Surrey pub gets a Claire Sweeney TV makeover

A Shepherd Neame pub was given a £15,000 revamp ­ and a visit from TV star Claire Sweeney ­ after a chance phone call to a TV makeover program.

Lucky tenant Teresa Wild, of the Prince of Wales in Reigate, Surrey, was watching a repeat of ITV's 60-Minute Makeover and decided to phone the show to see if they'd visit her pub.

To her surprise, they agreed and turned up a few weeks later to revamp the living quarters.

"They said they weren't doing it outside the M25 but Teresa managed to get them here ­ just by being nice on the phone," said Keith, Teresa's husband.

The living area was kitted out with two leather sofas, plus beds, wardrobes and new carpets while Teresa, Keith and their two children, Nicholas and Oliver, stayed downstairs.

Keith said the pub was in a poor state when they took it over 14 months ago, and although they'd made steps to tidy the place up, the revamp upstairs was a big help.

He added: "Claire Sweeney was superb, a really nice person. She spent a lot of time in the bar talking to customers and she talked to our sons about what they are doing at school."

The episode featuring the pub revamp was screened yesterday.