Walk Through the Article
How much did Escape to the Chateau pay Dick Strawbridge?
Exact per-series fees for Escape to the Chateau have not been publicly disclosed. Based on the show’s ratings, its status as a Channel 4 flagship programme, and industry norms for established television presenters, Dick and Angel are estimated to have earned £400,000–£700,000 per series combined — a figure that would translate to meaningful annual income across the eight series, supplemented by the show’s production budgets covering much of the Chateau renovation cost.
Where does Dick Strawbridge live now?
Dick Strawbridge lives at Chateau de la Motte Husson in the Mayenne region of northwestern France, the property he and Angel Adorée purchased in 2015 and renovated over subsequent years. The chateau is both their family home and a commercial events venue, meaning their work and home life remain closely intertwined — much as they were during the filming of Escape to the Chateau.
For viewers of Escape to the Chateau, Dick Strawbridge represented something genuinely unusual in British television: a man whose skills were exactly as advertised. When he welded a frame, it held. When he wired a system, it worked. When he mixed concrete, it set correctly. This authenticity — the sense that you were watching actual competence rather than telegenic enthusiasm — was central to the show’s appeal and explains why it attracted an audience well beyond the typical renovation programme demographic. Engineers, military veterans, DIY enthusiasts, and romantics who had dreamed of doing exactly what Dick and Angel were doing all found something to connect with. That broad appeal drove the commercial value of both the television series and the Chateau business it promoted, and ultimately underpins the £5 million financial position Dick has built across a career that has taken him from Sandhurst to a Norman tower in the French countryside.
What happens next for Dick Strawbridge in 2026 and beyond is an open question — but his track record suggests that whatever it is, it will be undertaken with characteristic thoroughness and competence. The chateau business continues, his social media presence is active, and the skills and reputation built across five decades of professional life are not diminished by the end of one television chapter. For followers of his career, the story of Dick Strawbridge is far from over.
Dick Strawbridge: Lesser-Known Facts
- Dick Strawbridge is a qualified electrical engineer — a practical skill that proved invaluable when rewiring an entire Victorian chateau from scratch, a project that would have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds in contractor fees.
- He received his MBE in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours list, the same year Escape to the Chateau launched on Channel 4 — a remarkable confluence of formal recognition from both the establishment and popular entertainment.
- Before the Chateau, Dick ran a small vineyard and experimented extensively with off-grid living and sustainable energy systems — experiences that fed directly into the engineering challenges of the Chateau renovation.
- He met Angel Adorée through a mutual friend at a dinner party. She was a vintage events stylist; he was a television presenter between projects. Within a year, they had committed to buying a French chateau together — a decision that most rational observers would have advised against.
- His first wife Brigit Strawbridge Howard remains a well-respected public figure in her own right as a beekeeper and environmental activist, and has been publicly supportive of Dick’s subsequent television success.
Dick Strawbridge’s Net Worth Over Time
Dick Strawbridge’s wealth has grown in distinct phases that track his career transitions. His Army years provided a solid foundation through a reliable salary, accommodation, and ultimately a pension — not wealth-creating in the traditional sense but providing financial stability that allowed subsequent risks to be taken from a position of security rather than desperation. His early BBC television work added meaningful income and national profile. The Chateau venture — purchased for approximately €280,000 in 2015 — was the pivotal financial decision: a genuinely risky acquisition of a crumbling 45-room mansion in rural France that required millions in renovation investment before it could generate commercial returns. The combination of the television series (which bore much of the renovation cost through production budgets) and the events business (which monetised the finished result) transformed a bold gamble into a sustainable £5M financial position by 2026.
Dick Strawbridge’s net worth is estimated at £5 million as of 2026, built across a career spanning military service as a British Army Colonel, a long-running television career on both BBC and Channel 4, and the commercial success of his Chateau de la Motte Husson wedding and events business in France.
| Full Name | Richard James Strawbridge MBE |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | July 3, 1957 |
| Age | 68 years old |
| Birthplace | Bangor, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Profession | TV Presenter, Former Army Colonel, Author, Entrepreneur |
| Net Worth | £5 Million (2026) |
| Wife | Angel Adorée (married 2015) |
| Children | Charlotte & James (with Brigit); Arthur & Dorothy (with Angel) |
| Known For | Escape to the Chateau (Channel 4), It’s Not Easy Being Green (BBC) |
Dick Strawbridge Income Breakdown
| Source | Amount | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Escape to the Chateau (8 series) | £500K-1M/series | Annual (personal) | Channel 4 flagship; shared with Angel Adorée; 2016-2022 |
| Chateau events & weddings business | £300-600K/year | Annual (personal) | Chateau de la Motte Husson hosts weddings, events and retreats |
| British Army (career) | Cumulative pension | Cumulative | Retired as Colonel; MBE recipient; ongoing military pension |
| BBC programmes (pre-Chateau) | £100-300K/year | Annual (personal) | It’s Not Easy Being Green, Crafty Tricks of War, other BBC work |
| Books & merchandise | £200-400K cumulative | Cumulative | Multiple books on sustainable living, country life, engineering |
| Estimated Total Net Worth | £5 Million (2026) | ||
Career: From Sandhurst to the Chateau
Dick Strawbridge attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before being commissioned into the Royal Engineers. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring from active service, earning an MBE in recognition of his service. His engineering expertise — developed across a military career that included work in Northern Ireland, Germany, and multiple overseas deployments — proved unexpectedly useful for the enormous renovation project at Chateau de la Motte Husson. It is not every television presenter who can personally supervise the rewiring of a 45-room Victorian mansion, but Dick could.
His television career began before the Chateau with BBC programmes exploring sustainable living and environmental engineering. It’s Not Easy Being Green (2006-2009) followed his family’s attempts to live more sustainably in Cornwall, establishing him as a television personality with genuine expertise rather than a celebrity playing at green living. The programme’s success opened doors for subsequent work and built the audience that would follow him to France when Escape to the Chateau launched on Channel 4 in 2016.
Escape to the Chateau: The Business Behind the Show
The commercial success of Escape to the Chateau extended well beyond the television fees. Dick and Angel transformed Chateau de la Motte Husson into a thriving wedding and events venue — one of the more credible celebrity business ventures in British television history, because the renovation was real, the skills were genuine, and the location was extraordinary. The chateau hosts weddings, private events, and retreats year-round, generating revenue independently of any television work. The show’s enormous popularity across Britain and internationally also fuelled sales of Angel’s books, their online shop, and speaking and appearance income.
What is Dick Strawbridge’s net worth?
Dick Strawbridge’s net worth is estimated at £5 million as of 2026, accumulated through his television career on BBC and Channel 4, the Chateau wedding events business, his Army career and pension, and multiple books on sustainable living and country life.
Is Dick Strawbridge still married to Angel?
Yes, Dick Strawbridge remains married to Angel Adorée as of 2026. The couple married in 2015 at their own chateau in France. They have two children together, Arthur and Dorothy, who were regular fixtures on Escape to the Chateau. Dick has also maintained good relationships with his children from his first marriage, Charlotte and James.
What happened to Escape to the Chateau?
Escape to the Chateau ended in 2022 after eight series on Channel 4. The channel launched an investigation following complaints from production staff about working conditions, which resulted in the show not returning. Dick and Angel have continued sharing chateau life content through their own social media channels independently of Channel 4.
What did Dick Strawbridge do before TV?
Before his television career, Dick Strawbridge served as an officer in the British Army’s Royal Engineers, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was awarded an MBE for his military service. His engineering expertise — electrical, structural, and mechanical — proved crucial for the massive renovation of Chateau de la Motte Husson.
