Kirstie Allsopp denies breaking lockdown rules after travelling to second home in Devon

Television presenter’s husband tested positive for coronavirus at the time

(Getty Images)

Kirstie Allsopp has defended her decision to travel to Devon during the first national lockdown after her partner tested positive for coronavirus.

Earlier this year, the Location, Location, Location host was accused of breaking lockdown rules and potentially spreading Covid-19 when she travelled to her second home to self-isolate with her partner Ben Andersen.

Allsopp insisted she did not go against government restrictions, as she had not been staying in London or Devon at the time. 

While she did not reveal where she was at the time, she added that the couple made the decision to relocate to Devon as it would be easier for them to quarantine and prevent the further spread of the virus.

“When Ben was diagnosed with Covid, we weren’t at home, either in London or Devon. We were somewhere else,” she told Radio Times magazine.

“Because Ben was infectious, we went to Devon, where there’s 40 acres and we wouldn’t infect anyone else.

“There are loads of people who are always going to believe I did the wrong thing,” she said of the trip, during the first lockdown.

“I did not go to Devon (from London) after lockdown. We went to isolate.”

The 49-year-old, who is the daughter of Charles Henry Allsopp, sixth Baron Hindlip, went on to vent her frustration over those who call her out for being privileged.

Allsopp said she was “very angered by the concept that people think privilege strips you of empathy” and is very much aware of how much some people who are struggling during the coronavirus crisis.

“It drives me mad. Death is death, grief is grief, loss is loss, fear is fear,” she said.

“Money absolutely makes life easier. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not aware of all the people who have lost their jobs this year and who have no idea when they will find another one. Or those marriages that just won’t make it through another lockdown. I’m fully aware of how many people are struggling right now.”

Following her partner’s positive test result earlier this year, Allsopp revealed that she too might have become infected – albeit to a very mild extent.

During an interview on Good Morning Britain back in March, she said: “I think probably I have [come down with Covid-19]. I had a slight tightness in my chest a while ago. I’m pretty sure I’ve had it and I haven’t had bad symptoms.

“I think this is the point that needs to be made really clearly – so many people have it and they don’t know they’ve got it. It’s all very well for us to think we’re fine and we can go out and about, but many of us will have it and never know it.”

The full interview is in Radio Times magazine, out now.