DIY SOS’s Nick Knowles issues devastating warning to deaf couple after £72,000 botched building job

Nick Knowles was forced to deliver a devastating warning to a deaf couple and their children during a dramatic DIY SOS visit.

The presenter told Ahmed and Rifat they needed to leave their unsafe home immediately after discovering a serious problem with the building.

It was a first for the BBC show, as Nick revealed he had never previously had to tell a family to leave their home.

The dramatic moment came during the current series of DIY SOS, when the team travelled to Southampton to meet Ahmed and Rifat.

Nick Knowles had to tell Ahmed and Rifat to leave their unsafe home during DIY SOS (Credit: BBC)

The couple, who communicate using sign language, were living with their three young children after a planned rebuild had gone badly wrong.

They had invested their savings in the project, only to be left with an unfinished and potentially dangerous home.

DIY SOS’s Nick Knowles tells family to leave house

Nick started inspecting the property after hearing about the failed building work and the impact it was having on the family.

He soon discovered a worrying problem beneath one of the structural walls.

There was a large gap underneath it, leaving Nick seriously concerned about the stability of the house.

He told Ahmed: “The middle of the house is currently resting on…not very much. It is absolutely not safe.”

With the family still living inside, Nick knew he could not allow the situation to continue.

He called a friend to bring equipment to support the wall before the team could proceed with the rest of the work.

The discovery also confirmed that DIY SOS needed to take on the wider rescue project.

Nick knew there was no time to waste because the building required urgent attention.

He then had to give Ahmed and Rifat the difficult news and tell them to leave their home as soon as possible.

Nick told the couple: “The bad news is, some of the structural detailing here is, I think, dangerous for you to be around.

“I really believe you should move out of the house. As soon as possible, for the safety of all of you. That’s the really tough news.”

Nick has never had to deliver the order on DIY SOS (Credit: BBC)

Nick later reflected on the seriousness of the situation.

He said: “I think that’s the first time that I’ve had to tell the family they have to leave.”

The presenter also admitted that he wanted to turn his anger over what had happened to the family into energy for the transformation.

He stressed that the situation was in no way their fault.

Ahmed and Rifat reveal £72,000 build ordeal

Ahmed and Rifat, who communicated through an interpreter, had already paid £72,000 towards their own rebuild before the DIY SOS team arrived.

Instead of the finished home they had hoped for, builders had left behind holes, exposed wires and an incomplete kitchen.

The couple said several parts of the property remained unfinished.

They claimed workers would sometimes leave the site and not return for periods of time.

Rifat also claimed the builder asked them for more money, supposedly to purchase materials needed for different parts of the project.

According to Rifat, those materials never arrived.

The couple also said they later discovered from their architect that the builder had previously been taken to court.

The ordeal had left the family struggling to cope, with Ahmed admitting: “We can’t cope, it’s been such a traumatic experience.”

Thankfully, Nick, his DIY SOS co stars and an army of local volunteers were able to transform the house.

The finished property looked almost unrecognisable compared with the unsafe and unfinished building shown at the start of the episode.

Ahmed and Rifat were overwhelmed with the transformation to their house (Credit: BBC)

When is DIY SOS on next?

The Southampton episode of DIY SOS featuring Ahmed and Rifat aired on Tuesday October 6, 2026. It is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

The series continues with the next episode at 8pm on BBC One on Tuesday October 13.

Next week, Nick and the DIY SOS team will head to Preston in Lancashire.

They will meet a family who need help rebuilding their home so their son Daniel, who has complex disabilities following brain tumour surgery, can finally leave hospital.

We need to buy more tissues!

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Read more: DIY SOS fans ‘bawling within six minutes’ as Nick Knowles meets grieving widow Georgie

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