Saturday Night Takeaway changed lives on its return last weekend as Ant and Dec surprised a couple with a brand new house live on air.
Petra and Simon Williams were brought to the studio completely unaware of what they were about to receive – believing they got tickets for the taping while they spend time in London.
The couple, who had been chosen after creating a charity for families dealing with bereavement, were then shocked when Ant and Dec were seen building a home in a recorded skit – and it cut to the ‘new owners’ being their children.
Petra’s mother was seen waving on the screen alongside the pair’s daughters Emelia-Paige, aged five; Layla-Grace, three, and two-year-old son Bailey.
The fancy new pad, based on the outside of Newcastle, is a new build fitted with all the ‘mod cons’ needed to accommodate both them and their family.
The three-bedroom house, worth £260,000, is based near the city’s Gosforth Park, and includes a fully furnished living room, kitchen and bedroom, and was provided by Bellway in order to help the family.
For the kids, the girls were given a princess themed bedroom, while Bailey got his own room based around dinosaurs.
Petra and Simon later explained the charity was called Darcey’s Dream, in memory of their daughter Darcey-Leigh who died three years ago from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Darcey-Leigh was the twin sister of Layla-Grace, and the loss was taken particularly hard by eldest daughter Emelia-Paige, who eventually provided the inspiration behind the new charity after struggling with missing her sister.
But with Petra fronting the charity, it’s been up to Simon to provide for the family with his non-stop work as a delivery driver to pay the bills.
Speaking about their new home, Petra, 31, explained: ‘We are a bit like passing ships sometimes, we both work so hard. But for me, I could work an 85 hour week, barely see my husband, and I would still feel it was worth it to do my job, to see the difference it makes to the children.’
‘At the end of the day, it’s my little girl’s legacy, and getting recognised for the work we do has been amazing,’ she added. ‘Since we were on Saturday Night Takeway, we’ve had thousands more views to our website and social media: as as small charity, it’s often hard to be recognised, so this is amazing.’
Petra concluded: ‘We want to raise awareness of the fact that the siblings have lost just as much as mummy and daddy when there’s a bereavement. I’m passionate about raising awareness of sibling loss, so this has been brilliant for that.’
The new house, which comes completely mortgage and rent free, means that they’ll now be able to spend more time together as a family, and continue their work.
The sweet moment was a heart-wrenching watch, but was slightly marred by the studio audience giggling at the emotional moment as the kids joked around on the screen behind them.
Saturday Night Takeaway continues Saturday at 7pm on ITV.
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