English broadcaster and entrepreneur Sarah Beeny has been a regular face on our screens for decades. After setting up her own property development and investment companies when she was 24, she has appeared on a range of TV shows around property and housing restoration.
The property expert is best known for presenting UK property shows such as Property Ladder, Property Snakes and Ladders, Streets Ahead, Britain's Best Homes, Help! My House is Falling Down, Beeny's Restoration Nightmare and of course Sarah Beeny’s Selling Houses. If you're looking at house renovations and the costs of it, we'd definitely recommend catching up with some of Sarah's shows.
Sarah gets the all clear
We were devastated to hear about Sarah's breast cancer diagnosis back in 2022, especially after losing her own mum to the disease at such a young age. That's why we were delighted to hear Sarah has now received the all clear.
Sharing the good news on ITV's Lorraine with Christine Lampard, Sarah shared how she felt to receive the news.
"Weird. It's good but it's weird.
"They kind of go, 'That's it then, that's the end of that.'
"And you kind of go, 'How do you know?' and they go, 'We don't, we just kind of think so.'
"It's been a weird ride that I wouldn't wish on anyone else, but I'm glad I did it rather than somebody else," said Sarah.
"I feel very fortunate that I had the diagnosis that I did, and that I live in 2023 and that I'm the age that I am.
"So many things I'm fortunate for, so I feel very blessed."
Sarah Beeny's breast cancer diagnosis
In an interview with The Telegraph in summer 2022, Sarah shared the sad news that she was receiving treatment for breast cancer. She has been receiving a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She also decided to cut off her hair rather than wait for it to fall out as a result of the chemotherapy.
Sarah's mother, Ann, died aged 39 of cancer, when Sarah was only 10 years old. She recalled the moment she found out the news in an interview with the Telegraph. Understandably, due to her family history, Sarah had 'a little bit of a breakdown' in the consultation room,' explaining to the nurse: 'You don't understand. I have waited 40 years to hear those words. I knew I was going to hear it one day.'
Sarah's dad has become recently quite forgetful since suffering from a stroke, so she's keen to not tell her father about the cancer as she is concerned he'll get her confused with her late mum.
'He sometimes knows who I am, then sometimes he doesn't remember.
'He knows that his first wife died of breast cancer. He gets lots of things muddled up and my fear is that I tell him, and tell him I'm going to be fine, but he'd remember the fact that I'd got it but not that I was going to get better. He'd think I was my mother.'
Since revealing details of her diagnosis, Sarah has been very open about her battle with cancer, particularly on her Instagram account. From losing her hair to her chemo journey and upcoming TV projects about cancer, Sarah has really been an inspiration to her followers.
Sarah's children and husband Graham Swift
Sarah lives with her husband and business partner Graham Swift and their four sons - Billy, Charlie, Raffy and Laurie - the family also have a collection of pets.
Graham and Sarah have been with each other since she was 19 and he was 18.
Up until a few years ago, they lived in London, in fact they had lived in London for 30 years, but Graham had a dream of moving to the countryside. The family's big move is documented in Sarah's Channel 4 series, A New Life in The Country.
"When Graham suggested moving to Somerset from London two years ago with our four sons, it took me a while to come around to it. He desperately wanted to build our own home in the country. I resisted for a long time and overall it wasn’t easy making such a massive change, as everyone will see in our tv show, New Life In The Country, but I am glad I’ve done it now.
"A new challenge is stimulating and keeps the brain moving; everything moving!"
How old is Sarah Beeny?
Sarah was born January 9, 1972.
Discussing the topic of ageing, Sarah says, "I am happy to have left behind all the angst and insecurity of younger days! I look at my wrinkles now, but I don’t mind them. I’d never get rid of them with cosmetic surgery, it’s like a book of my life on my face. You can read my life through them."
Sarah on homeschooling
During the height of the pandemic, Sarah and her family found themselves in a real rush to try and get the house complete.
She said: “We're really lucky because we're living in a house already. If we were living in a caravan outside the house, we'd be moving really quickly but there's less urgency to push it.
“I'm more concerned about the kids and trying to get them to do their online learning.
“There's a lot more agendas at the moment, a lot more people to be concerned about.”
Sarah explained she found home-schooling particularly difficult given that all four of her sons have dyslexia.
She said: “I have quite a strong belief that iPads are sold by Apple to young people because they hook them in early, and I don't think we learn from things on the iPad.
“There's no question in my mind that there's a very small place for technology in education, and unfortunately this has meant that it's been very big.
“I'm not saying I have a solution to it, because I haven't, I just think it's okay to find it hard."
Sarah ultimately decided to make the move when her father, Richard Beeny, had a stroke in 2018. "It made me realise that as he becomes frailer I need to be around."
"This year has brought me closer to my family and taught me to value them more. I was always really close to my older brother Dickon and spoke to him all the time when I lived in London and he was in Somerset, but now he lives nearby."
New Life In The Country is not Sarah's first time taking on a rural property. Back in 2021, Sarah and Graham bought Grade II-listed stately home, Rise Hall in Yorkshire, a move that she now admits was ‘a little bit crazy’.
Their renovation of it was documented in the Channel 4 show Restoration Nightmares, and while they enjoyed many happy years staying there, it never became their main family home.
Sarah Beeny on Property Ladder
Sarah left school at 17, throwing herself straight into the working world. "I had my own sandwich business, sold vacuum cleaners and did a lambing season in New Zealand. I was only 20 when I set up my property development company with Graham and my brother.
"In 2001 I went to a hen party and randomly, a researcher for a new series about property development happened to be there too. The party hostess phoned me the next day and said: “Oh you met my sister-in-law and she’s asking, do you want to come for a screen test to be a presenter?”
That new series was Property Ladder –and the rest is history.
Watch Sarah Beeny’s New Life In The Country on Channel 4, and catch up on All 4.
Is Sarah on social media?
She certainly is! Sarah is active on both Twitter and Instagram where she regularly posts snaps of family life and updates on her battle with cancer.
Sarah's new book
If you're a fan of Sarah, you'll be delighted to hear she is releasing a book in August 2023. Named, The Simple Life, Sarah will explore the story of moving in search of a simpler life, sharing her experiences in parenting, multi-generational living, work/life balance, friendships, nature, the environment and her devastating cancer diagnosis.