Archaeologist and TV star Jules Hudson has presented BBC’s Escape to the Country for the last 17 years but has faced his fair share of financial worries over the years and been ripped off by a scammer in Spain
Jules Hudson lost out on £60,000 due to scammers and Covid.
The television star, who is best known for presenting BBC’s Escape to the Country, Springtime on the Farm and Countryfile, has been a familiar face on our screens for almost two decades. Away from the cameras, he lives a quiet life, but has shared some rare insights over the years.
The 53-year-old TV presenter has opened up about his money struggles, including the time he lost roughly £60,000. Here, we take a look at Jules’ financial woes and life off-screen with his rarely-seen wife, Tania Fitzgerald.
Jules lives with his other half Tania in Herefordshire. They share a young son called Jack and two Labradors, Teddy and Lolo. The star dubs himself a ‘keen countryman and craftsman’ and enjoys renovating his period property and garden. The couple, who tied the knot in 2016, moved away from the capital a few years ago to find somewhere they’d feel more comfortable.
Speaking to The Times in 2020, Jules said: “I found London very claustrophobic. There’s an energy about it that I absolutely love, but I need green fields and space. We knew what we were looking for – something with space, something with outbuildings. And having its own plot was really important to me.”
Jules has described his ideal day off work as a chilled Sunday away from a busy schedule and cameras. “My perfect day is a nice, warm, sunny Sunday with myself, my wife, my son and our dogs all out gardening having a really lazy day,” he told the Express. “I love it when there is no one to ring, no one to bother with and we are just immersed in the practicalities of being outdoors, getting mucky and transforming the garden.”
While Jules’ career has continued to go from strength to strength, he has opened up about his financial difficulties during the pandemic. Speaking to The Scottish Mail in 2020 about his earnings, he said it had been ‘financially devastating’ losing a ‘lot of expected income’. “Normally, I’d now be filming Escape to the Country and I was planning to go on a tour to promote my latest book,” he said. “But, of course, all of that has been cancelled. This quarter I’ve lost between £50,000 and £60,000 of anticipated income.”
And it’s not the first time Jules has spoken out about his money woes. In 2020, the presenter revealed that he had been scammed online and never got his money back. “I once bought a quad bike for £1,600 on eBay thinking it was too good to be true – and it was. I was ripped off by a scammer in Spain,” he told the Financial Mail on Sunday. “I transferred the money directly into his account and learnt a hard lesson. That bike never existed.”
The incident was a real shock to Jules, who is usually frugal with his finances. “My parents are careful with money and I have tried to follow their example and not take too many risks,” he continued. Jules grew up with hard-working parents and his dad was an engineer while his mum ran a bed and breakfast. He told the publication they put him through boarding school, but “we were by no means wealthy”, adding “we weren’t the sort of family who went to Spain every year”.
In a recent interview, Jules touched on his family life with his wife at home and how his BBC job impacts their relationship. “Anybody with any busy life will tell you that the balance between your working life and family life can be tricky. I’ve got a young son, we’ve got our own life here in Hertfordshire that is very dear to us, so you know, trying to balance it all can be difficult but it’s a partnership, it’s a team effort through the family,” he told the Express. “We all understand it, we have mortgages to pay and bills to pay and all the rest of it, it is our working life. It’s not easy but that’s the trouble every family in the country faces let’s be honest, you just have to work hard and play.”
The dad-of-one continued: “I hope to do Escape to the Country for as long as I’m able and for as long as the show will have me. For me, country life is absolutely who I am and it’s who I was before I came to present Escape to the Country. It’s a massive step for lots of people, so having the chance to share that, that experience, those tips and tricks, it’s very much a way of life for me. I absolutely love it, it’s a show I’m incredibly fond of. It’s very dear to me.”
A version of this story was first published in 2023.
