Millions watch Homes Under The Hammer and it's been going for 20 years. So why, asks presenter Martin Roberts, after 1,500 episodes have we NEVER won a single award?

Call maine a hopeless optimist but, connected nan train heading to nan Television and Radio Industries Club Awards past week, I felt truthful excited that I was rehearsing our team's acceptance reside successful my head.

Looking back, it was possibly naive of maine to video a connection for Homes Under The Hammer's regular daily viewers, telling them to transverse their fingers.

I'm biased but I cognize really overmuch group emotion nan show. It's a unsocial combination: nan chance for viewers to flick astir different people's houses, sample nan excitement of nan auction room and prime up tips connected really to make money from property.

This time, I really had precocious hopes of winning, though I realised title was tough. The different contenders successful our Daytime class were 2 fantabulous TV shows: BBC One's Escape To The Country and Channel 4's A Place In The Sun — and Ken Bruce's daytime power show.

A fewer hours later and conjecture what? Congratulations to Ken — I revere his sheer broadcasting brilliance. But I felt personally disappointed and besides gutted connected behalf of nan full squad who activity truthful difficult to bring nan programme to air.

I've been 1 of nan show's presenters from nan opening and, successful nan abstraction of astir 21 years, I person worked connected complete 1,500 episodes and visited astir 2,000 properties.

But not only person we ne'er received an award, it's uncommon for america moreover to get nominated.

Despite getting assemblage figures successful nan millions connected BBC One each azygous weekday and galore much connected BBC iPlayer, I'm trying not to return this personally — but aft much than 2 decades of success, don't we astatine slightest merit an grant for sheer longevity?

Looking backmost astatine nan TV schedules astatine nan clip of our first ever broadcast, successful Nov- ember 2003, BBC One was still showing Neighbours.

So, what do I put nan show's continued entreaty and longevity down to... apart, of course, from its chirpy and knowledgeable presenters?

Homes Under The Hammer has a elemental structure: for each show we prime retired respective properties up for auction, ever successful request of refurbishment aliases complete redevelopment.

The buyers talk their ideas and their fund pinch maine aliases 1 of nan different presenters and, erstwhile nan activity is done, we return pinch an property supplier to observe really overmuch much nan spot is worth.

I deliberation a batch of group emotion nan thought of taking a wreck and doing it up. Homes Under The Hammer offers inspiration and genuine advice.

It features relatable purchasers. Sometimes they are overly optimistic, pinch catastrophically inadequate budgets. We wish them well, but fearfulness nan worst. Other times, we marvel astatine their ingenuity, creation flair and thriftiness.

Auction properties by their very quality are often absorbing and varied — from aged churches to toilet blocks, two-up two-down terraces to state mansions. We person featured each imaginable benignant of building complete nan years.

In summation to each that, there's nan marvellous incidental euphony — sometimes pinch a tenuous link, different times hilariously due to nan images connected screen.

You mightiness recognise a clip without knowing rather why it's there. 'What's that song?' you ponder complete your cocoa Hobnob. Then you realise it's nan instrumental portion of Going Underground by The Jam... accompanying pictures of drainage pipes.

Many mean folk, not master spot developers, person gained nan assurance to caput to nan auction rooms aft watching nan show. They are armed, of course, pinch nan Hammer's aureate rules: ever publication nan ineligible pack, ever sojourn nan spot beforehand and ever instrumentality to your budget.

Most of all, Homes Under The Hammer is for illustration a brace of comfy slippers. In a world of uncertainty, it's warmly familiar, eternally upbeat and nosy to watch. Many group I meet, of each ages and from each walks of life, admit it's their 'guilty pleasure'.

I do person 1 trophy connected my desk, from nan National Television Awards [NTA]. But I person to confess, it's not rather what it seems.

In 2016, I took portion successful I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. That was nan twelvemonth Scarlett Moffatt was crowned Queen Of The Jungle, and nan show won an NTA for Best Entertainment Programme.

I was chuffed to bits to beryllium portion of a winning squad and somewhat miffed erstwhile I realised location was only 1 trophy... which Ant and Dec took location to adhd to their collection. I called nan organisers and asked if I could person a replica, since I was connected nan winning team.

Apparently that's an different petition — successful fact, nary 1 had ever asked before. But they were very adjuvant and agreed to popular 1 successful nan station ... for £900.

So, what was I to do? I coughed up nan £900 and it now has pridefulness of spot connected my mantelpiece.

The truth is that Homes Under The Hammer has immoderate things that mean a batch much than immoderate trophy: dedicated and loyal fans.

I'm gladsome to opportunity that, on pinch millions of viewers, nan show has attracted immoderate reasonably stellar personage support.

Sir Paul McCartney enjoys watching it during his greeting workout astatine nan gym, I'm told. And Meryl Streep, past clip she was connected Graham Norton's chat show, declared it her favourite show.

Daytime TV tin beryllium a reliable comfortableness during reliable times. It's my occupation to put a spot of a sparkle and laughter and radiance connected someone's day, and I emotion it. And we often animate others to return nan leap and alteration their lives for nan better.

I cognize it useful because group often extremity maine and show maine so. And sometimes it's not successful circumstances you mightiness expect.

The champion memory, nan 1 that makes maine choke up each time, concerns a young female called Felicity, who was a large instrumentality of nan show.

About 10 years ago, I sewage an email from a man who told maine his 19-year-old sister was successful a coma pursuing a hit-and-run car accident. He asked maine if I would grounds a connection for her.

Naturally, I sent a video consecutive away, chatting to camera, telling Felicity really overmuch everyone wanted her to get amended and cracking a mates of daft jokes.

Two weeks later, her relative called, bubbling pinch excitement. Felicity was awake. They'd played my video for her, complete and complete — and astatine nan nonstop infinitesimal erstwhile I laughed astatine 1 of my ain jokes, Felicity smiled and opened her eyes.

Of course, location could person been galore different reasons why Felicity regained consciousness but, if so, it was a very happy coincidence.

I've met her since and it was an incredibly affectional occasion. There'll ne'er beryllium an grant that tin apical that feeling. But 1 would still beryllium nice.

One time maybe.

Martin Roberts's children's book, Sadsville, written successful support of nan NSPCC, helps 7 to ten-year-olds understand their emotions amended and really to get help. Go to sadsville.co.uk