Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country begins its third run

When this property renovation series first aired in 2021, it was accused of being ‘tasteless’ and ill-timed, with many people still struggling financially in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

But with recent polls suggesting 50 per cent of Brits dream of owning a smallholding, and over half of city dwellers aged 18-34 want to move to the countryside, there seems to be an appetite for shows demonstrating how people, however rich or famous, can achieve their dreams in rural areas.

Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country begins its third run tonight, with the TV presenter and property expert, along with husband Graham Swift and their four sons, continuing to immerse themselves in life in Somerset.

As well as renovating the semi-derelict former dairy farm, other highlights of the ambitious project included the family road-testing rural businesses such as cheesemaking, chilli growing, and cider making, and planting 1,000 young trees to improve biodiversity.

Sarah, who also worked on Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare and Help! My House Is Falling Down, has been in the news a fair bit over the last few months after revealing she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. But despite her diagnosis, she has said she will continue to work on TV and on the renovation.

Now that the main build has been completed, the couple start turning their house into a home, and the new series kicks off with Sarah and Graham transforming a bare concrete shell into a traditional country house library.

Inspired by their love of Rise Hall – a Grade II eighteenth-century building they saved and restored in the noughties – they hope to capture the essence of its 200-year-old country house library in a brand-new modern room.

It will be covered from wall-to-wall in bespoke bookcases, with sustainable timber coloured to give it a rich, aged, antique appearance.

However, the new library is half the size of the old Rise Hall library, so Sarah creates another reading area to house more books – a cosy book nook on the landing where she can curl up and escape to another world with her boys.

After eight painstaking months, Graham’s detailed designs are transformed into an historic library, echoing their beloved Rise Hall.

They showcase it to the boys, Rafferty, Laurie, Billy and Charlie, who are suitably impressed by its grandeur.

The youngsters’ opinions are clearly important to the couple.

Sarah has previously said her move to the countryside from London was motivated by her children’s education.

“Graham’s always wanted to move out of London and we’ve always harboured dreams of giving the boys that Swallows And Amazons childhood idyll,” she says.

“Children grow up too quickly in London. We just want them to be children as long as they can.

“It was the right time in their lives to make the change and we’re very fortunate that we are in a position that we could make it happen. It’s all about decluttering our lives.

“We’re making life simpler so we can concentrate on the things that really matter.”