Dick and Angel Strawbridge are set to return to Channel 4 with a new show, just over a year after the company cut ties with the couple after an investigation regarding their conduct at the time.
The couple will be back with a new show on Sunday, Secret France With Dick & Angel, a three-part series which will take viewers beyond the gates of the family’s 19th-century chateau as they embark on adventures across France.
According to the programme’s synopsis, cameras will follow the couple across the country as they ‘turn their attentions to new projects and new adventures, firstly unlocking the secrets of beautiful France in a brand new travel series’.
But what exactly did the investigation by Channel 4 find and why did the couple become involved in a feud with a producer in the first place?
Ahead of the release of the couple’s new mini-series, here a look inside their fallout with a member of the Escape To The Chateau team.
Escape To The Chateau production company raises concerns over couple
Dick and Angel Strawbridge are set to return to Channel 4 with a new show, just over a year after the company cut ties with the couple
The couple (pictured here in May 2023) will be back with a new show on Sunday, Secret France With Dick & Angel
In May 2023, sources claimed Two Rivers Media, the company that produces Escape To The Chateau, raised concerns about the presenting duo, per Deadline.
A source said at the time: ‘There has been a deteriorating relationship between Two Rivers and Dick and Angel’s Chateau TV for various reasons and it all came to a head.’
‘People who try to remote manage them from the UK, that doesn’t work, or people who come into their house and boss them around, that doesn’t work either,’ the source added.
‘Producers turn them into this perfect, brilliant, funny couple, they’re that on camera, but that’s about it.’
Sources close to the couple told that their behaviour on set was nothing like their ‘gorgeous’ on screen personas.
A source said: ‘Dick and Angel come across on screen as the most gorgeous and lovely couple, literally like butter wouldn’t melt, but they’re not like that off screen.
‘It’s a full-on show, production is with them at the chateau for weeks so they can’t hide their real characters – they can’t turn it on for two hours of recording and then not go back to their real persona.
‘They’re just spiky and volatile people and, as you can imagine, that’s a nightmare to work with.’
Leaked audio of filthy-mouthed rant by Angel emerges
Concerns by the show’s producers were laid bare after a filthy-mouthed rant by Angel saw her questioning producers about a delay to her schedule, before accusing someone of posting images on Instagram of a man who had a likeness to her husband, Dick.
She said: ‘Who is that inspired by when you’re f*****g working at the chateau? Just tell me that and then you can f*****g leave and this is me f*****g angry because I think you’re a f****d up little c**t.
‘Do not work in this chateau and then post dark, weird pictures that I find quite insulting, and do not smirk. You know what, you can just f**k off.’
The clip – which dated from 2021 and was recorded during one of the first four series of Escape To The Chateau – was obtained by Deadline in May 2023.
Earlier in the audio, Angel can be heard saying her husband Dick talked to people like ‘s**t,’ to which a producer replied: ‘And I don’t like that either.’
Couple respond by addressing fans on Instagram and saying that ‘there are two sides to every story’
Speaking out: They added their future ‘truly could not look more exciting’ despite severing ties with Channel 4
After the audio emerged, Angel and Dick took to Instagram to pay tribute to fans of the show, adding their future ‘truly could not look more exciting’ despite severing ties with Channel 4.
They wrote: ‘Thank you for inviting us into your living rooms. You have watched our children grow up and shared our adventures.
‘It was a Strawbridge Family decision early last year to conclude Escape to the Chateau, but we have loved every moment and, despite the many challenges, we refused to give up on our dream, and in doing so have filled the chateau with love and laughter, and, most importantly, have created the most wonderful home for our family.
‘There are two sides to every story and from the incredible support we have received, most of you know that.
‘We are proud of who we are, and we feel we must do what we believe to be correct, that is in fact what kept Escape to the Chateau unique, and whilst we have indeed parted ways with Channel 4, we are hugely grateful to them and their teams for their support and creativity over the years.
‘The future truly could not look more exciting and we thank you for your continued love and support.’
Secret France With Dick & Angel airs on Channel 4 on Sunday June 2 at 8pm