Dick Strawbridge opens up on the future of family’s Chateau and life in France as he admits: ‘We’ve finished’

Dick Strawbridge has opened up about the future of their 19th-century Chateau and whether they will move back to the UK now their renovations and filming has been concluded.

After moving to France with their children – Arthur, 11, and Dorothy, 10 – they began their renovations which was quickly documented in the Channel 4 reality TV show Escape to the Château.

The series came to a close in 2022 and has since seen the couple go on tours across the UK and America – keeping their fans updated.

Now, Strawbridge has revealed what the couple plans to do now that they have finished filming their TV shows and renovating their chateau.

Speaking to The Times, Strawbridge opened up on why they decided to call it quits after nine series of Escape to the Chateau and said: “We made the decision at the beginning of 2022 because Arthur was starting senior school and Dorothy was becoming aware of the cameras.

“We haven’t passed any comment [about their publicised falling out with their production team] because it isn’t relevant to us.

“We’d finished filming before then. We had many more stories to tell, but it wasn’t right for the kids. Family is the most important thing.”

When asked whether they were going to sell their home, Strawbridge confirmed: “Can you imagine downsizing from a 45-room château to a bungalow? It’s never going to happen.

“Besides, Arthur and Dorothy are already making plans for their own lives here. This is our forever home.”

Strawbridge admitted that they thought “long and hard” about letting cameras into their home and following their lives on a day to day basis.

Overcoming their initial hesitance, the series is now shown in 75 countries and has been a huge success for the family.

“The show was partly about restoring the château, but it was also about living a simple family life. Although it sounds ridiculous to say ‘simple’ when you’re talking about châteaux, all the things we filmed the children doing reminded me of my childhood in the 1960s.

“It was a different backdrop, but we still played conkers, cooked marshmallows over an open fire and fished, albeit in a moat.”

Whilst the couple have made tremendous success, Strawbridge previously admitted they were “broke” after buying the house and getting married.

He recently shared on Kaye Adams’ How To Be 60 Podcast: “We were really broke for a period after our wedding when we spent everything to get to that point.

“I’d been working in America and didn’t get enough money to add to the big pot before we spent it. We were broke and I was taking on any job that came up, I was taking anything.

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“We were doing anything we could as we sort of worked through.”

However, he added that they “knew the direction” they were heading in, which left thousands of people wanting their weddings in their home.

“We haven’t had our honeymoon yet, we’re 10 years in and we haven’t had a honeymoon. We’re waiting for that, but we go away and we get the odd day together and we have power dating, where we will go for a night away, have a lovely meal and go and visit somewhere and then we will come back.

“Or, if we’re going to work in the UK, we turn it into a holiday or turn it into a date.”