\n Phil has filmed over 400 episodes of Location, Location, Location (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite his (now) Hampshire roots, Phil still holidays in Cornwall whenever he can. He has a house there, just 150 yards from the beach, perfect for dog walking and sea air. It was once intended as a future permanent home, but for now it serves as a retreat rather than a base. \u2018I think we\u2019ll use it more later in life,\u2019 he says. \u2018But at the moment, I\u2019m really busy with work.\u2019 Filming for Location, Location, Location started again this week, and the schedule is as demanding as ever.\n<\/p>\n
\n Yet even with the pressures of television, Phil has always made time for something that sits at the heart of his values: his work with St Mungo\u2019s. He began supporting the homelessness charity in 1996, long before he became a household name. \u2018It was the first organisation I supported on behalf of the business,\u2019 he explains. \u2018We were helping people at the top of the housing ladder, and I thought: \u201cWell, perhaps we should put a bit of our fees toward helping people at the bottom\u201d.\u2019\n<\/p>\n
\n At the time, St Mungo\u2019s was a small organisation helping just 21 people a night. Today, that number is closer to 200. Phil speaks about the issue with a seriousness that cuts through his usual warmth. \u2018A roof over your head is the most important thing, where you rest and recover,\u2019 he says. \u2018The thought of not having that is terrifying.\u2019 He has seen how quickly homelessness can happen. \u2018Three things go wrong in a month, and you can be in real trouble,\u2019 he says. \u2018Most people don\u2019t have a couple of months\u2019 savings. There\u2019s trauma, mental health, poverty, bad luck. It\u2019s frighteningly easy to slip through the cracks.\u2019\n<\/p>\n
\n His work with the charity has taken him to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, where he has represented St Mungo\u2019s as a patron. Indeed, earlier in June he was there collecting his MBE. He describes the recognition as \u2018very humbling,\u2019 though he speaks about it with the modesty of someone who sees the work as being the most important, not the accolades.\n<\/p>\n
\n Phil and Kirsty are filming again for a new series of Location, Location, Location (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Outside of filming and his long\u2011standing support for St Mungo\u2019s, Phil spends much of his time outdoors in Hampshire. He mentions walks straight from his front door, but he also loves Selborne, the Hangers Way, St Swithun\u2019s Way and Alice Holt Forest, the latter just 10 minutes from home and a favourite training spot. He keeps fit with endurance training, including long winter runs through the forest. But his true sanctuary is a hill near his house. \u2018I go up there on my own,\u2019 he says. \u2018No phone, no noise. That\u2019s my reset.\u2019\n<\/p>\n
\n Filming in Hampshire brings its own pleasure. Knowing the county so well means he feels a responsibility to showcase it properly. The production team works tirelessly behind the scenes, scouring every corner for potential homes. \u2018No stone is left unturned,\u2019 he says. \u2018If someone is even thinking about selling in the week we\u2019re filming, we\u2019ll find it.\u2019\n<\/p>\n
\n For those dreaming of a rural life but unable to stretch to Hampshire prices, Phil is pragmatic. The north-east, he says, offers stunning countryside, beautiful villages and far better value for money. With more people working from home, buyers are prioritising space and environment over prestige \u2014 a shift he believes is long overdue. \u2018People are choosing quality of life,\u2019 he says. \u2018And rightly so.\u2019\n<\/p>\n
\n Closer to home, he describes how he\u2019s recently rediscovered the River Test and so finally he\u2019s picked up his fishing rod. He describes it with genuine awe. \u2018People come from all over the world to fish here,\u2019 he says. \u2018It\u2019s the most beautiful river in the UK. The water is so clear and pristine \u2014 we\u2019re very blessed to have it in the county.\u2019 He talks about a particular hide near Leckford, a thatched structure overlooking the water, where the view is so perfect it feels almost staged. \u2018It\u2019s stunning,\u2019 he says. \u2018Just a beautiful view of the Test.\u2019\n<\/p>\n
\n Phil Spencer may spend much of his life travelling the country, but Hampshire is where he feels most himself. It is where he walks, fishes, rests, resets and returns.\n<\/p>\n
\n A place that, in his words, \u2018opens up\u2019, and in doing so, gives him exactly what he needs..\n<\/p>\n
\n We have privacy, but we also have neighbours. It’s a lovely balance’ says Phil on his Hampshire home near Lower Froyle (Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Location, Location, Location presenter may spend much of the year travelling the country, but it is Hampshire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":791935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-791934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}