Husband and wife Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adory starred in Castle Escape from 2016 to 2022. Lieutenant Colonel Dick Strawbridge and his wife Angel Adori of Channel 4 were as mysterious as they were unexpected this week. The show reached its final season in December 2022. That the hosts are leaving now suggests that the rumors of bullying – if that was the reason for the HR investigation – were serious.
“You don't cancel the host. if the show ends,” says Ed Waller, managing editor of industry bible C21 Media. “Channel 4 and production company Two Rivers have said they will no longer work with the couple. They have a filming program called “Escape to the Castle: Secret France” and a healthy TV career, but it's like a punishment.”
Channel 4 will not build on its original statement: “After review, we have made the decision not to work with Dick and Angel on any new productions in the future.” accused the couple of bullying and, according to a post on Deadline.com, “swearing at people.”
But there's a thread on the Army Rumor Forum (ARRSE, of course) where Strawbridge gets a lot of credit for taking care of their people, and respect is something that is absolutely not guaranteed in this particular chat.
One former soldier recalls that Strawbridge “was my squad leader when I entered Harrogate at the age of 17. A few years later, I was rummaging through my father's attic and found a letter from him to my parents to let them know how I'm doing.”
Dick Strawbridge in the 2016 BBC documentary UK's Lost Waters. on the Isle of Caen/BBC
Another recalls: “Major Dick Strawbridge was my Squadron Leader (Penny) at AAC Harrogate in 1989-90. As far as I remember, he was a very bright guy and definitely inspired the young guys under his command. I must add that even then his tash was sloppy. This has been a topic of conversation for children because of most people. not being able to grow an upper lip slug.”
Another one met him when he was with “Bowmanisation of a CR2 Regt. The best guy, very down to earth and not afraid to get his hands dirty. And not at all conscious, which was nice.”
It's another mysterious moment in one of the most unexpected television careers of the century. Strawbridge made his first screen appearance on the Scrapheap Challenge in 1999 while he was still in the military, leading a three-man team with a gentle nerd and ridiculous moustache. He enjoyed explaining his schemes to Robert Llewellyn, and despite his popularity leading him to eventually replace the host in 2008, Strawbridge appeared on Llewellyn's YouTube show about Carpool electric cars the following year.
Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adori with their two children
By that time, he had made a career that can be described as shatolite. 'It's Not Easy Being Green' on BBC Two saw him trying to live environmentally friendly with his first green activist wife Bridget and children James and Charlotte by moving to a 400 year old farm in Cornwall. In 2011 on ITV's The Hungry Sailors, Dick and his son James sailed along the Cornish coast as local chefs competed to see who could cook the best meal.
By then, Dick and Bridget had broken up. His agent introduced him to Angel, who received support for her candy store and television career on Dragon's Lair in 2010. First episode. It was an instant hit with critics and audiences alike – there was something about the castle's moat-down toilet, the toxic lead paint and asbestos that, combined with Angel's hipster vibe and Strawbridge's enthusiasm, proved significantly more appealing than a Cornish farmhouse. . .
People lived indirectly through them, some even buying their own castles, prompting one of the many spin-offs, Escape to the Chateau DIY, featuring slightly bewildered guests like Jono Pryor and Mariam El Akkad with their 18-year-old son Monty, realized how much it cost them to put this place in order. “This is more than the purchase price,” El-Akkad sighed.
The show has inspired many imitators such as Sarah Beeney's New Life in the Country, Channel 5's Half Price Country Life and Ben Fogle: New Country Life on Apple TV+. But none of them had what Chateau had – a huge thick mustache.
Now, however, spin-offs, books, merch and all the other cash the couple has on the go is at stake. One senior public relations consultant, who preferred not to mention that “it's all a huge shit show”, said that “a lot of people – and you can apply this to the whole Phil and Holly saga – are getting over all sorts of accusations and moving forward. But it will be very difficult, and they will need a good PR person.” So far, the accusations against the couple have boiled down to not suffering fools, being impatient with producers, and having on-screen personas that differ from real life — just like most people on television. Can allegations of bullying still stand?
Chateau was a hugely popular series with a dedicated audience, and that doesn't mean there's no life on the SVOD channel, says the consultant. “But it will be a tough fight. In today's culture, the minute the word “bullying” is mentioned, you have a big problem moving forward. The next episode was supposed to show them in a warm and fuzzy light. A medium-sized audience can be won over, but it will take time.”
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