THE best place to live is in Chester’s Garden Quarter – it’s official.
Resident Neil Kendall’s home, which is filled with curiosities, will be featured on the ITV daytime programme May the Best House Win next week.
Neil has been living in his terraced house for eight years, and describes the city neighbourhood as ‘the happiest place I have ever lived in’.
He said: “It is a vibrant, lively community with unique people – I love it here.”
Neil, a photographer and burlesque promoter, travels the world with his job and likes to pick up artefacts and memorabilia in antique and junk shops.
He said: “I have a huge Victorian sideshow banner, a stuffed warthog head, giant 1950s burlesque posters and a grandfather clock with puppets as chimes.”
Neil’s home is one of four from the Cheshire area filmed for the programme back in December last year.
“We all go and visit each other’s houses and then give our opinions.
“It was nerve wracking when they came to mine - I had no restrictions on where they could look so they could have gone through my drawers if they had wanted to.
“It was a freezing day when they came to film, so I left them to it and went to a neighbour’s house!”
Neil’s eccentric home won everyone over on the programme and after everyone had voted he was presented with the £1,000 prize.
He said: “It was so exciting- it was a triumph for everyone with quirky taste.
“I think I project a lot of myself into the house and the other contestants said some really lovely things about it.”
