Deaf couple watch 'emotional' DIY SOS rebuild

A deaf couple whose home was rebuilt by hundreds of volunteers have described the "emotional" moment they watched the transformation on TV with the people who made it happen.

Ahmed and Rifat Ali, from Bitterne in Southampton, joined tradespeople, volunteers and neighbours at a screening of BBC One's DIY SOS: The Big Build on Tuesday.

The family lost £72,000 - their life savings - on an unsafe ground floor extension that was halted and later condemned.

The couple said they were thrilled to finally see the faces of the people who had transformed their home.

Rifat, speaking at the screening, said: "There were so many lovely people involved in building our house and the renovation.

"It truly was incredible and it was amazing to see the journey that everybody went through."

"It was so emotional," said Ahmed. "Things were so damaged and destroyed and broken and DIY SOS has brought a light back to our lives."

When the couple first saw the finished house in October 2025, they said it surpassed all their dreams and hopes.

As well as repairing the damage, the rebuild included cutting-edge technology designed to make the home more accessible for a deaf family.

The house was fitted with cameras so the couple could watch their children more easily, as well as visual alerts for the fire alarm and doorbell, and lights that change colour to identify problems in different parts of the building.

Ahmed and Rifat said a big worry had been the children being cold through the winter, with no savings left.

"It wouldn't have been possible without the community," Ahmed said. "People giving up their time to help us.

"Everybody here has got a heart of gold. The things they did to our home to fix it back up is incredible.

"The volunteers just saved our lives. Without them I can't imagine what sort of mess we would be in."

Presenter Nick Knowles said his first reaction to the family's situation was anger, and he knew any builder "worth their salt" in the area would want to put right what had been done wrong.

"This series this year broke me," he said. "You see all the builders, like these big, hairy, giant, sort of masculine, tattooed men sitting out there with tears streaming down their face at the end of the job.

"It matters that we change their lives."