Escape to the Chateau stars Dick and Angel Strawbridge have broken their silence after it was reported this week that Channel 4 has ‘cut ties’ with the two fan favourites following an internal investigation. Yesterday, May 19, Channel 4 confirmed it had cut ties with the stars following an independent HR investigation.
According to the report, Two Rivers Media – the production company behind the popular show – had raised concerns about the couple. Dick previously lived in Cornwall and got his doctorate from the University of Plymouth before making the life-changing decision to buy a dilapidated chateau in France.
The couple bought a stunning 15th-century chateau in the French countryside in 2015 and left their lives in the UK behind. They share two children together.
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According to the Independent, the pair have now broken their social media silence, resuming Instagram posts as normal. The account reshared two Instagram stories from fans who had purchased from The Chateau By Angel Strawbridge collection.
One user’s post featured a photograph of their new bedding, shared with a gif reading “Happy Friday.” Another similar post reshared to the popular account – which has 473K followers – added “I just LOVE the Angel Strawbridge collection!”, labelling themselves an “emerald fan.”
The Instagram account, which operates under the handle @escape_to_the_chateau, notes in the bio that it’s run by “us, Dick & Angel Strawbridge, and our lovely @the_chateau_tv team.” It’s not currently clear who was responsible for sharing the posts.
On Dick Strawbridge’s personal account (@strawbridge.dick), an Instagram story was shared depicting the former Lieutenant Colonel holding a copy of son James’ new cookbook, Salt and the Art of Seasoning.
The couple have allegedly clashed with show bosses. Escape to the Chateau aired its final season in December last year.
A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said: “Following a review, we have taken the decision not to work with Dick and Angel on any new productions in the future.”
Two Rivers media backed the news saying: “We can confirm that we will no longer work with Dick and Angel and cannot comment further at the moment.”
In 2021 The Times reported that sources from the show’s previous production company, Spark Media, said that the couple were ‘aggressive, abusive and bullying’. At the time, representatives for Dick and Angel denied that they were aggressive or bullying whilst filming for the programme.
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