Party-loving woman, 21, and teetotal Christian, 85, live together to see if sharing home can solve housing crisis
ON paper, they are like chalk and cheese.
Fun-loving Sophie Donald, 21, loves a glass or three of rosé wine, while 85-year-old Eunice McGhie-Belgrave is a devout Christian and teetotal.
But after spending a week as housemates for new Channel 4 documentary Lodgers For Codgers, the pair are now firm friends.
The chances of 25 to 35-year-olds owning their own home have halved over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, 3.5million pensioners live alone.
The heartwarming and hilarious six-part series — filmed before lockdown — debuts on Friday and asks if young and old cohabiting could ease our housing crisis.
It was inspired by schemes such as the one run by charity Homeshare, which sees OAPs with spare rooms offer cheap accommodation to skint millennials in exchange for company and some help around the home.
Sophie was matched with Eunice at a speed dating-style event arranged by the show, although Sophie says she took some persuading before moving in.
The fashion business student says: “Eunice is the complete opposite to me. I said to the producers, ‘I am not staying with her — no way. She’s too strict’.
She had a long list of house rules including no drinking, no smoking, no swearing, no loud music and keeping your room tidy.
“She’s very fixed about things and said, ‘These are my rules’.
"But then I thought maybe having a younger person around could help her change her ways a bit, change her structure. I wanted to liven up her life.”
Eunice, a great-grandmother who moved here from Jamaica in 1957, says: “Anyone who comes to stay with me should not expect an easy life, unless they respect me and keep the rules as I command.
“I am very strict in whatever I say and do because that is the way I was brought up at home.”
Eunice, who has lived alone in her five-bedroom house in Birmingham since her husband died in 1999, has worked tirelessly for decades to help inner-city children, including teaching youngsters how to do gardening.
But she had her hands full with Sophie, who says: “When I first arrived, she thought I was a hooligan or something. I broke the majority of her rules quite quickly.”
One memorable moment came just a few days into the experiment.
I told the producers I'm not staying with her, she’s too strict.
Sophie, who usually lives with her parents in Solihull and cannot afford to rent a flat on her own, came up with a plan to bend Eunice’s rules.
She says: “I needed some space, so I called my dad and said, ‘Let’s go out for a drink’ because Eunice said no drinking in the house. You’ve got to be sneaky.
"It doesn’t take a lot to get me drunk, and when I got back to the house I was really loud, playing music, dancing and stuff. She was not happy, telling me to be quiet.”
Eunice says: “I didn’t like that. She knew I was not happy.”
After a much-needed “disco nap”, Sophie sobered up and was quick to apologise to her elderly landlady.
She recalls: “I said, ‘I’m sorry but I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t go out and get drunk, it’s part of me.’ I gave her a hug and we made up.”
'NOT ALL YOUNGSTERS HAVE IT EASY'
That prompted the pair to open up to one another.
Sophie revealed her past struggles with depression while Eunice told how difficult life became when she moved to England and her daughter was diagnosed with cancer.
Sophie first suffered mental-health issues aged 12. She had a breakdown and spent six months in hospital.
She says: “I then developed anorexia and was in hospital for another six months. My parents thought they were going to lose me. It wasn’t until I was 17 that I started to get my life back together.”
Sophie and Eunice agree their talk gave them a better understanding of one another.
Sophie, who helps finance her studies by working on a store make-up counter, says: “It was really important to me to be able to share that with her because she can also get an understanding that maybe not all youngsters have it easy.
"Although I’m young and a bit wild at times, I have had a journey. I could relate to her.”
Eunice says: “I used to work in mental health, so I know quite a bit about it. I think she then realised I could be a gentle person and understand. So we did get on very well indeed, actually.”
Sophie even introduced Eunice to yoga. Eunice says: “She got me down on the floor and taught me how to do it.
"Sometimes, even now, I get down on the floor and stretch my bones. I’ve got arthritis and things like that but it is very, very good.”
Eunice got Sophie to lend a hand at one of her gardening sessions but was less than impressed with the youngster’s choice of outfit.
She laughs: “When Sophie came out, she was dressed as if she was going to a party. But it was not too much of a problem. We had a laugh.”
