About this season
House Doctor is a television programme, originally broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK. Each week, the House Doctor - Californian real-estate stylist, Ann Maurice - helps UK home-owners sell their houses with her industry know-how and style tips. The popularity of the show has lent the word "house doctoring" to the British English lexicon, which is similar to the American term home staging. This program is now shown in many countries around the globe, which is broadening the use and familiarity of this term.
Episodes (20)
1. Stepney
Aired 16 May 2000
Interior design expert Ann Maurice visits Stepney in London's East End, where she advises part-time DJ Simon Denny on how to make his two-bedroom split-level converted brewery lodge more attractive to potential buyers.
2. Chester
Aired 23 May 2000
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to would-be sellers of a Victorian house in Chester to make it more marketable.
3. Warrington
Aired 30 May 2000
Alistair Appleton and Ann Maurice set to work on a property in Warrington, Cheshire, which the homeowner is having difficulty selling. They begin by repainting the pine and ripping out the netting.
4. Cheltenham
Aired 6 June 2000
Ann Maurice offers advice to the owners of a three-bedroom detached house in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, suggesting a complete overhaul to ensure potential buyers get a good first impression by keeping things simple and adding tasteful antique furniture.
5. Camden
Aired 13 June 2000
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to the owner of a three-bedroom Victorian house in north London's highly desirable Camden area. The garish hall is a definite turn-off, so she decides on a more neutral colour scheme and rejuvenates the roof terrace with plants and accessories.
6. Worcester
Aired 20 June 2000
Ann Maurice helps a Worcestershire couple sell their country cottage, which has been on the market for more than a year. She thinks their pet parrots might be discouraging prospective buyers - but needless to say, they are reluctant to get rid of them.
7. Kitchens and Dining Rooms
Aired 27 June 2000
A compilation edition of the home improvement series, with interior designer Ann Maurice revisits some of her most striking transformations of kitchens and dining rooms.
8. Halls and Living Rooms
Aired 4 July 2000
Ann Maurice and Alistair Appleton renovate neglected hallways in Hammersmith, west London, and Headingley in north Leeds. They move on to a bachelor's living room in desperate need of a tidy-up, where they install a Georgian fireplace and piano to replace the booze and ironing boards.
9. Exteriors and Gardens
Aired 11 July 2000
Design guru Ann Maurice visits a house with an unsightly pile of brick rubble, investigates a property whose garden is a potential death trap, and delivers her verdict on a conservatory used to store laundry in this compilation of highlights from the series.
10. Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Aired 18 July 2000
Compilation of highlights from the home improvement series, featuring bedroom and bathroom makeovers by Californian designer Ann Maurice.
11. Edinburgh
Aired 25 July 2000
A pink mansion in Edinburgh gets a makeover from Ann Maurice and Alistair Appleton. They attempt to give the garishly painted home a more traditional Scottish feel by having it professionally redecorated and toning down the dark, oppressive wooden ceiling over the hallway.
12. Portishead
Aired 1 August 2000
Ann Maurice and Alistair Appleton help a Portishead couple spruce up their bungalow to attract a quick sale. At £196,950, the price is right, but a few touches are needed to give the property 'kerb appeal'.
13. Crieff
Aired 8 August 2000
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to a Perthshire woman whose split-level bungalow in Crieff has been on the market for five years. Ann thinks too much clutter is the problem, and quickly sets to work redecorating the hallway, kitchen and lounge, before moving on to the front garden to increase its 'kerb appeal'.
14. Yeovil
Aired 15 August 2000
Property expert Ann Maurice and Alistair Appleton ride to the rescue of a couple who are having trouble selling their converted chapel in Yeovil, Somerset. Happily, a lick of paint and the eviction of a resident rat help transform the dingy interior into a cool, airy space.
15. London
Aired 22 August 2000
Property expert Anne Maurice offers advice to the owner of a Brixton flat, on the market for £235,000, to make it more attractive to prospective buyers.
16. Chippenham
Aired 29 August 2000
Alistair Appleton joins interior designer Ann Maurice as she applies her expertise to the task of revamping a three-storey stone cottage in Chippenham, Wiltshire, hoping to increase its sales potential.
17. Dulwich
Aired 5 September 2000
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice on selling a property in West Dulwich, south London. The owner, a single mother-of-three, feels it is time to move on and wants to be closer to her children's school, but cannot find a buyer for her Victorian house.
18. Ashover Hay
Aired 12 September 2000
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to another would-be seller, this time visiting a house in Ashover Hay, Derbyshire.
19. Sutton-in-Ashfield
Aired 19 September 2000
Ann Maurice offers advice to a woman hoping to sell her desirable property in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
20. Frome
Aired 26 September 2000
Ann Maurice visits the market town of Frome, Somerset, to find out why no one can secure a sale for a Grade II-listed home.