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 (18)
1. Newcastle-under-Lyme
Aired 17 April 2001
Ann Maurice helps a Staffordshire couple sell their three-bedroom house in Newcastle-under-Lyme by clearing clutter and creating more space. Her efforts pay off, and with fresher shades on the walls and a laminated floor, they soon find a buyer for the property.
2. Beckenham
Aired 24 April 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to a couple in Beckenham, Kent, whose 1930s-style house has been on the market for more than 14 months. She wastes no time in getting down to business, renting modern furniture, stripping the hall of clutter, exposing original features and neutralising the wallpaper.
3. Glasgow
Aired 1 May 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice tackles a Glasgow bachelor pad set in a sought-after stately home address in city-centre parkland, but the ancient Egyptian theme proves a sticking point.
4. Clapham
Aired 8 May 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice lends her skills to a home in Clapham, London.
5. Moorecroft
Aired 15 May 2001
Alistair and Ann visit a property in Moorecroft, North Wales that's in dire need of the House Doctor's magic touch.
6. Garelochhead
Aired 22 May 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to the owner of a four-bedroom Victorian villa in Garelochhead, Argyll and Bute. The house has been on the market for two months, and Ann thinks she knows why - it is far too cluttered with useless knick-knacks that are stopping the natural light from getting in.
7. Interiors and Depersonalising
Aired 29 May 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice presents a compilation of advice from past episodes, visiting an Edinburgh home suffering from a surfeit of personality, a Victorian residence in Chester that needs restoring to its former glory and a Derbyshire cottage with rather too many stuffed animals for its own good.
8. Kerb Appeal and Colour
Aired 5 June 2001
Ann Maurice stresses the importance of first impressions, showing a couple from Portishead, Somerset, how to spruce up the exterior of their bungalow to make it look inviting. She also offers ideas on suitable colour schemes to use inside the home, demonstrating how neutral tones can create an airy, spacious atmosphere.
9. Pets and Defining Space
Aired 12 June 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to would-be sellers on optimising space and dispelling animal odours in the home in a bid to secure a quick sale.
10. Clacton-On-Sea
Aired 19 June 2001
Ann Maurice helps a chauffeur and his girlfriend spruce up their neglected seaside bungalow in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, to make it more attractive to potential buyers, transforming the interior and landscaping the overgrown gardens.
11. Hawkesbury Upton
Aired 26 June 2001
Interior design guru Ann Maurice creates the illusion of space in a 200-year-old cottage in the Cotswold village of Hawkesbury Upton. She also persuades the owner to move her pet ferrets from the yard to an adjacent barn so they do not deter possible buyers.
12. Clapham Village
Aired 3 July 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice suggests improvements for a four-bedroom dormer bungalow in Clapham, West Sussex, to make it more appealing to prospective buyers. The lurid wall colours and pink living room carpet are banished, leaving pine floorboards that help create a sense of the outdoors.
13. Colchester
Aired 10 July 2001
Ann Maurice visits Essex to offer advice to a Colchester couple unable to snap up their dream home until they can sell their current house. Unfortunately, after four months on the market, there is still no buyer for the three-bedroom detached property - which comes complete with a wild colour scheme.
14. Bristol
Aired 17 July 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice offers advice to would-be sellers in Cotham, Bristol, whose four-bedroom bungalow has been on the market for four months. She suggests revamping the shabby sitting room to enhance its ambience and updating the mismatched kitchen with a lick of paint, tile jewellery and new flooring, before turning her attention to sprucing up the two bathrooms.
15. Episode 15
Aired 24 July 2001
16. Clutter and Red Flag
Aired 31 July 2001
Property expert Ann Maurice and designer Alistair Appleton present a compilation of tips on making a house presentable for sale, including ideas for clearing clutter and creating the illusion of space.
17. Original Features and Garden Makeover
Aired 7 August 2001
Ann Maurice and Alistair Appleton present highlights of the home improvement series, focusing on making the most of original features and sprucing up gardens to attract potential buyers. Includes another visit to a Grade II-listed house in Stoke-on-Trent.
18. Creating Space and Kitchen Makeover
Aired 14 August 2001
Compilation edition reliving house-transforming triumphs from the series. Property expert Ann Maurice visits Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, to demonstrate design techniques for making small rooms appear bigger, while in Glasgow she reveals how to create a home that appeals to potential purchasers.