TELL US WHY YOU WANTED TO BE A PART OF THIS PROJECT...
Growing up in a very working-class family, property was a way that we were able to move up the socio-economic ladder. I came out of a council estate environment and, at 12, my parents bought our first property. Fast forward a couple of years, and they've got more than a handful. I grew up seeing my mum do loads of extensions.
At the start of the pandemic, the music industry got hit really, really hard. Obviously, there were no gigs. I was in the studio at home, scratching my head. I got this phone call, 'We're doing this property show, and we would love you to do it'. At first, I was like, 'I don't know…' But I'm at the age now where I want to communicate other sides of myself.
IS PRESENTING A NEW CAREER PATH FOR YOU?
I've been making music since I was 16 years old. I've achieved a lot. But I feel like this was a new challenge.
I wouldn't say I'm looking at it [presenting] as 'This could be a new thing', but I've been a part of something that I thoroughly enjoyed.
It was really great to just drive around England in my car and meet all these sometimes weird, sometimes wonderful, couples and families.
WHAT SORT OF DESIGN DO YOU FAVOUR WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR OWN PROPERTIES?
I've never understood why some people live in those cul-de-sacs and every single house is the same. All the houses are beautiful, but I'd always want something quite unique.
If you google 'Tinie and houses', you'll see I've got giraffes in my houses - not real giraffes. I've got mad glass skylights in the middle of the house - on the first floor, where you can look down, and you can see what everyone's doing on the ground floor. I go crazy with it.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM EXTRAORDINARY EXTENSION TO US?
One day I want to build a house in the countryside, that's all cement, from as far as you can see, so it looks like a fortress. And then around the back, where you're not going to be able to see it, I want to have a glass walkway that is really thin and low, and then, when you get to the end of the walkway, I want you to walk into this massive sports hall, which is what I see as the extension.
WHY DO YOU FIND PROPERTY SUCH AN INTERESTING TOPIC?
I love seeing what levels of creativity people have when it comes to their properties, because there are almost 100 different ways to flip your house and switch it up and create more space.
I know it's getting harder and harder for this new generation to afford a property, it's actually a nightmare. It's something that needs to be sorted out because it's actually not right - everyone should have the right to own their own home.
WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE GET ON THE PROPERTY LADDER?
Speaking as someone who has come from very, very humble beginnings, grew up in a council flat, the amount of peace and the amount of pride I felt in myself when I got my first property... I could walk out into the garden, and I could just sit there. Everyone deserves that feeling.
::Extraordinary Extensions starts on Channel 4 on Wednesday October 20.
