{{Short description|British television presenter}} {{Use British English|date=February 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = Lieutenant Colonel | name = Dick Strawbridge | honorific_suffix = MBE | image = Dick Strawbridge and his unfeasably large moustache.jpg | caption = Strawbridge in 2012 | birth_name = Richard Francis Strawbridge | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|9|3|df=yes}} | birth_place = Union of Burma | alma_mater = Royal Military College of Science | occupation = Engineer, television presenter, environmentalist | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Brigit A. Weiner|1982|2010|reason=separated}} * {{marriage|Angel Adoree|2015}} }} | children = 4 | website = {{URL|http://www.dickstrawbridge.com/|dickstrawbridge.com}} }}
Lieutenant Colonel (ret) '''Richard Francis Strawbridge''', MBE (born 3 September 1959), is a Northern Irish television personality, engineer and former army officer. He is often referred to as "Colonel Dick".<ref name=Atkins>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/content/articles/2008/02/08/dick_strawbridge_feature.shtml |title='Gadgets & Going Green' with Dick and James Strawbridge |first=June |last=Atkins |publisher=BBC Lincolnshire |date=9 February 2008 |access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref>
==Early life== The third of seven children of Jennifer and George Strawbridge, a worker in the oil industry in the Middle East and Far East,<ref name=Belfast>[https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/dick-strawbridge-on-how-his-dads-ulster-fry-gave-him-a-taste-for-cooking/29641208.html Dick Strawbridge on how his dad's Ulster fry gave him a taste for cooking], ''Belfast Telegraph'' 8 October 2013</ref> "Dick" Strawbridge was born in Burma, then raised and educated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He attended Ballyclare High School from 1971 to 1976.<ref name="Independent article">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passedfailed-an-education-in-the-life-of-dick-strawbridge-tv-presenter-1545625.html|title=Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Dick Strawbridge, TV presenter|author=Sale, Jonathan|work=The Independent|date=5 February 2009|access-date=20 August 2010}}</ref> After taking his O levels, Strawbridge enrolled at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College before going on to Sandhurst.<ref name="Independent article"/>
==Army career== Strawbridge received a commission in the British Army in 1979,<ref name="Commission">{{London Gazette|issue=47858 |date=5 June 1979 |page=7119 |supp=y }}</ref> after attending Welbeck DSFC (becoming head of college) and Sandhurst. He joined the Royal Corps of Signals in January 1980.<ref name="Signals">{{London Gazette|issue=48056 |date=4 January 1980 |page=160 |supp=y }}</ref> Promoted to lieutenant in April 1981,<ref name="Lieutenant">{{London Gazette|issue=48589 |date=16 April 1981 |page=5768 |supp=y }}</ref> and captain in October 1985,<ref name="Captain">{{London Gazette|issue=50279 |date=7 October 1985 |page=13873 |supp=y }}</ref> he became a major in September 1991.<ref name="Major">{{London Gazette|issue=52691 |date=21 October 1991 |page=16035 |supp=y }}</ref> He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1993 for his distinguished service in Northern Ireland.<ref name="MBE">{{London Gazette|issue=53453 |date=11 October 1993 |page=16387 |supp=y}}</ref> He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 1999,<ref name="Lt Col">{{London Gazette|issue=55543 |date=6 July 1999 |page=7302 |supp=y }}</ref> and left the army in November 2001.<ref name="Retired pay">{{London Gazette|issue=56413 |date=11 December 2001 |page=14583 |supp=y }}</ref>
==Television career== Strawbridge has appeared as an engineering and environmental expert on various television programmes, including ''Scrapheap Challenge''. He first appeared as a contestant on the team Brothers in Arms who became series champions and later, he became the main presenter replacing Robert Llewellyn. He has also appeared on three series of ''It's Not Easy Being Green'' for BBC Two, the six-part BBC Two series ''Crafty Tricks of War'' of which he was the main presenter, ''Planet Mechanics'', and as a regular guest presenter on ''Coast''. Following his switch of career to television, Strawbridge often refers to himself as a "telly tart".<ref name=Atkins/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/western-morning-news-the/mi_8027/is_20070929/eco-warrior-dick-just-living/ai_n44133781/|title=Eco-warrior? Or is Dick just living a dream?|work=Western Morning News|date=29 September 2007|access-date=21 August 2010}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>
===''Scrapheap Challenge''=== Strawbridge began his career in television as the 'Yellow Team Leader' for six episodes in the first series of ''Scrapheap Challenge''. He has to date appeared in over 30 episodes of ''Scrapheap Challenge'' and ''Junkyard Wars'', winning the ''Scrapheap Challenge'' trophy in series 3 with his two younger brothers, David and Bobby, as 'Brothers in Arms', and the ''Junkyard Megawars'' trophy in 2003. On 5 June 2008, it was announced that he would be returning to ''Scrapheap Challenge'' for its 11th series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a97492/scrapheap-challenge-drops-llewellyn.html|title='Scrapheap Challenge' drops Llewellyn|website=Digital Spy|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|date=5 June 2008|access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref> Strawbridge took over from Robert Llewellyn as the main presenter. The series was shown on Channel 4 in 2009.
