19 February 2023 , 07:00
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Charlie Mullins may be the self- styled “most famous plumber in the world” but after just five minutes in his company, we realise there’s a lot more to him than his ability to fix a leaky pipe and service a boiler. The 70- year-old businessman made headlines back
in 2021 when he sold Pimlico Plumbers, the company he’d started at the age of 27, for a whopping £145 million.
His is a classic rags-to-riches tale. Having spent his early years in Camden, north London, “back when it was a dump”, he moved to the Rockingham council estate in Elephant and Castle. By the age of 10, he was bunking off school to help a local plumber, Bill.
Charlie, who got paid 10p a day, says he worked in big houses, “the likes of which I’d never been in before”, and this undoubtedly inspired him to work hard and make something of himself. Fast-forward a few years and an ambitious Charlie, who left school at 15
without any qualifications, had set up Pimlico Plumbers in a London estate agent’s basement.
The rest, as they say, is history and when we meet Charlie, he’s relaxing in the kitchen area of his stunning £10 million London penthouse with his fiancée Raquel Reno.
Charlie and Raquel met in Marbella in September 2020 (Tim Merry / Reach Magazines)And he admits that, as a child, he would never have dreamt that he could live somewhere like this. “Never in a million years, blimey. Even now it’s hard to believe,” he says.
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The loved-up pair have just finished doing our photoshoot and proud Charlie then proceeds to give us a guided tour of his luxury home, and tells us his favourite thing is the view from their bedroom, where he can watch the boats on the Thames go by. “It’s quite busy on the river,” he tells us. “It’s very peaceful.”
When we ask how he went from being a plumber to the boss of a multi-million pound empire, Charlie says, “I think what I got right was not listening to people. When people would tell me how to run a plumbing company, I’d think, ‘You’ve got to be having a laugh!’”
Given that “money was tight” in his childhood, with Charlie admitting that often they “would go short of food”, it’s perhaps no surprise that he’s more than happy to enjoy life’s luxuries with Raquel. “Yes we spend lots of money and yes we have a great life, but do I waste it? The answer is no,” he says.
We’re curious to know what Charlie’s most expensive purchase has been so far. “It was probably the piano,” he says, gesturing towards the red custom-made Steinway in the corner, which Raquel says cost £180k. “We had it especially coloured that way,” he explains.
Shared goals
There might be a 38-year age gap between him and Raquel, 32, who’s an aspiring recording artist, but the chemistry between them is real and it’s clear that they’re absolutely besotted with each other. When we ask what the secret to their relationship is, Charlie doesn’t hesitate. “It’s definitely not a secret but Raquel’s funny and she’s got a good sense of humour and I have too,” he explains. “When we’re together we always have a good time and I think others find us entertaining. If we were both serious it just wouldn’t work.”
Laughs aside, Charlie and Raquel, who were a huge hit with viewers on the BBC show Unbreakable – where celeb couples compete to prove they’re the perfect pair – also share a huge amount of drive. “We’re both serious about work,” Charlie tells us. “Raquel’s 100% into her singing. She is managed by the former manager of Girls Aloud, Hillary Shaw, and she’s going to get to the top. I’m the same, whether it be in business or another project. I’m not a follower, I’m a leader and it’s the same with Raquel. I’ve never met anyone with as much determination as her.”
The couple at their £180,000 Steiner piano (Tim Merry / Reach Magazines)Music lover Charlie, who launched Great British Radio last year, obviously really believes in his fiancée and it’s clear that a lot of his energy goes into helping her take her singing career to the next level. He tells us, “She’s got the talent. I’d bet all my money that she’s going to be successful. It’s now just a matter of time.”
Charlie has also sought advice from the likes of Simon Cowell, who he met through the charity Shooting Star Children’s Hospices. “Raquel has just done an awards show and on the bill were Gary Barlow, Katherine Jenkins, Beverley Knight and Raquel. We spoke to Simon on the night and he said to Raquel, ‘In 12 months you’ve come a long way.’”
So where did Charlie and Raquel’s fairy-tale romance begin? Somewhere glamorous of course – Andy’s Beach Bar in Marbella, back
in September 2020, where Charlie has a villa.