Although the pair bonded, Eunice chose not to let Sophie move in with her when the week-long trial ended.
Sophie says: “She said I’m not allowed. It was hilarious.”
GENERATIONAL DIVIDE
Filmed before lockdown, the series often lays bare the generational divide.
At a matching event, one OAP tells a prospective tenant: “People say to me, ‘You should go on Grindr and Tinder’. What are they?”
When the young man politely explains that “Grindr is a dating site for gay men”, the pensioner bursts out laughing.
Influencer Amelia Bell, 20, also comes a cropper when trying to teach millennial lingo as she looks for a match.
She asks one older couple: “Do you know what ‘Netflix and chill’ is?” When they draw a blank, Amelia tried to explain. She says: “They put Netflix on but . . . you won’t end up watching.”
The woman looks confused and says: “OK, right. Are you asking if we would do that?”
Aghast, Amelia hastily replies, “Oh no, definitely not!” — much to the relief of the older couple. The prospective landlady says: “Oh, sorry! I wondered where it was going then.”
Karin Taylor, 62, a writer of erotic fiction who lives in Nottingham, has better luck — getting propositioned by one young man.
She says: “He said, ‘Why don’t we just go for a drink?’ And I thought, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe he is doing this!’ But it was quite funny.”
Karin was prompted to offer up her spare room by the difficulties her nieces and nephews have faced.
But the glamorous landlady took issue with the show’s title, pointing out: “I’m not a codger.”
She adds: “I don’t think it is a very complimentary name. But I take it as tongue-in-cheek.”
Karin declined the younger man’s offer and was later matched with Amelia.
She says: “One of the first things I noticed about Amelia was this amazing made-up face.
“Not being a massive make-up wearer myself, I have no idea what to do with blenders and highlighters and God knows what else.
"The first thing I said to her was, ‘How long does it take you to put that on?’ I was fascinated by the younger people today and how much time they take to paint this incredible canvas.
“Then all I was thinking was, ‘Oh my God, is that going to go all over my sheets and towels?’”
'I LOST MY NAN IN 2015 BUT I HAVE ANOTHER NOW'
Like Sophie, Amelia — who has almost 90,000 followers on Instagram — cannot afford to move out of her parents’ home in Manchester.
She says: “I’ve got all this debt from one year of university, so it’s impossible.”
Apart from uni, this is the first time she has lived away from home.
Amelia adds: “I was quite scared on the train there. I was thinking, ‘This could literally be a week from hell’. But we got on like a house on fire.”
Karin says: “Despite the vast age difference, we had a lot in common and we clicked quite quickly.”
She says: “Amelia told me she’d start getting ready at 4pm for a night out and wouldn’t leave the house until midnight.
"My mind boggles at that. I convinced Amelia we should go out for the day without make-up because I wanted her to see the natural beauty she has, not the beauty she adds.
"I hadn’t realised how emotional the experience was for her until the day wore on. I wanted to give her a big hug.”
Amelia, who works for a clothing brand, says: “Karin had no idea about my struggles with body dysmorphia. She was just trying to help.
"I felt very uncomfortable and got upset. But it wasn’t so much to do with Karin. It was more because I didn’t have make-up on and I felt insecure.”
The pair, who are both single, set up dating profiles for each other.
Amelia cheekily urged Karin to send men the aubergine emoji because “it basically means you really like cooking”.
Karin says: “I’m totally lost when it comes to things like emojis. I’m Neanderthal. But I could see where she was going. She was giggling like crazy.”
It was emotional when the two parted. Amelia said she would consider moving in with Karin if she found a job in Nottingham.
They have kept in contact — as have Sophie and Eunice, who are now firm friends.
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Sophie says: “Eunice is a really inspiring person. She went through such a challenging period when she moved to England. She built herself up to where she is today. She does so much for her community.
“I lost my nan in 2015 but I have inherited another one now.”
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She adds: “Eunice is coming round for Sunday dinner at some point. I’m a bit concerned, though, because we are all going to want to drink. So I expect a lecture at the dining table.”
- Lodgers For Codgers starts on Channel 4 on Friday at 8pm.
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