From Southall to the screen - and still happiest with a mug of tea in the garden.
Nick Knowles is a British television presenter, writer and musician, best known for his long-standing role as the host of the BBC's home renovation show DIY SOS.
With a career spanning over three decades, he has become a familiar face on British television - renowned for his hands-on approach and empathetic interactions with the families and communities the show works with. Alongside DIY SOS he has fronted quiz shows including Who Dares Wins and Break the Safe, and a long run of travel and factual documentaries.
In 2016 he co-wrote and executive produced the comedy film Golden Years, directed by John Miller. In 2017 he released his cookbook, Proper Healthy Food: Hearty Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for Meat Lovers - a book of wholesome, satisfying plant-based meals for people who like a proper plateful.
Nick is deeply committed to charitable causes and uses his platform to support them. He is a patron of many charities and has worked alongside HRH the Prince and Princess of Wales and HRH the Duke of Sussex on projects supporting veterans, mental health and local communities - much of it stitched into the fabric of the DIY SOS Big Build specials.
Off screen he's a father who values a balanced life, a musician (his album Every Kind of People landed on the UK chart in 2017), and - by his own admission - happiest with his hands in the garden, a mug of Earl Grey nearby and a good Netflix serial-killer documentary lined up for later.
- Born
- 21 September 1962, Southall, Middlesex
- Lives
- Between the UK
- Children
- Four
- School
- The Skinners' School, Tunbridge Wells
- Plays
- Rugby - still
- Loves
- His garden
- Watches
- A good Netflix serial-killer documentary
- Drinks
- Earl Grey tea, always
- Best known for
- DIY SOS · Who Dares Wins · Break the Safe
- Also
- Wrote Golden Years (2016) · Album Every Kind of People
The long version
Four decades of jobs, builds, journeys, songs and the occasional dislocated shoulder.
- 1962
Born in Southall
Nicholas Simon Augustine Knowles is born on 21 September in Southall, Middlesex. The family moves to Mildenhall in Suffolk when he's 12, and later to Tonbridge in Kent.
- Teens
Rugby, bands and a script to the BBC
Eight O-levels and a stand-out rugby career at the Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells. He plays in bands from the age of 14 and writes music, poetry and comedy - eventually sending a script to a BBC2 programme that took submissions from young people.
- Late 70s–80s
Labourer, salesman, runner
Leaves school at 16. Works as a labourer, petrol-station assistant and salesman before getting his break as a runner in television production, and then as a regional news reporter for TVS on Coast to Coast.
- 1999
DIY SOS begins
Becomes the face of DIY SOS on BBC One - still the role he's best known for, more than 25 years later. Big Build specials turn the show into a national fixture.
- 2007
Wildlife, rescues and a dislocated shoulder
Fronts Mission Africa, helping build a game reserve in Kenya (and dislocating his shoulder falling from a Land Rover). Begins Real Rescues and the long run of Who Dares Wins.
- 2016
Golden Years - the film
Co-writes and executive produces Golden Years, a British comedy directed by John Miller that shows off a different side of Nick beyond his television persona.
- 2017
An album and a cookbook
Releases his debut album Every Kind of People, which enters the UK Albums Chart at No. 92. The same year, his cookbook Proper Healthy Food: Hearty Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for Meat Lovers is published.
- 2018
I'm a Celebrity
Finishes sixth on series 18 of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
- 2021–2024
Travel years
Heritage Rescue, Big House Clearout and a run of travel documentaries - Railway Journeys, Into the Grand Canyon, Into Death Valley, The Mighty Mississippi and Nick Knowles in South America.
- 2024
Strictly Come Dancing
Joins series 22 of Strictly partnered with Luba Mushtuk. Injures his shoulder before week two, dances Parklife as an American Smooth on 16 hours of training, and is eliminated in week four.
- 2025
Married at Braxted Park
Marries Katie Dadzie on 7 June at Braxted Park in Essex. Lost in the Desert with Nick Knowles airs the same year, and a brand-new run of DIY SOS is on the way.
Family, the garden, and the things that don't make the edit.
Nick is a dad of four and married Katie Dadzie at Braxted Park in Essex on 7 June 2025. Family time is the bit of the diary he protects most.
He's a long-time supporter and patron of a number of charities - from children's causes to community projects - and has worked alongside HRH the Prince and Princess of Wales and HRH the Duke of Sussex on initiatives for veterans and mental health. On screen, the DIY SOS Big Build specials have raised money and built homes for everyone from wounded service personnel to community centres in need.
When the cameras are off he's most likely outside - happiest in the garden - or quietly writing the next thing. He still plays rugby, still writes and records music (his album Every Kind of People landed on the UK chart in 2017), and unwinds with a mug of Earl Grey and a Netflix serial-killer documentary.