DIY SOS show tackles family's unsafe home extension

The Ali family are unable to use the ground floor of their home, DIY SOS said

A TV programme is helping a family who were left with an unsafe home following building work.

Ahmed and Rifat Ali, who are both profoundly deaf, paid for a ground floor extension at their house in Southampton, Hampshire, but the construction was later assessed as uninhabitable.

Builders and suppliers have volunteered to help the family after an appeal by DIY SOS, BBC One's home renovation show.

The main work and filming at the property starts at 08:00 BST on Wednesday and will continue until the results are revealed on 15 October.

Neighbours Don and Jan Bonaer said the "lovely" family needed help

The couple lost their life savings over the faulty work, which was halted earlier in 2025 by an architect and building control officers, according to DIY SOS.

The family of five can no longer access their garden and have to eat and work in their upstairs bedrooms, the programme added.

Its Facebook appeal in August was shared more than 2,000 times, prompting offers of free work.

Presenter Nick Knowles and the team will spend the next week at the property in Bitterne.

Don and Jan Bonaer, who live next door, said the Alis were a lovely family who needed help after being badly let down.

The Bonaers have allowed DIY SOS to drive heavy machinery for the project through their garden.

Monica Mabey, who also lives in the cul-de-sac, said: "I think the fact that there are so many volunteers involved, so many businesses, is just a wonderful thing.

"It's just going to be so amazing for the family to come back and see it clean and liveable."