===''It's Not Easy Being Green''=== Strawbridge, along with his family, filmed three series of ''It's Not Easy Being Green'' for BBC Two. In series 1, which was shown on 28 March 2006, the family moved to a new home in Tywardreath near St Austell, Cornwall and attempted to live as green a life as possible, using renewable energy and environmentally friendly resources. The second series started in Spring 2007 with a different format: Strawbridge and his son James aided several members of the public in larger and smaller ecology projects around the country.<ref>{{Citation|last=Leadelnet|title=Dick Strawbridge|date=2010-01-31|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAlQ-ramoHE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/PAlQ-ramoHE| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-10-02}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
===''Coast''=== Also in 2006, Strawbridge appeared as a one-off presenter on the BBC Two series ''Coast'', examining the workings of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, a role he revived in the 2007 version of ''Coast'', presenting a short part of the programme on the failure of Exercise Tiger. In series 4 of ''Coast'' in July 2009, Strawbridge examined the terrain of the Normandy landing beaches.
===''The Hungry Sailors'' and ''Saturday Farm''=== {{Main|ITV Food}} In 2011, Strawbridge and his son James filmed a 20-part series, ''The Hungry Sailors'', that was broadcast by ITV, in which they sailed around Britain's coastline buying local food and then cooking it.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
In 2012, filming began on a second series of ''The Hungry Sailors'' around the Cornish coast, taking in the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly. The series was broadcast from 1 July 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.denhams.tv/news/the-hungry-sailors-set-sail-again/|title=The Hungry Sailors Set Sail Again|publisher=Denham Productions Limited|access-date=10 September 2012|archive-date=6 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206074204/http://www.denhams.tv/news/the-hungry-sailors-set-sail-again/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2013, Strawbridge and his son James presented the ITV Food series ''Saturday Farm''.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
===''Dirty Rotten Survival''=== Filmed in the USA from March to July 2015, the TV series for ''National Geographic'' involved a {{convert|25|mi|adj=on}} hike through the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, with Dave Canterbury and Johnny Littlefield.<ref name="chat"/>
===''Escape to the Château''=== {{Main|Escape to the Chateau}} This programme followed Strawbridge and his partner (now wife), Angel Adoree, through their purchase in 2015 and subsequent renovation of Château de la Motte-Husson in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France.<ref name="chat"/> thumb|The family's Château de la Motte-Husson in 2019 A full nine seasons were filmed, with the ninth and final season starting to air in the UK on 30 October 2022. The decision to cancel was made with the agreement of Dick and Angel Strawbridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/oct/29/castle-life-whats-next-for-esacpe-to-the-chateaus-dick-and-angel |title=Castle life: what's next for Escape to the Chateau's Dick and Angel? |date=29 October 2022 |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref>
The couple travelled to Australia and New Zealand in February 2023<ref name=":0"/> with their Dare to Do It Tour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/20220818148571/dick-angel-strawbridge-escape-the-chateau-tour/ |title=Dick and Angel Strawbridge announce they are 'leaving the chateau' |date=18 August 2022 |work=Hello! |access-date=27 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref> The plan included a series of theatre and book signing events, from 12 February to 9 March 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thechateau.tv/dare-to-do-it-australia-tour |title=Dick & Angel's 2023 Australia & New Zealand Tour |work=The Chateau |access-date=27 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref> They had completed a similar Dare to Do It tour of the UK during February and March 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.you.co.uk/escape-to-the-chateau-dick-and-angel-strawbridge-dare-to-do-it-tour/ |title=Dare to Do It - So Much More to Say... |work=The Chateau |date=18 March 2021 |access-date=27 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref>
===''Escape to the Chateau DIY''=== {{Main|Escape to the Chateau DIY}} This programme, first aired in 2018, followed Strawbridge and his wife Angel as they helped expat château owners restore and redecorate their properties.<ref name="chat"/>
