The Newbys are officially featuring on
'Help! We Bought a Village'
We are so excited to finally share some big news! Our family has been featured on the TV show Help! We Bought a Village. The episodes we’re part of will be airing on Channel 4 in the UK between the 29th September and the 3rd of October 2025, at 4pm Monday – Friday. This is something we’ve been waiting to tell you about for a long time, and if you’re not in the UK, worry not, we have a solution for you later in this blog so you don’t miss out, keep reading, or make sure you watch the video below!
This programme has given us the chance to show the world not only the beauty of our little corner of the world, but also the ups and downs of building a new life here. From the moment the crew arrived, we knew this was going to be one of the most unique experiences of our journey so far.
Help! We Bought a Village is a Channel 4 reality-docuseries, first airing in 2022. It follows adventurous Brits who take on the challenge of restoring abandoned European settlements, transforming them into vibrant places to live or even holiday destinations.
Filming the Journey
The filming began in September last year, and the production team spent more than 30 days on site with us. Sometimes it was only a day at a time, while other times the crew came for three or four days in a row. During this time, they followed us closely, documenting everything from our biggest projects to the daily routines of all four Newbys. The Help! We Bought a Village crew were so much fun to work with, and so good to the boys, letting them get involved and forming some super special memories for them of the time the TV crew came and filmed their farm life as kids!
One of the main storylines you can expect to see is the bio pool build. The cameras captured all the chaos, right when one thing after the next was going wrong with that project. We’re so excited to watch that back with peace of mind, knowing it all works out beautifully. You may remember us mentioning on few occasions in our bi-weekly YouTube vlogs that we had the TV crew around in the background. Here’s a little throwback to John working on the bio pool lining, spot the cameraman doing his thing in the background.
They also filmed our main project, the stone house build, with a focus on the stonework and craftsmanship that went into making it a home. Alongside this, we spoke candidly about the challenges of financing such ambitious projects, because as anyone who has taken on restoration or build projects will know, it’s never as simple as it looks on paper!
Behind the cameras...
For us, being filmed for television was a completely different world compared to our usual YouTube vlogs.
On YouTube, we control the story, the camera angles, and the style.
For TV, there was a lot more structure, direction, and production planning.
We worked with four different cameramen and women, each with their own filming style and creative eye. At times it felt strange to be guided so much in how we told our story, but it was also a valuable learning experience that gave us new ideas and perspectives for our own YouTube vlogs.
And no, it wasn’t glamorous! There were no stylists or make-up artists on set. Some days we were filmed looking completely natural (allergy-induced bloodshot eyes and all!), but that’s part of the honesty of the show. What you’ll see on TV is a very real reflection of our life here, not a polished version, just The Newbys, fuelled fully and authentically by coffee, our passion for this dream, and of course, our incessantly energetic two little boys.
What it meant for us...
Being part of Help! We Bought a Village has been an incredibly valuable experience. It pushed us to see our work from a new perspective and helped us learn more about storytelling, production values, and how different audiences connect with a project.
The show will also shine a light on our YouTube channel, giving viewers insight into how we support ourselves, why we create content, and what inspires us to keep sharing our journey. For us, this crossover is exciting because it means new people can discover our videos, join our community by subscribing to our channel, and hopefully feel part of this adventure too. We’re thrilled to say that filming has already started for a possible second feature! Whether we’ll feature again is still uncertain, but either way, the renovation of our “village” continues.
How to watch if you're not in the UK
Help! We Bought a Village is airing exclusively on Channel 4 in the UK. If you’re outside the UK, you may not have direct access to watch the programme. That’s where a VPN can save the day. A VPN will allow you to connect securely and access content as if you were browsing from the UK. We recommend using our favourite – Surfshark VPN – it’s fast, reliable, and perfect for streaming shows like this one no matter where you are. Plus, you can use our code “THENEWBYS” and get an extra 4 months for free! In the video above we explain exactly how to use it, but here’s a step by step breakdown:
1. Get Surfshark VPN (click on the logo below) & remember to use code THENEWBYS at checkout for 4 extra months free.
2. Open the Surfshark app and set your location to the United Kingdom (there are several UK options available – any of them should work, but if one doesn’t, simply switch to another).
3. Head to channel 4 (click on the button below) and sign up for free
Join the Adventure
As this season of Help! We Bought a Village airs, we’d love for you to join us in celebrating this milestone:
Watch the programme and share your thoughts with us.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes updates, bonus videos, and more about our life here.
Share this post with friends and family who might enjoy following along.
We’re so grateful for all the support and encouragement we’ve had on this journey. We would like to say a HUGE thank you to Help! We Bought a Village for featuring our little dream in their incredible show! This has been an unforgettable opportunity, and we can’t wait to see where the next chapter takes us.
