DIY SOS meets rugby union? So bizarre only Nick Knowles could pull it off

Alan TyersMon, August 10, 2026 at 5:31 AM UTC

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DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles (centre) is embarking on an ambitious project to bring rugby union to the US - BBC

Nick Knowles, best known to UK audiences as the presenter of DIY SOS, is going to bring rugby union to the United States. He has bought a stake in second-tier side Cornish Pirates and is planning a Welcome To Wrexham-style TV series to help him sell worldwide sports fans on rugger. An ambitious project you might say, but any man who can get two builders, a plasterer and an electrician turning up in one place at the same time is clearly a force of nature.

It is true that Knowles does not have the Stateside star-wattage of Wrexham’s Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds’s films have grossed $6.6bn worldwide, or the equivalent of two kitchen extensions and a patio in UK money. But Knowles said that the success of Welcome To Wrexham hangs not just on the presence of Reynolds and, as he said in his recent Telegraph Sport interview “the other lad, the other Hollywood guy”. If you’re reading, Rob McElhenney, the creator and star of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and the Wrexham co-owner, what a name-check, what a boost.

Wrexham co-owners Rob Mac aka ‘the other lad’ (left) and Ryan Reynolds - Martin Rickett/PA

Knowles might not be up to speed on the exact identity of the brains behind the longest-running live-action American sitcom in history, but he has identified another Wrexham-inspired selling point for the US market: Cornwall. Knowles said that the other reason Welcome To Wrexham has been such a hit is because it showcases the area and the people who make up the football club. And it should be said that the county of King Arthur, pirates and picturesque seaside villages does seem very appealing to Americans. Maybe even more so than post-industrial North Wales? Maybe. Also, if it all fails, there are loads of second homes in the surrounding area that Knowles and his crew can do up.

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The reason that DIY SOS has been on air for an incredible 33 seasons is the simple formula: guileless have-a-go hero attempts vastly overambitious project, is badly let down by useless or unscrupulous trades, and then the day is saved by Nicholas Simon Augustine Knowles and his band of superheroes who wouldn’t mind a cup of tea if you’re making, nine sugars please luv. If only Michael Johnson had run into Knowlesy in a BBC green room sometime, it could all have been so different. We could all do with a bit of DIY SOS sometimes.

Given the state of rugby governance in the UK today, why not broaden the scope of the project and have Knowles act as a Svengali/project manager for rebuilding the whole sport? He could hardly do worse. Key to this plan would be to have Knowles wandering around the Rugby Football Union corridors of power, tapping his teeth with a pencil and wincing “ooof, you’ve had cowboys in here mate”.

Knowles, pictured in 2002, has been the presenter of DIY SOS since 1999 - BBC

The other key factor in a top-notch DIY SOS episode is a tragic backstory. Sample: “This week, Nick and the team help Gwen finish the kitchen renovation started by her DIY enthusiast husband Arthur, who sadly died during the works when he accidentally cut his own head off with a Black and Decker jigsaw…” At its peak, these are often so on-the-nose and bathetic that you think it must all be totally made up.

On the subject of The Salt Path, Knowles will be looking to draw on other Cornish cultural powerhouses to bring it home for the US audience. Having annexed Padstow, Rick Stein’s restless fish-powered empire looks ever to the horizon, eager, hungry for the next posh haddock and chips, and where better to sell a slice of deep-fried history than the US? All that Knowles will then need is a savvy political operator, a cowboy’s cowboy, a guy who can negotiate a deal in the US. Gianni’s got another job on at the moment, but he can probably start next week…

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”