The singer recalls the moment she first set eyes on him and laughs as she tells us her opening line. “I said, ‘Oi! Are you Rod Stewart?!’ I’d definitely had a few gin and tonics by this point. But I particularly liked his crocodile shoes.”
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The pair were just good friends for 10 months and romance didn’t blossom until Raquel moved into the spare room in the penthouse, which Charlie had offered up as a place for her to stay when she came to London. Raquel says, “I think we became inseparable and if he was anywhere socialising with anyone he’d always invite me and vice versa. It just felt so comfortable and natural. It all happened very naturally.”
In fact, Raquel tells us her family “love Charlie more than me!” And Charlie says he and his future father-in-law get on like a house on fire. “Her dad’s a plumber! And you know, plumbers all stick together, don’t they?” he tells us. “Whenever I meet up with her dad he’ll talk about work all the time. I think he’s quite proud that I’m the most famous plumber in the world.”
Their stunning London flat overlooks the Thames (Tim Merry / Reach Magazines) Throughout our chat we find ourselves transfixed by Raquel’s enormous Cartier sparkler of an engagement ring and we wonder if the wedding will be a grand affair. Charlie, who’s been married twice before, tells us that they’ve picked a certain St Paul’s Cathedral
as their venue, saying, “We’re allowed to do that because I’ve got an OBE. There’s a year’s waiting list but there can be cancellations so we’re hoping it’s going to happen this year.”
“I’ve never actually been to St Paul’s Cathedral,” admits Raquel. “So he’s promised he’ll take me.”
Charlie is also keen to start a family with Raquel. “On the children side, we’re practising! That’s all in the pipeline and we don’t want it to affect Raquel’s career but people have babies and they still carry on on the stage,” he explains.
Perhaps it’s their plan to expand their family that is one of the main motivations for Charlie being so keen to buy the apartment above him, which is currently occupied by none other than Tom Jones. Charlie explains that he’d like to get planning permission to put a staircase in to connect the two flats, which would result in poor Tom – who the couple describe as being “very private” – being out on his ear. But the star isn’t too worried, joking, “Well he’s got $300 million, he can buy the block!”
When we ask if they socialise much with the Welsh singer, Charlie says, “We bump into him here and there and he has a little chat with Raquel. He was appearing at the hotel we were staying at in Dubai over Christmas so we went and watched the show. We went all the way to Dubai and bumped into our neighbour!”
Living the high life
As well as living a life of luxury in London, the couple spend a lot of time abroad at their other homes. Charlie says, “We’ve got three villas in Spain, we’re purchasing an apartment in Dubai and a new barn in the Cotswolds.”
The pair aren’t strangers to a luxury holiday either and regularly stay in the Burj Al Arab, a seven-star, £5,000-a-night hotel in Dubai.
Charlie says, “We live an unbelievable life. We’ve got a few Rolls-Royces and some Bentleys. I just don’t see the point in making lots of money and not enjoying it.”
You might think that marrying a multi-millionaire and never having to worry about money again would be a dream come true, but Raquel says she found Charlie’s wealth hard to get her head around at first.
Charlie and Raquel are hoping to get married this year (Tim Merry / Reach Magazines)“The transition was hard for me. I’ve been open and honest about that. I was brought up well and I didn’t come from a big money background. But my dad made a good living from plumbing,” she says.
“I’ve still got that desire in me to earn money – to work. My desire to write music is to get a message across to people about certain things like authenticity and break-ups. That would be my way of connecting to people. My little business with my music… I’ll make sure it will make money for both of us so I can look after my family and the people around me.”
And a song that’s very close to Raquel’s heart is one she wrote for Charlie while they were taking part in Unbreakable .
“I know my way around a piano. I’m no expert like Elton John but I wrote it within three days. We’ve just re-recorded it at Dean Street Studios and we’re talking about releasing it. I might perform it at our wedding!” she tells us.
And her biggest fan will be right by her side as she pursues her dream. Charlie says, “2023 is going to be Raquel’s year, and I’m going to
be there with her every step of the way.”