Baffling Buyer Leaves Host Speechless on Escape to the Country

An Escape to the Country buyer was left ‘burning and shaking’ on Wednesday’s episode as this week’s property hunt was derailed by a bizarre stunt.

The popular BBC show follows those wanting to escape busy city lives for a tranquil life in the country.

And while the property search is the centre of the show – each episode always features a short segment where the hosts shows the buyers some kind of cultural activity or attraction in the area.

This week’s house hunters Ronnie and Claire wanted to relocate from their Watford home to Bedfordshire with the help of expert Margherita Taylor.

And they took a break from looking at homes to head to the Love My Chillies farm nearby where they grow the crop so the couple could see what the local area have to offer.

An Escape to the Country buyer was left ‘burning and shaking’ on Wednesday’s episode as this week’s property hunt was derailed by a bizarre stunt

This week’s house hunters Ronnie and Claire wanted to relocate from their Watford home to Bedfordshire with the help of expert Margherita Taylor (seen)

Speaking to owner Salvatore Genovese, he gave the couple some samples one of which was a chilli called Armageddon – while a glass of milk stood on standby.

Claire laughed saying: ‘Ronnie will love it! It just scares me to look at it.’

They tried a variety – going up in heat, with Claire tapping out after just a few while Ronnie continued eating them.

Taking a bite out of one, it was clear the spice was too much as Margherita said: ‘Speechless! Oh here, milk, milk!’

Claire continued to laugh as Ronnie took a huge gulp of milk to ease the spice sensation.

The BBC host added: ‘Oh my goodness, are you shaking?!’

As Salvatore wished the couple well with their house hunting, Ronnie let out another huge cough as he struggled to get over the spice.

It comes after Escape to the Country fans were left emotional back in June as an old episode was aired that was presented by the late Jonnie Irwin, months after his tragic death.

They took a break from looking at homes to head to the Love My Chillies farm nearby where they grow the crop so the couple could see what the local area have to offer

Speaking to owner Salvatore Genovese, he gave the couple some samples one of which was a chilli called Armageddon – while a glass of milk stood on standby

Taking a bite out of one, it was clear the spice was too much as Margherita said: ‘Speechless! Oh here, milk, milk!’

The presenter passed away in February at the age of 50, three years after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer in 2020.

He left behind his wife Jessica Holmes and their young sons Rex, four, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac.

In June the BBC aired a rerun of an episode from 2022 in North Yorkshire, where Jonnie was helping Ian find a new home for £350,000, after moving back to the UK from Hong Kong.

But the episode was tinged with melancholy, as one of the last to feature Jonnie before his passing.

Viewers couldn’t help but be distracted by the sad reminder and took to social media to remember the host and praise him for his presenting skills and optimism.

They wrote: ‘Hearing Jonnie Irwin’s distinctive voice on #EscapeToTheCountry. He fought his cancer battle with dignity and no attention-seeking. God bless you, you were a brilliant presenter.’

‘Episode of Escape to the Country with #JonnieIrwin is on now Tuesday 11 June. Lovely to see Jonnie still had his cheeky sense of humour; Johnnie Irwin episode today, RIP #escapetothecountry’.

‘So sad to switch on the TV and hear Jonnie Irwin’s voice, talking about having three kids in nappies; Great to see one of the #JonnieIrwin episodes on #EscapeToTheCountry now on BBC ONE. What a top guy & presenter he was.’

Claire continued to laugh as Ronnie took a huge gulp of the standby milk to ease the spice sensation

As Salvatore wished the couple well with their house hunting, Ronnie let out another huge cough as he struggled to get over the spice