=== ''Secret France with Dick and Angel'' === In December 2022, the couple revealed that a new series with the working title ''Escape to the Chateau: Secret France (w/t)'', would air in 2023, about their "new journey to seek the unexpected and the extraordinary and discover more about France's history".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20221212159368/escape-to-the-chateau-dick-angel-strawbridge-detail-emotional-finale/#:~:text=Luckily%2C%20the%20family%20won't,discover%20more%20about%20France's%20history. |title=Escape to the Chateau's Dick and Angel Strawbridge detail 'really emotional' finale and address future |date=12 December 2022 |work=Hello! |access-date=27 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.televisual.com/news/two-rivers-chateau-tv-make-third-c4-spin-off/|title=Two Rivers, Chateau TV travel for third C4 spin-off|website=televisual.com|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>
The plan was for four episodes of one hour each, a joint venture of Two Rivers Media, Channel 4 and the Strawbridges' own company, Chateau TV.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/a42307507/escape-chateau-secret-france-dick-angel-strawbridge-travel/ |title=Escape to the Chateau: Secret France – here's the latest on Dick and Angel Strawbridge's new travel series |date=21 December 2022 |work=Hello! |access-date=27 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref>
However, in May 2023, Channel 4 announced that the planned series would not go ahead, and it would not work with the Strawbridges again. "Following a review, we have taken the decision not to work with Dick and Angel on any new productions in the future," the statement said.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-16 |title=Dick and Angel Strawbridge's return to Chateau revealed after leaving for new venture |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20230216164565/dick-angel-strawbridge-return-to-chateau-revealed-after-leaving-for-new-venture/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=HELLO! |language=en}}</ref>
The announcement followed the leaked release of an audio recording of Angel allegedly swearing at a crew member. Production company Two Rivers Media also released a statement saying that it would "no longer work with Dick and Angel".<ref name=":0" />
Dick and Angel Strawbridge subsequently released a statement via Instagram, saying: "There are two sides to every story and from the incredible support we have received, most of you know that. We are proud of who we are, and we feel we must do what we believe to be correct, that is in fact what kept ''Escape to the Chateau'' unique, and whilst we have indeed parted ways with Channel 4, we are hugely grateful to them and their teams for their support and creativity over the years."<ref name=":0" />
The series was shown over three consecutive Sundays in June 2024 on Channel 4.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thechateau.tv/pages/secret-france|title=Secret France with Dick & Angel|website=thechateau.tv|accessdate=7 July 2024}}</ref>
===Other television appearances=== Strawbridge also had a major role in the BBC's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and he was the co-host and resident "boffin" on the 2005 game show, ''Geronimo!''. He also appeared as a regular team captain in the US series, ''Junkyard Mega-Wars''.
Strawbridge also starred in ''The Big Idea'', in which he tested out amateur inventions, and he featured in the short series ''The Re-Inventors'', a series of five, hour-long programmes commissioned by the UK digital channel UKTV History and first broadcast through the week of 11 December 2006. Each episode featured Strawbridge and his son James reconstructing an invention of historic significance, with a budget of £500 and their mobile workshop. They then try it out against the real thing. UKTV History also shows "Crafty Tricks of War" from time to time.
On 13 November 2009, Strawbridge was a guest on Robert Llewellyn's web series ''CarPool''.
In summer 2010, he appeared in ''Celebrity Masterchef'', reaching the final.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11035571|title=Actress Lisa Faulkner takes MasterChef title|work=BBC News|date=20 August 2010|access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref>
On 20 November 2010, Strawbridge appeared on the ''Children in Need'' Special of ''Bargain Hunt''.
In 2012, Strawbridge was announced as presenter of new Channel 5 series ''Beat the Ancestors'', which commenced broadcast in February 2013.
In 2016, he was announced as a co-host of the three-part BBC Four series ''Trainspotting Live'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rts.org.uk/article/trainspotting-live-air-bbc4|title=Trainspotting Live to air on BBC4|work=Royal Television Society|first=Toby|last=Hood|date=23 May 2016|access-date=8 April 2017}}</ref> which was broadcast in July 2016.
