It's hard to remember a time before Nick Knowles was all over our TV screens.
The popular presenter has been host of DIY SOS since it launched in 1999 and has been a staple at the BBC ever since, aside from a brief absence due to a Shreddies scandal.
The 59-year-old has also hosted a number of gameshows over the years, including Who Dares Wins, Break the Safe and 5-Star Family Reunion, as well as daytime series Real Rescues.
But how did Nick get into the presenting game and what was his life like before?
Having been born in Southall, Middlesex, Nick moved to Mildenhall in Suffolk at the age of 11 then to Tunbridge Wells in Kent - and left school at the age of 16.
Nick, whose full name is actually Nicholas Simon Augustine Knowles, used to make money with an illegal activity when he was a youngster.
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"I used to go fishing a lot in the rivers, and illegally catch trout from a trout river and sell them to a restaurant. I used the money to buy fish and chips," he told the Eastern Daily Press in 2017.
After quitting school at 16, Nick went into a variety of jobs, including labouring on building sites, working in a petrol station and selling shoes and carpets.
However, he had a passion for music and was constantly writing songs, poetry while also playing in bands from the age of 14.
He submitted a script to a BBC2 programme that invited kids to make a video and became a runner in television production.
Nick said: "They gave me a film crew to shoot all the film I wanted to make. I loved it so much I thought 'that's what I want to do', and I spent the next two years trying to get into television."
He became a reporter for TVS in the South East on the nightly news programme Coast To Coast and presented Ridge Riders for ITV, which featured a celebrity and another one or two guests riding classic motorcycles along off-road tracks around the UK.
On putting work first, he told the Evening Standard in 2008: "I always have done. If I have to work seven days a week for eight months, I'll do it, and have done it.
"In the early days, I'd have three jobs in three cities on the go. I'd sleep in my car, or at service stations. I remember working seven days a week when I was trying to sort out my divorce. It's just something I do. I keep going."
He added: "I feel I have to earn enough to cover every eventuality, to give my family that security. I don't think I'll ever be able to get past the fact that I grew up on a council estate in Southall, west London, with nothing.
"I expect to lose it all any minute. In this industry, I feel as if I'm on a tightrope that someone shakes every so often, and nearly everyone falls off. I always expect to be next."
Nick has been the host of DIY SOS since the show began 23 years ago - but did miss an episode in November last year due to a scandal involving Shreddies.
For the first time in the series' history, Nick sensationally stood down after breaking the BBC's rules and did not take part in the Big Build Children In Need special.
Bosses were reported to be on the verge of sacking their main man after he inadvertently broke rules to star in an advert for Nestle cereal.
It was reported that Nick's contract forbids him to gain from mimicking his DIY SOS job, and BBC bosses hauled him in after he appeared as a builder called "Nick 'get it done' Knowles".
The BBC editorial guidelines state that "actors and artists who perform in BBC output should not appear in promotional work, including advertisements, in a way which mimics or replicates their on-air roles for the BBC."
In a joint statement, the presenter and the BBC said: "Nick and the BBC have resolved the issue recently reported relating to Nick's commercial agreements and BBC guidelines."
Because the ad campaign was still running and would not be pulled, it was decided that Nick would relinquish his hosting duties for this year's Children In Need special.
There were fears he may be axed altogether, but the BBC confirmed that he was "an important member of the BBC family" and it was "pleased that this matter is resolved".
In his own heartfelt statement, Nick confirmed he would be returning and opened up on what the job means to him.
The host added: "I have always said that DIY SOS is more than just a presenting job for me, it's part of me, it has my heart and working for the BBC for over 22 years is something I have never taken for granted.
"The DIY SOS Children In Need special will air in November with a guest presenter and I will be cheering them on from the side lines.
"I urge you all to focus on the build which will ensure the children get much needed help, not about who is presenting the show. I will continue filming new episodes of DIY SOS over the coming months and will be back on your screens with the purple shirts next year."
Nick was replaced by Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert - and graciously took to Twitter to praise Rhod for stepping in, saying he had "real heat and real empathy".
When Rhod was announced as guest host in August, he said: "I’s a great honour to step in to Nick’s enormous steel toe-capped boots and be involved in Children in Need."
During the opening of the episode, the usual members of the team are seen driving a mini van to their big project in Hull, but pointed out that they were a "man down" as Nick is missing.
"That's not really a problem though is it," says carpenter Mark Millar, before savagely joking: "All we need to do is find an old boy with a scruffy beard who knows absolutely nothing about building and we're laughing."
Last month, Nick was quizzed on how it had been taking a backseat for an episode during an appearance on This Morning.
"It was a bit odd but I knew that it was only for the one show," he confessed. "It was basically a misunderstanding - we sorted it all out - but it meant that I couldn't do that one show.
"But then Rhod came in and Rhod Gilbert is such a lovely lad and he got emotionally involved with the whole story so I thought he did a great job.
"Tough for people to walk in on something like that but I think he did a great job."
Nick will be back on our screens tonight when the DIY SOS team and designer Sian Astley head to Fegg Hayes in Stoke.
There they meet Sue, whose family have lived there for six generations, and she set up the charity Sylvester’s to help tackle issues of food poverty, isolation and mental health in the area.
They have taken over a patch of wasteland in the heart of the community with the aim of creating a community centre and garden with room to grow vegetables and space where old and young can share knowledge and experiences.
Nick and the gang are determined to get the job done and not even three of the worst storms to hit Britain in recent years will stop them.
Howeverm straightforward build turns into a battle against the elements, but they are determined to help this community to help themselves.
*DIY SOS airs tonight on BBC One at 8pm
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