Architect and television presenter Wallace died last year at the age of 68, before filming for the latest season of the home renovation programme was complete.
Courtney completed filming on the upcoming series and spoke with families who have finished their home restorations, reflecting on Wallace’s impact and celebrating his memory.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s Sunday with Miriam, Courtney said he got the ask to finish filming for the series in the weeks after Wallace’s death, to which he said “absolutely”.
“I suppose, my justification was, first of all, is [Wallace’s husband] Martin okay with this? Martin was okay with that. And does he [Wallace] want me to do it, or does he want it finished?
“And he does, he wants the work done. So, I checked with Martin first and said, okay, I kind of had this weird thought as a friend of his and from a personal point of view, I thought, I’d be raging if anybody else was doing it.
“Because he was my friend, I feel I can do it justice for him. I love the show, love his style, I love what he did.
“So yeah, it was a real privilege. It is a real privilege, but it’s heartbreaking that he’s not with us. It’s so strange that he’s not with us.”
‘Home of the Year’ judge Hugh Wallace. Photo: Mark Condren
Courtney announced the news of Wallace’s death to the nation while covering for Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio 1, something he said was “very difficult”.
The first person he spoke to following the announcement was The Great House Revival’s producer Debbie Thornton, who, like Courtney, is from Kingswood in Tallaght.
“She’s a little tiny bit younger than me, Debbie’s a young mum, she’s an amazing exec, and we obviously continued to talk about arrangements and the funeral and all the details that went on.
“And then, we would check in with each other and then one day she just called and said Martin has agreed to let us finish the series, we have quite a few gaps, we think you’d be great to step in.
“And I didn’t even think about it. I was like, absolutely. If Martin’s happy with it, I’ll do it.”
Courtney said he was not nervous taking up the mantle on the show, and has had the chance to film the reveals of completed homes with a number of families.
He said Wallace became “embedded” in the lives of the homeowners he helped, and would wake up in the middle of the night with ideas for their homes.
“We shot last week with a gorgeous couple in New Ross in Wexford and they both cried when we talked about Hugh, him and her.
“They were really moved because he really imprinted on their home. They’re a young couple with a young family, they’ve worked so hard.”
The Great House Revival airs Sundays at 9.30pm on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player.