In 2017, Strawbridge presented ''Cabins in the Wild'' with Will Hardie, a show following a competition set up by the Welsh Tourist Board. Eight competitors were selected based on their designs to build cabins, intended to be combined as a hotel in the countryside, before one ultimate winner was selected. The two presenters also constructed their own cabin.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/cabins-in-the-wild-with-dick-strawbridge|title=Cabins in the Wild with Dick Strawbridge|publisher=Channel 4|date=21 May 2017|access-date=24 May 2017}}</ref>
In 2018, Channel 4 broadcast a programme called ''The Biggest Little Railway in the World'', which documented an attempt to get a model train to traverse the {{convert|73|mi|adj=on}} Great Glen Way between Fort William and Inverness. Strawbridge was the main presenter and lead engineer on the project.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Moore|first1=Matthew|title=Highlands line is small victory for model rail enthusiasts|work=The Times|issue=72425|date=6 January 2018|page=5|issn=0140-0460}}</ref>
== Podcast == Following the completion of the final series of Escape to the Chateau, Dick and Angel Strawbridge launched a weekly podcast titled ''Dick & Angel’s CHAT…EAU.''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-07 |title=Escape to the Chateau's Dick & Angel Strawbridge launch new podcast |url=https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/a45751386/escape-chateau-dick-angel-strawbridge-podcast/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=House Beautiful |language=en-GB}}</ref> According to Global Player, ''Dick and Angel's Chat...Eau'' will follow the day-to-day life of the Strawbridge family today, including "the inner workings of their unique family home, the upkeep, the projects and the adventures, big and small".<ref name="globalplayer.com">{{Cite web |title=Dick & Angel's Chat...Eau - Podcast |url=https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42KvrA/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=Global Player |language=en}}</ref>
The first episode launched on Global Player and other major podcast platforms on 1 November 2023, and is titled "112 Steps, 2 Turrets & 1 Tip," and involved the couple looking back at how they found their chateau and knew that it was "the one".<ref name="globalplayer.com"/>
==Personal life== Strawbridge married Birgit A. Weiner in 1982,<ref>Richard Francis Strawbridge in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005</ref> with whom he has two children. The couple separated in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/masterchef--old-soldier-dick-faces-toughest-battleground-14893750.html |title=Masterchef: Old soldier Dick faces toughest battleground |work=Belfast Telegraph |first=Adrian |last=Rutherford |date=30 July 2010 |access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref> He has two additional children with Angela Newman (born 7 April 1978;<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10674609/officers |title=Chateau-De-La-Motte Husson Limited |website=Companies House |language=en |access-date=2019-10-12}}</ref> known as Angel Adoree),<ref name="chat">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/abroad/we-bought-a-crumbling-french-chteau---but-restoring-it-was-no-fa/ |title=We bought a crumbling French château - but restoring it was no fairytale |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=4 June 2016 |author=Boudicca Fox-Leonard}}</ref> founder of The Vintage Patisserie, whom he married in November 2015.<ref name="Moustache">{{cite web |url=http://www.dickstrawbridge.com/ |title=Official website |publisher=Dick Strawbridge |access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref> She had founded the Vintage business in London about 10 years earlier; it was relocated to the couple's château in the Pays de la Loire region of France in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vintagepatisserie.co.uk/about/ |title=About Vintage Patisserie |work=Vintage Patisserie |access-date=27 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref>
Strawbridge was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/graduation/honorarydegrees/Pages/Notable-honoraries.aspx |title=Notable honoraries |website=Plymouth University |access-date=2013-10-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020050801/http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/graduation/honorarydegrees/Pages/Notable-honoraries.aspx |archive-date=20 October 2013}}</ref>
Dick with James Strawbridge (celebrity chef son) are the authors of ''Preserves'', a book in the "Made at Home" series published by Mitchell Beazley in 2012.
Strawbridge is a Presbyterian.<ref>Escape to the Chateau: Make Do and Mend, Series 2, Episode 2</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.dickstrawbridge.com Official website]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strawbridge, Dick}} Category:1959 births Category:Royal Corps of Signals officers Category:British television presenters Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from County Antrim Category:British environmentalists Category:Living people Category:People educated at Ballyclare High School Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Category:20th-century British Army personnel Category:Lieutenant colonels