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Kirstie Allsopp has described her relationship with Location, Location, Location co-presenter Phil Spencer as "like brother and sister".
Speaking to The Sun, the property guru admitted that she had been devastated to learn that Spencer's home-search firm had been forced to lay off staff after suffering a downturn in the current economic climate.
"I felt very sorry for him. He is a very decent person. We are such good friends. It’s rare to find someone who you get on with and with whom you have that kind of relationship," she said.
"With a lot of people, there is a TV image and then there’s the real thing. But with Phil, you get what you see."
Garrington Home Finders, which Spencer founded with his wife in 1996, was reportedly placed into administration in February following a slump in the number of people looking to buy properties.
"He paid the salaries of his staff himself for the last six months and he put everything into it. But everyone has stopped buying houses and Phil was paid to help buy houses. He was really good about it all."
She added: "A lot of people would have behaved differently. But he said, 'Let’s not run up a whole lot of debts, let’s not pretend the situation is not happening or blame anybody else'."
