Dick Strawbridge addresses urging Angel to find a younger man after age gap concerns

Dick Strawbridge has revealed that he and his wife Angel Strawbridge almost split at the start of their romance, as he grew concerned about their age difference.

After meeting at a party back in 2010 following the breakdown of Dick's first marriage, the couple felt instant chemistry and went on to enjoy several dates.

While he admits that period of time was "fun", he questioned whether they were compatible and urged her to find somebody younger.

He recalled: "The first date I ever went on was with Angela, after having been separated for six years.

"We had a lot of fun and it got to the stage really quite quickly where I said, 'We're going to have to stop this, this is wonderful having a lot of fun, but you need to go and find a young man and do all the things that young people do, and I'm just going to get on'."

The 65-year-old said it was then that Angel, 46, told him she wanted to be with him, which became "one of the biggest decisions" of his life.

Quizzed on why he questioned things, Dick said he didn't know if the age gap would be fair on Angel or any potential future children, but decided to give things a go anyway.

Speaking on the How To Be 60 podcast, he shared: "[I was] over 50, Angela was sort of 20 years younger and what do we do?

"It was a really interesting 'whoa, OK' it did take me probably less than a second to go, 'OK, what the hell, we're going to do it' and that's the reason why I'm living in a castle with two lovely young kids. It makes no sense."

He added: "We fit, we work together, we're complete opposites, it's a logical that we're together, but it does work."

Fast forward the years and Dick and Angel, who are best known for their show Escape To The Chateau, realised they had nothing to worry about.

Following the birth of their two children; Arthur, 11, and Dorothy, 10, they went on to marry at their famous home in 2015.

Angel says it was "love at first sight" for her when she laid eyes on Dick and doesn't believe their age gap matters.

Two years into their romance, she shared an "impregnate me" date in the calendar as a hint to to her now husband, who also has two older children.

On what she loved about her spouse, she told Elizabeth Day on her How To Fail podcast: "He's so passionate about life, about everything. He's a story teller and he's got a certain energy.

"Honestly, even now he's got this aura about him of authority. It makes my hairs go on end, he's a very strong, powerful man, that is very kind as well and he'll do anything for anyone."