Matt Fiddes was so moved by the plight of Andy Leamon and his disabled wife Kim he broke the rules of the Channel 5 show
A MILLIONAIRE was so moved by his life swap on Rich House, Poor House that he broke the rules – and bought the “poor” family a life-changing gift.
Andy Leamon and his disabled wife Kim traded their four-bed home on a council estate in Southampton for Matt Fiddes's six-bedroom mansion in Royal Wootton Bassett for the Channel 5 show, which sees families swapping places for a week.
The Leamons, who have two children Freddie ten, and Olivia, eight, have struggled to get by since an accident at work left Kim with Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome, and unable to walk unaided.
But after learning that Kim had difficulty getting out of the house, soft-hearted Matt decided to help them out by breaking the rules of the show and buying them a life-changing gift.
Both Kim and Andy broke down in tears when they stepped into their back garden at the end of the show – to find a brand new mobility scooter.
Andy told The Sun Online: “It’s made a massive difference. Kim can take the kids to school, which is the biggest thing.
“In the morning Freddie walks to school on his own and a friend has been taking Olivia with her own daughter, if I’m not there. I would always collect them but now Kim’s got the mobility scooter, when she’s feeling up to it and if the weather is dry, she can go and get them from school.
“She is able to go down to the shops as well so it has given her some independence and opened a lot of doors.”
Andy admits that the whole family was moved to tears by the life-changing gift, which came as a total surprise.
It was presented to them at the end of tonight’s show, along with an emotional note from Matt and his wife Moniqe.
He said: “The cameraman was very clever because he asked us to pull the curtains that looked out to the back garden because ‘there was a bit of glare from the window’.
“Then he told me to come outside so I stepped out and I saw this scooter and I called the kids and Kim to come out.
“There was a bit of confusion and then we read the thank you card from the Fiddes family which said that the week had meant a lot to them and they’d learned about Kim’s mobility problems and how she struggles.
“He related the mobility issues to his late mum, who had lost mobility due to illness and he had bought her a scooter.
“But I was reading this out loud and I was getting choked and emotional. Then he wrote that he had broken the Channel 5 rules, and bought Kim this mobility scooter.
“Kim broke down, and then all of us broke down in tears of happiness.
“It was overwhelming and I still choke up when I talk about it, because it is such a lovely gift. It would have taken us months or years to save up for one of these.”
Kim and Andy had already got a taste of what life would be like with an electric scooter after swapping their usual weekly spend of £171 for the £1,500 budget of Matt and wife Moniqe.
Andy hired a scooter for the week and the family were able to enjoy a rare day out at Thorpe Park.
He said: “The last time we did a family day out was at Harry Potter World and we were both working, a few years ago.
“I take the kids to the park but because of my wife’s disability it’s always me. At home, we borrow her grandad’s wheelchair now and again but that was purely for hospital appointments and rare occasions.
“We hired a mobility scooter and that meant Kim could get out and about with us and we went to Thorpe Park.
“I got a bit emotional thinking about it because we don’t do much as a family and it was a joy to see my wife smile. She never smiles to be honest because she is always in pain.
“It was wonderful to have her there.”
The family had to keep the scooter secret until the show aired, but did manage another family day out to celebrate.
“The week after we got the scooter, the horse-racing at Goodwood was on. Kim put 50p each way on a horse that was 100 to 1, and it came in, so she won over £60.
“That Friday we put the scooter in the boot, and the winnings paid for us to go to the races for a family day at Glorious Goodwood and it was a cracking day.”
Matt, who lives in a six-bed mansion in 60 acres of land, has two daughters – Lola, 11, and Savannah, ten, from his first marriage and two sons, Zach, four, and Hero, two, with Moniqe.
The millionaire, who owns a chain of 700 martial arts schools and used to work as Michael Jackson’s bodyguard, was full of admiration for his opposite number.
He said that a week in Andy's shoes had taught him the importance of family, and he told the show: “I found out exactly what Andy Leamon is all about, what he does, how he lives and what his values are in life. He’s a superhero in my eyes.
“His kids worship him. He puts everyone else before himself.
“He looks after his wife, does everything around the house — and holds down a job.”
But Andy, who works at an emergency call centre for the elderly, reflected that the two men were essentially the same.
He said: “Matt and I are both good guys, we both love our kids and our families.
“The only difference between me and him is money.
“This was such a lovely gift, and I feel like I owe him a lot. I know he doesn’t want anything in return but I want to repay him in some way.”
Last week, we revealed the Leamons were shocked to find that Matt and Moniqe's weekly AVOCADO bill was more than the cost of Freddie's school shoes.
Rich House Poor House is on Channel 5 on Thursdays, at 9pm.
