Sarah Beeny's New Country Lives is a new series for Channel 4 daytime following people who have taken the plunge and left behind their homes in the city to pursue their dream of living in the countryside.
Having swapped London for Somerset herself back in 2019, as documented in the hit series Sarah Beeny's New Life In The Country, presenter Sarah Beeny is on hand to offer the contributors the benefit of her experience as they renovate their homes and pursue new business ventures.
Here's everything we know about the series so far...
Sarah Beeny's New Country Lives start date
Sarah Beeny's New Country Lives starts on Monday, May 29 on Channel 4 at 5 pm. The 20-part series will continue on weekdays in the 5 pm slot.
Sarah Beeny's New Country Lives format
Each episode of the show will follow a main story as Sarah guides some country newcomers through a big decision, whether that's setting up a business or renovating their new home — or sometimes both at the same time!
Alongside the main story, we'll also follow several other contributors as they begin their new lives in the country. Many of the contributors will recur across the series, with an ongoing storyline of their new country life that plays across multiple episodes.
Sarah Beeny's New Country Lives episode guide
Episode 1 (May 29): In the opening episode, we meet James, who's creating a boutique country hotel — but is that the best way to earn a living? Meanwhile, Gary and Annette enter their village scarecrow competition.
Episode 2 (May 30): Dave and Lynn start work on their dream farmhouse kitchen-diner, and Pete is shopping for a tractor for his family's new smallholding.
Episode 3 (May 31): Gary and Annette make plans to split their old Somerset vicarage in two so that they can rent out one half and live in the other.
Episode 4 (June 1): James tackles his master bedroom as he renovates his home into a holiday rental, and starts to think about how to market it.
Episode 5 (June 2): Gary and Annette plan their dream country home, while Dannie and Grace research activities for another new learning zone on their family farm.
We'll continue to update the episode guide as Channel 4 confirm their weekly schedules — be sure to check back for updates!
Sarah Beeny interview for Sarah Beeny's New Country Lives
What can viewers expect from the series?
"It's a lovely series about people who are brave enough to take a leap, and I'm really proud of it. We wanted to represent lots of options of things you could do if you moved to the country — I think there's a slight feeling that you move to the country when you're about 60 and you've retired, and then you just potter around a village or something. But there's actually millions of careers you could do if you wanted to, so this hopefully highlights that. You can either enjoy it as escapism, because it's really nice to watch and all of our contributors are lovely, or you could maybe watch it and be inspired!"
In episode one, James wants to turn his new property in Somerset into a boutique hotel. What advice did you give him?
"It's a beautiful house, absolutely lovely. He had this vision of a hotel — which I totally get, in principle — but I think he'd been to hotels rather than thinking about running one. The economics of running a hotel are very hard — you can't have a hotel without food, so who's going to cook it? If you're not going to be there, you're going to have to pay someone else to do it, you're going to need a whole management team. That's very hard with so few bedrooms, I think he was only going to let five of them. And what happens in the middle of winter, when one person takes one room — do you have the breakfast buffet open for that? I said to him that basically his economics didn't stack up, and he ended up deciding that he would let the whole unit, which is a better decision!"
Did you enjoy the element of having the contributors appear in multiple episodes, with ongoing stories?
"Yes! My way of describing it is that it's like Gogglebox — people pop in and out! It makes the episodes complicated to cut together, but I actually think it's a really lovely way to do it, because the whole show is meant to be nice, warm, comfortable escapism, and it's nice to see returning people and know how they're getting on. And if we do another series, some of those people will come back again! It's like starting a relationship with people, and I like that kind of television. It's been a real privilege to do it."
Back when you hosted Property Ladder, the contributors often ignored your advice! Were the people on New Country Lives more willing to listen?
"Yeah, they were actually — maybe they take me more seriously now I'm older! [laughs] But yeah, largely they are quite keen to listen — the odd one doesn't, but you can't win them all, can you? And I don't mind people who bite off more than they can chew, because I think, 'at least you're going for it'. These people have made big commitments, and they're very brave. They wanted a change, and I think it's very cool that they've got the nerve to do it. They all come out shining, so good for them!"
