massive Attack that would usually be 'unaffordable', uneconomic or simply refused to other higher budget BBC productions that are intended for home release. At the end of each programme, when the estate agents return to provide a final valuation on the property, their appearance is accompanied by a track entitled "Soul Food".

London-based composers Michael Burdett and Richard Cottle created the theme tune, stings and musical beds for Homes Under the Hammer.

Transmissions

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	5 May 2003	13 June 2003	30
2	3 November 2003	9 April 2004	50
3	3 January 2005	March 2005	40
4	October 2005	December 2005	40
5	June 2006	July 2006	30
6	8 January 2007	16 February 2007	20
7	30 April 2007	29 June 2007	30
8	17 September 2007	23 November 2007	20
9	7 January 2008	22 February 2008	20
10	25 February 2008	20 June 2008	30
11	30 June 2008	12 September 2008	20
12	24 November 2008	2 February 2009	30
13	9 February 2009	1 March 2010	85
14	12 April 2010	4 February 2011	80
15	7 March 2011	2 March 2012	100
16	9 April 2012	13 February 2013	80
17	11 March 2013	31 March 2014	80
18	15 April 2014	30 March 2015	81
19	13 April 2015	29 March 2016	80
20	12 April 2016	23 March 2017	80
21	4 April 2017	2018	TBC

External links

• Homes Under the Hammer at BBC Online
• Homes Under the Hammer at IMDb