A single mum from Cambridgeshire took part in a one-week life swap on the Channel 5 show
A single mum was emotional as she was gifted a family holiday and a big career boost in Rich House, Poor House.
Katie took part in the Channel 5 show with her two daughters, with the trio swapping homes – and lives – with a wealthy family from Norfolk for the week.
The family, who had been struggling financially and sometimes used a food bank when money was short, moved out of their three-bedroom home in Cambridgeshire and went to stay at Matt and Danni’s £1.2 million pad in Norfolk.
The families traded budgets, with parents-of-three Matt and Danni, who run a luxury mattress and bedding business, living on Katie’s £82.61 a week after bills, and Katie and her daughters Shelby and Dixie given £1,900 spending money for the week.
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During the moving episode, which aired on Sunday (March 15), Katie told how she was working four part-time jobs, including being a carer for her dad Ted, who had heart failure and is deaf and diabetic.
She also had an idea to build her own second hand clothes business, specialising in plus size outfits, with the help of mum Rosemary.
“It’s hard work trying to juggle earning a living and being a mum at the same time,” she said. “I’ve been using a food bank just to top up some shopping when I can’t afford it,” she added.
The show followed as Katie’s family had a taste of the high life, getting to splash out on takeaways and expensive clothes. Meanwhile Matt and Danni enjoyed staying in and playing board games with their children as they didn’t have the money to go out.
The couple also set about doing some repairs at Katie’s house, putting up a curtain in her bedroom window and painting the wooden staircase, which had been bare as Katie could not afford to decorate.
As the life swap came to an end, the families met for the first time. After discussing their experiences, Matt and Danni said they wanted to help Katie and her daughters Shelby and Dixie.
Katie looked emotional as Danni told her: “So we thought that it would be nice to pay for a family holiday for you guys on the Norfolk Broads on a boat for a week. You guys, and Ted and Rosemary as well, so that you can all be together.”
Matt added: “And also something that we’d like to do as well is help you with the business since you’ve already made such a great start. We would like to put £500 in for initial stock just to get up and running and going. And what you do need to do is focus your attention. So we’ve basically drawn a five year plan. And I think within a year, you can certainly be giving all the other jobs up, you know, except you sort of care for your dad and stuff. But I think the business, if it all goes to plan on here, you could probably generate a £77,000 profit out of the business every year.”
Katie looked tearful as she said she was pleased Matt could see the potential in her idea.
“I’m really excited about my business now,” she said. “Matt’s given me lots of ideas. I can’t believe he has worked out a five-year plan.”
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Rich House, Poor House airs on Channel 5