13 November 2023 , 10:12
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This month, Homes Under the Hammer presenter Martin Roberts will mark a very special milestone, with a star-studded double bill set to air on the 20th anniversary of the beloved property show. Martin and the team will be joined by a range of celebrity guests, including Traitors icon Amanda Lovett and interior design guru Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, in what looks set to be a treat for fans.
As Martin prepares to celebrate the programme's two-decade run in style, we take a look at the property expert's personal life behind the scenes, including his marriage, real life and alarming illness that could have killed him.
Marriage and 'love at first bite'
Martin and wife Kirsty shared a sweet moment during a charity climb (PA)
The property expert recently celebrated a landmark birthday (martinrobert/instagram)Martin met his now-wife Kirsty Roberts while reporting on an NSPCC charity climb on Mount Kilimanjaro for the ITV travel show Wish You Were Here…?. Opening up previously about their very sweet first meeting, Martin recalled: "I'd never met my wife Kirsty before, but she was on the climb too, raising money. Her granny had made her a fruit cake to take and she kept one piece for the summit. At the top I collapsed with altitude sickness, and out of the mist came Kirsty bearing this final piece of cake for me."
Lovestruck Martin added: "I have to admit – it was love at first bite!" The happy couple said 'I do' in 2010, and have since welcomed two children together - daughter Megan and son Scott.
Real age
Back in July, Warrington-born Martin amazed fans by revealing he'd just celebrated his 60th birthday, with many having believed him to be much younger. In an Instagram post shared to mark his landmark birthday, Martin wrote: "A big day for me today as I enter my (gulp) sixties, but the amazing things that are happening at my pub renovation in Wales, and the effects it is having on young people and the community, is completely overshadowing the fact I'm now eligible 4 a Seniors railcard."
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Wishing him all the best, one fan commented: "Have an absolutely amazing day. You don't look your age at all. Sending love." Another gasped: "You look younger than 60 mate, must be the Welsh water you are drinking. Have a great day."
Health woes
Back in April 2022, Martin was rushed to hospital with chest pains, where it was discovered that fluid was "strangling" his heart, and that he had "hours to live". During an interview with OK! magazine, Martin recalled the terrifying moment doctors plunged an "eight-inch needle" into his chest, sharing: "It's the nearest thing to not being here that has ever happened to me."
He added: "In my case, it turns to something called a cardiac tamponade, which is where it fills rapidly and starts strangling the heart. And that's... that's the killer. It can result in death. I watched as they drew out syringe after syringe after syringe of this liquid. I was awake for this, but I was a bit woozy. There was a tube that went in through my chest cavity, down into the sack around my heart."
Thankfully, Martin was discharged a week later, but has since had to undergo regular check-ups after an MRI scan picked up on "residual problems".
The anniversary episodes of Homes Under The Hammer will air on Friday, November 17 at 11:15 am on BBC One, and can also be streamed through iPlayer