Escape to the Country

Escape to the Country
Escape to the Country opening title card
Created by	Talkback Thames
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	15
No. of episodes	655
Production
Executive producer	John Comerford
Producers	Boundless Productions (Production company) Karen Richardson (Series producer)
Editors	Adrian Padmore (Series editor)
Running time	45–60 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC One BBC Two
Release	14 October 2002 (2002-10-14) – present

Escape to the Country is a British daytime television property-buying programme, created by Talkback Thames which premieres on network BBC One and is repeated on BBC Two, and airs internationally in syndication.

Overview

There are two versions of each episode produced. A shorter 45-minute version with only 3 houses shown and a longer 60-minute version. The short version usually airs on BBC One weekday afternoons (usually in the 15:00 slot) and the longer on BBC One weekdays at 10:00 or BBC Two evenings at 19:00. Escape to the Country is often credited as being the forerunner of other shows such as A Place in the Sun. Repeat episodes are shown on Home. Escape to the Country explores various locations and properties across the United Kingdom, in order to attract potential buyers. Another version of the series "Escape to the Continent", is based on exotic international locations, like Portugal and Malta.

Series 1 to 5

Produced by Boundless, part of FremantleMedia UK and shown to air from 2002, the basic premise of the show is that a person/family wishes to relocate from their current city home to a more peaceful and rural retreat. It is then the job of the show's presenter to find four houses for the family to view via laptop computer in their own homes. The family must then choose two out of the four houses to go and view for themselves. In addition, there is also the option of choosing the presenter's 'mystery house'.

Nicki Chapman one of the hosts of Escape to the Country

Series 6 to 9

The format of the show changed in series 6 to accommodate viewer demand to see more houses and more local information . Contributors now view all four houses, of which the fourth is the mystery house. The mystery house usually has something unique about it that will either make the contributors fall in love with or hate it. Added to the show is a taster day in which the contributors sample local delights, gain historical knowledge and visit local attractions to get a feel for the area they are planning to move to. Series 6 aired in August 2007 on BBC One, while series 7 and 8 aired back-to-back in autumn 2008. Series 9 began on 23 February in a new slot of 15:45 on BBC Two.

Series 10 to 12

The format was modified yet again. The number of properties the couples viewed was reduced to three, with the third being the mystery house. Series 12 consisted of 75 shows and was broadcast from November 2011 on BBC Two with the addition of new title and credit sequences.

Series 13

Series 13 premiered on 3 September 2012 on BBC One.

Presenters

Presenters include:

• Catherine Gee (2002–2007)
• Nick Page (2002)
• Jules Hudson (2007–)
• Alistair Appleton (2007–)
• Denise Nurse (2008–)
• Jonnie Irwin (2008–)
• Nicki Chapman (2008–)
• Melissa Porter (2008)
• Aled Jones (2010–)
• Nicki Shields (2013–)
• Tim Vincent (TBC)
• Anita Rani (2014–)
• Sonali Shah (2014–)
• Ginny Buckley (2016-)

International broadcasts

In Australia, Escape to the Country airs on Seven Network's free-to-air digital channel 7TWO Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and the Lifestyle Channel on Foxtel Subscription TV every week night.

In Sweden, Escape to the Country airs on TV8, Monday to Thursday nights at 8:00pm (7:00pm local time).

In the Netherlands, Escape to the Country airs since April 2011 on SBS 6, Saturday nights at 5.00 pm (6.00 pm local time). Additionally, most viewers in the Netherlands can watch the show on the BBC channels that are distributed by cable operators. As a result of its availability in the Netherlands it features in the novel The Detour.

In the United States, "Escape to the Country" is viewable on Netflix online streaming as of March 2017.

DVD releases

On 5 March 2014, two DVDs were released in Australia by Shock Entertainment. Titled Series 20 Parts 1 & 2, the two DVDs box sets had a total of 19 discs.

External links

• Escape to the Country at BBC Online
• Escape to the Country at IMDb