Council House Britain featured a tenant called Mr Holland who sadly died before getting the chance to enjoy a TV date with his friend Charmain.
Thursday (September 24) evening’s episode of the Channel 4 documentary series introduced viewers to Eric Holland, a retired shipbuilder living in a council flat.
His home was in desperate need of a makeover and so workmen came in to shift all the clutter and prepare it to be decorated.
What happened to Mr Holland in Council House Britain?
Sadly, the end of the episode revealed that, after filming, Mr Holland contracted COVID-19 in hospital and died.
At one point in the episode, housing officer Charmain visited Mr Holland and was amazed by the change in his cleared-out flat.
She also asked him why he didn’t have a TV, and he admitted he hadn’t seen a telly screen since 1991. He didn’t think there would be anything for him to enjoy.
But Charmain assured him there would be.
“Mr Holland! Look, wow!” she said as she inspected his flat. “Oh I like this. Look at all the space in here.”
Struck with a plan, she told him: “What about we just get you a little telly? They’ve got lots, listen. I like watching Yesterday. You look at the telly, they talk about World War I, World War II. All about the ships and the planes and all that stuff.
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“You’d get loads of information on there. You’d be surprised what’s on telly now.”
Sounding interested, Eric asked tentatively: “Films about Stonehenge?”
“They’ve got things like that on there as well,” Charmain informed him. “Anything you don’t like, you just turn over. It’d be nice, it’d be company. It’d give you a new lease of life.
“You and I have got a date. I’ll bring some Stone’s ginger wine, it’ll have to be after work. You and I have got a date to sit down and watch some Yesterday.”
Plans for Mr Holland’s TV date with Charmain
Mr Holland went into care while workers renovated his flat.
The programme showed viewers how much better it looked and Charmain was excited for Eric to see it.
However, she said in a video at the end of the episode: “I’m just letting you know that I had some bad news. Mr Eric Holland had some underlying health issues.
That poor old boy… very sad. All he wanted was to watch a film about Stonehenge.
“He was taken into hospital because he had a fall and they found other things wrong with him.
“And subsequently he caught coronavirus and died. The one good thing I suppose you can take from this is that he was in hospital and not by himself.”
An on-screen message then read: “In memory of Eric Holland, 1939 to 2020.”
What did Council House Britain viewers say?
Reacting on Twitter, Channel 4 viewers were ‘devastated’ and praised Charmain’s efforts to keep Mr Holland company.
One said: “RIP Mr Holland, honestly that is devastating. Credit to Charmain #councilhousebritain.”
Another confessed: “I just cried at the end of #CouncilHouseBritain. Isolates for 30 years, one week in hospital and he’s dead.”
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A third tweeted: “#councilhousebritain Charmain is a kind, caring person, a rare find. I thank her for her kindness towards sweet Eric Holland. Shed a tear over his passing, totally tragic, he never got to see his home.”
A fourth wrote: “#councilhousebritain devastated for poor Mr Holland, lovely character.”
Someone else said: “That poor old boy on #councilhousebritain who died of corona. Very sad. All he wanted was to watch a film about Stonehenge. Charmain of Southwark Council deserves her own show.”
https://twitter.com/andresaidwhat/status/1309278002082131970
https://twitter.com/JuliaWindsor3/status/1309256349956616193
https://twitter.com/kezt88/status/1309254405951283200
That poor old boy on #councilhousebritain who died of corona. Very sad. All he wanted was to watch a film about Stonehenge. Charmaine of Southwark Council deserves her own show.
— Jenny Stanton (@jenny_brix) September 24, 2020
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