Escape to the Country's Alistair Appleton faces unique challenge with 'complicated' search

Alistair had a tough challenge on his hands (Image: BBC)

During Friday's episode of Escape to the Country, Alistair Appleton faced a unique challenge as he assisted a family in their quest to relocate from bustling London to the tranquil setting of West Sussex.

The BBC presenter was quick to highlight the complexity of the situation, revealing to viewers: "This episode of Escape to the Country is super exciting, but a little bit complicated."

Alistair had the unusual task of finding not one, but two properties for a four-generation family. The first property was sought by Nikki, her husband Andy, and their daughters, while the second needed to accommodate Nikki's parents, Bruce and Mary, along with an annexe for her grandfather, George.

Nikki expressed how tight-knit the family unit is, stating: "We're all very close and very much in each other's pockets. But, we wouldn't have it any other way, would we?"

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Andy concurred leaving Alistair with a formidable mission, reports the Mirror.

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The property search was for one family looking for two homes (Image: BBC)

En route to meet the family, Alistair mused over the unprecedented nature of the search, remarking: "I think this is a first? A first for me anyway to have two families moving into the same village at the same time."

Whilst introducing Nikki, Andy and Bruce to their first property, the BBC star emphasised that despite there being only three present, they were standing in for seven.

Nikki responded: "Yeah, no pressure!"

To which Alistair countered: "That's quite a lot of pressure on all your shoulders, you have quite a unique living arrangement."

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Throughout the property hunt, the trio were deeply impressed by the range of choices Alistair had compiled for them.

Yet, it was the mystery property that captured their hearts - a grand £1.35m seven-bedroom residence in Worthing.

Although pleasing, it ventured slightly from their brief as it was formerly two separate structures combined into one.

This meant the family would be dwelling under a single shared roof, a scenario they admitted they would want to alter should they proceed with buying.

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Alistair confessed the search was complicated (Image: BBC)

Ultimately, viewers discovered the family deemed the Worthing home to be somewhat out of their budget, particularly when considering the modifications required.

Nonetheless, the effort was far from futile as it expanded their horizons to consider localities nearer the South Downs.

Escape to the Country continues weekdays on BBC One from 3pm

Escape to the Country's Alistair Appleton faces unique challenge with 'complicated' search

Escape to the Country's Alistair Appleton faces unique challenge with 'complicated' search

Escape to the Country's Alistair Appleton faces unique challenge with 'complicated' search

Escape to the Country's Alistair Appleton faces unique challenge with 'complicated' search

Escape to the Country's Alistair Appleton faces unique challenge with 'complicated' search