Alistair Appleton has been a familiar face on TV screens for the last two decades as a regular presenter on BBC One’s Escape to the Country. But fans may not know that the TV star has a completely different career off-screen, as he runs his own business called Mindsprings.
Alongside alternative hosts including Jules Hudson and Ginny Buckley, Alistair helps buyers make the move to the countryside with the hopes of kickstarting a more peaceful way of life. The 55-year old presenter offers property searchers a variety of houses all over the UK. Each episode also includes a Mystery House, carefully chosen by the experts which is shown to the buyers at the end of their search.
Away from the screen, Alistair has had a long list of jobs throughout his career, including journalism, teaching and even physiotherapy. He was born in Kent and went on to study English literature at the University of Cambridge.
Soon after his studies, he moved to Poland where he began to write poetry. He taught at the University of Gdansk, before moving to Germany to teach English while also working as a journalist and translator.
Alistair first came out as gay during his university years and said he fully embraced his sexuality while living in Poland and Germany, reports Gloucestershire Live.
In 1999, Alistair returned to the UK just in time to kickstart his television career. He landed roles on a variety of TV shows including Rhona, Hot TV, Garden Invaders and Cash in the Attic. Since 2007, Alistair has been one of main presenters on Escape to the Country.
He now lives in a 1930s cottage in Sussex with his professional potter and yoga teacher partner Daniel. On Alistair’s website, he says: “As well as my TV work on Escape to the Country, House Doctor and Cash in the Attic, I’m also an accredited psychotherapist and meditation teacher living down in Sussex with my potter partner, Daniel, and my dog, Ben.”
Alistair is open about his mental health struggles and how it led to him starting his own business, Mindsprings. The project “explores the uses and benefits of mediation.”Alistair went through a tough time following a break-up. The TV star revealed how he first found meditation as a way to deal with his anxiety.
He says: “Around 2012, I got ill. After a very stressful breakup, working crazy hours, finishing an intense therapy training and buying and renovating a London home. At the time I didn’t know it was anxiety, but I couldn’t sleep, felt constantly tired and worried about everything.
“In the last 10 years, I’ve worked hard to understand and transform my anxiety. And that’s one of the things I help other people to overcome too. Following my own advice, I escaped to the country from London in 2013 and live near the sea in East Sussex.”
The presenter made a huge change to his life after turning to Buddhism and he also started practicing Ashtanga yoga. Speaking about the decision he told Great British Life in 2012: “It was initially just a way of keeping my head but gradually I became really interested in Buddhism.”
After spending a few years of his life visiting wellness retreats all over the world, Alistair decided to train as a psychotherapist, which he claims was the “best decision” of his life.
He said: “I loved that work so much that I started to get a bit disenchanted with all the crazy schedules of TV filming and I decided five years ago to re-train as a psychotherapist. That was the best decision of my life and I think I’ve hit my 40s in much better shape than I hit my 30s.”
Alistair regularly keeps fans updated with his life away from the screen to his 37,000 followers on Instagram. In a recent post he wrote: “As well as presenting #escapetothecountry I also teach meditation.
“You can learn online with me 3x a week with me or come join us in beautiful spots like @visitdundreggan throughout the year. Details in my bio! Or www.mind-springs.org.”