Northampton friends receive makeover to ‘life-changing’ home after appearing on ITV’s This Morning

Two Northampton friends received a makeover to their “life-changing” home, after getting in touch with ITV’s This Morning earlier on in the year.

Tom Redmond, an avid watcher of the show, first reached out to This Morning back in May asking for Kelly Hoppen’s home interiors help.

Tom has cerebral palsy and is moving out of his family home into an assisted living facility, alongside his best friend Isaac who has down syndrome.

Having promised to send Kelly along to work her magic, she recently visited Tom and Isaac’s future home in Northampton to give it a makeover.

“I’m going to turn it into the magic they deserve,” said Kelly, in clips that appeared on This Morning last Friday (September 15).

Friday morning’s show took viewers through the transformation that Tom and Isaac’s home had undergone and how they reacted.

As the pair are both part of drama clubs, Kelly decorated a wall to reflect their love for musical theatre.

She also made sure to include lots of their favourite colour, blue, and Tom’s bedroom was unrecognisable to how it looked previously.

Sarah Redmond, Tom’s mother, also appeared on This Morning and when she saw the changes that had been made, she said: “It’s incredible, more than we could have ever asked for.”

Though Kelly has done many interior transformations, she told This Morning “this one really tops them all” and said it left her “speechless”.

In the studio interview following the clips from Tom and Isaac’s home, Kelly said: “It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. Tom and Isaac are just the most amazing, amazing people, and I hope we’ll be friends forever.”

Talking to the Chronicle & Echo following their television appearance, Tom’s mum Sarah shared how this all came into fruition.

“Tom is an avid This Morning viewer,” she said. “He’d seen Kelly on the tv for the first time last November and asked if she could help with his house, when it was starting to be built.”

Sarah first contacted This Morning in March to explain Tom’s love of the show and that he would love Kelly’s advice on decorating his home.

It was not until May that they responded and invited Tom and Sarah to appear on This Morning, which happened the day after.

Sarah was under the impression they would receive Kelly’s advice on how to decorate his room, but were taken by surprise when the This Morning team said they would be coming to give the house a makeover.

The transformation itself took place at the end of August and Sarah said: “It’s incredible. For them to come along and do everything is incredible.”

Sarah added that it was “overwhelming” to learn that of all the home makeovers Kelly has done, this is the one that meant the most to her.

“It was surreal to be sat on the This Morning sofa,” said Sarah. “It was the icing on the cake for Tom who watches all the morning television programmes back to back.”

During their appearance, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary gifted Tom and Isaac musical theatre tickets and This Morning gift bags.

The day did not stop after the cameras were no longer rolling, as they met Lorraine and Vanessa Feltz – and were given front row seats to watch Loose Women.

“Tom was in his element,” said Sarah.

When asked how much of a difference living together independently is going to make to Tom and Isaac’s lives, Sarah told this newspaper: “It’ll be life-changing.

“Both of them are definitely up for having to do more for themselves and around the house. Tom is really looking forward to doing his food shopping.

“They’ll be able to make their own decisions with the guidance of carers and will be more aware of how grown ups have to live.”

This all came about three years ago, when Sarah first spoke to Respond Care in Northampton – where both Tom and Isaac attend for respite care.

For someone in a wheelchair like Tom, there is limited choice when it comes to supported living. Respond Care offered to do whatever it took for him to live independently, even if that meant buying and adapting a house.

Tom and Isaac are yet to move into their newly-built accessible home as they will require 24-hour care and Respond are rapidly trying to recruit some more carers.

If you would like to express your interest in becoming a carer for Respond Care, visit their website and find out how to get in touch here.