Hugh Wallace, who has died aged 68, was the affable uncle of Irish property television. Seemingly blessed with infinite quantities of good humour and optimism, this most unassuming of celebrity architects was someone viewers were happy to welcome into their livingroom, starting with Home of the Year in 2015.
On that show and in later series such as The Great House Revival and My Bungalow Bliss, he was an endearing, chummy presence who wore his decades of expertise lightly. What a pleasure it was to watch him open the door to a new house and wax rhapsodically about the animal print wallpaper or the huge moose head mounted in the downstairs toilet. In Wallace’s universe, there was no such thing as bad design: the perfect home, in his estimation, was a reflection of the personality of the people who lived there.
He was at once larger than life – his oversized spectacles and colourful shirts saw to that – and understated, even a bit bashful.
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