Northern Irish Homes TV show sees Owen Matchett of The Agent NI share his favourite memories

Now Owen and his wife Dawn are to unlock the door to their own precious memories of home life from their childhood in a new documentary being aired on BBC One Northern Ireland on Sunday (September 5).

In Northern Irish Homes, a variety of families and friends share treasured memories and footage of their abodes through the decades.

Interior design trends have evolved over time and from 1970s crushed velvet curtains to the bright floral patterns that adorned many a 1990s living room wall and furniture, the documentary takes a nostalgic look at how we have lived over the past 80 years.

Couples, friends and family members share personal stories including memories of their childhood homes to the excitement of getting the keys to a first property, revealing photos and video footage of their own successful DIY projects and decorating faux pas.

Students digs, bungalows, townhouses and farmhouses, this film captures all of 20th century domestic life in Northern Ireland from - the good room - a coveted space for visitors, to bedroom walls plastered with 1980s pop stars and annual trips to the ideal Homes Exhibition to discover the latest trends.Owen and Dawn were invited to take part after production company spotted their popular social media presence.

"I’m delighted to say they absolutely loved our approach when it came to marketing of homes and advertising The Agent NI,” said Owen.

"They found it to be very refreshing and totally unique and not what you come to expect from estate agents.

"When it appeals to a prime time TV show then you know you are doing a good job.

"We are the only agent in the whole of Northern Ireland to be invited onto the show and for that we are very thankful and flattered.

"After all, it does say in my well known slogan, “There Only is One Agent”.

Owen started in estate agency when he left school at the age of 17 and has been in the business for more than 32 years. He has seen so many changes through the years especially in terms of online marketing which is now so important.

He says of his wife: “Dawn has taken to estate agency like a fish to water; She has a degree in Interior Design and has over 10 years experience of working in retail. Her natural flair for designing homes and working with the public made her the perfect agent.”

Owen admits that, at times, taking part in the documentary proved to be quite an emotional experience.

"The show itself is about people talking about their homes that they grew up in and other homes over the years,” he said.

"There are photos of Dawn and me as children at our family homes shown in the show and that brought happy memories for both of us.

"There is a part in the show when a photo of me with my late mum and dad is shown. I couldn’t fight back the emotions and started choking up. Those images reminded me just how much they did for me and I owe them so much.

Apart from sharing memories of their family homes, happy times and how the taste of decor has changed over the years, Owen and Dawn talk about their estate agency business and what it’s like to be part of someone’s life at the stressful time of when they sell a property or move home.

"We shared how we were originally husband and wife before we decided to start the new business, The Agent NI.

"The production team found it to be very interesting that it is a husband and wife business initially and now a team of eight people due to the rapid growth,” said Owen.

"I spoke about the 2007 collapse of the property business and how it ruined so many families unfortunately struggling to pay a mortgage and how extremely tragic it was to see.

"We also talked about how it can affect some people when selling a property that has been a long happy family home then it’s time for people to downsize,” he added.

Owen is no stranger to television appearances, having previously taken part in Come Dine with Me in 2017 and Home Seekers in 2018.

"Come Dine with Me was a constant laugh, the best week of my life. I had so much fun; I decided to play the pantomime villain and was pretty sarcastic, but in a harmless way.

"Home Seekers was a three-part series for BBC One Northern Ireland and followed the trials and tribulations of people on a quest to find a place to call home.

"I appeared in two episodes of the show and the second episode focused on my social media spoof videos where I dressed up as a secret agent for the new Mission Impossible movie coming out,” he recalled.

Owen and Dawn are looking forward to seeing how Northern Irish Homes has turned out.

"We have not seen the final cut of the programme yet so Sunday night will be the first time.

IIt was highly enjoyable and we loved getting nostalgic about growing up and all our happy memories,” said Owen.

Other participants in the hour-long film are Jim Curry who reminisces with daughter Erica about his younger years growing up on Rathlin island during the 1940s and 1950s in a cottage without electricity and running water.

Meanwhile, Deepika Gupta and Chintu Gahoia, a married couple from India, reveal the differences between living in their homeland and the new house in Belfast they moved to a few years ago.

Interior design enthusiasts Laura and Michael talk about renovation projects they have undertaken together to transform their home.

Northern Irish Homes, made by Afro-Mic Productions for BBC Northern Ireland, airs Sunday, September 4 at 8pm on BBC One Northern Ireland. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer.