TX DATE: Thursday 9 October 2025, 9.35pm on RTÉ 2
Home Rescue: The Big Fix is a heart-warming mix of human stories and home makeover – a whirlwind of decluttering, teamwork and positivity – changing people’s lives for the better by redesigning their homes, replacing chaos with order and rediscovering the things that really matter. The Home Rescue crew is one big family where everyone plays their part and – for designer Dee, builder Pete and their team of fitters, painters, chippies and clutterbusters – every second counts because they have just five days to complete each makeover. That’s right: five days from first sight to finishing touches! This year, the Home Rescue team brings the Big Fix to a variety of homes in Dublin, Kildare, and Wexford.
Episode 5
In Episode 5, the Home Rescue team bring the Big Fix to Karen Fitzgerald and Will Lennon, and their 3-bed terraced house in the Dublin suburb of Drimnagh. Karen, originally from Limerick, and Will, from New Zealand, bought their house in 2006. Life hasn’t always been easy. They share the house with their two sons, Seb (12) and Ailbe (8), who has autism and is non-verbal. Ailbe’s additional needs require full time care, leaving his parents exhausted and isolated, unable to invite friends around or cope properly with the rising tide of clutter filling the house. Right now, Dad Will and son Ailbe share a bed while Mum Karen and their eldest son Seb have their own bedrooms, both piled with clothes, boxes and bags so densely packed that Karen hasn’t been able to access her ensuite bathroom for years!
Juggling the demands of full-time jobs and caring for their son is challenging – made worse by the dysfunctional layout of a house that is filled with a random assortment of toys, furniture, laundry, food, desks and bikes. The kitchen is cramped and disconnected from the sitting room. Access to the rear garden, where the kids love to play, is extremely awkward.
Karen dreams of being able to invite friends’ round for coffee but they also need their home to be a haven. Determined to give each member of the family the space they need – a proper dining table, a kitchen that makes sense and a sensory environment – Dee plans a new chapter in their story.
Dee’s plans to remove a wall, creating a new open plan layout, with a pergola to play in and a sensory wall presents Builder Pete and the crew with a major challenge. But this is more than just renovation. It’s about transforming the quality of life for a family who’ve been isolated in their own home for too long.
Home Rescue is proudly sponsored by Cash and Carry Kitchens.
Narrated by Neil Delamere.
