Brian Dowling has admitted that becoming a father to his daughter Blake a year ago has changed his outlook on life and that she has given him "the gift of time".
TV stars Brian Dowling and his husband Arthur Gourounlian marked their little girl's first birthday – she's one on Friday, 1 September - with a lavish celebration a week before her big day.
The celebrity couple have been open about their previous struggles to adopt before baby Blake came into their lives thanks to Brian's sister, Aoife, who acted as their surrogate.
And now, a year on, Brian is still coming to terms with the fact that Blake has completely changed his outlook on life.
"Blake has been such a blessing to myself and Arthur and our extended family," he said at a media event launching his new Virgin Media One show The Salvage Squad.
"Blake has made me realise how much I wasted time in my twenties and thirties doing sweet FA.
"Blake has given me the gift of time, in the sense that I now manage my time better. I'm way more practical with my time. I use my time way more wisely. I think she’s injected so much love, life and laughter.
"I’m mostly not the same person I was before because I also now worry for her a little bit more. Especially when it comes to things like sustainability and climate change. I get worried for her long-term.
"We want her to grow up in comparative safety," added the proud dad.
As for The Salvage Squad – well that’s also led to some changes in Brian’s outlook. For starters, it’s not the kind of project you might have expected from the Big Brother winner.
Beginning this October, The Salvage Squad sees Brian and his team of sustainable interior designers, up-cyclers and tradespeople on a mission to transform Ireland’s tired, old rooms into trendy spaces fit for modern living.
The challenge is pretty straightforward. They must only use second-hand, free-cycled, salvaged, up-cycled, homemade, or pre-used furniture, materials, and accessories to create dream rooms in just three days.
Brian freely admits he had initial doubts about getting involved. "When I was asked to do the show, to be honest, I was thinking: is this really a good fit for me? I really didn’t know.
"I was always good when it came to sustainability with clothes. I would really invest in clothing, especially bags, designer bags - stuff that I’ve had for years - shoes, coats.
"I remember with my Big Brother money I blew a lot on a lot of designer stuff that I still have now. Over twenty years later! So I think I was being sustainable when I didn’t realise I was being sustainable."
But clothes and accessories are one thing – especially when you’re in your twenties and trying to maintain a multi-media career and celebrity status. Domesticity is the last thing on your mind.
"When it comes to interiors and makeovers, on the whole, I wasn’t as sustainable," Dowling said.
"Because I used to always think everything had to be brand-new. I want this. I want that."
Settling down with Arthur Gourounlian obviously helped.
"My husband Arthur is more about vintage pieces and pre-loved pieces," said Dowling. "And I think what I’ve learned from making the show The Salvage Squad is that – I used to always think that if something was second-hand, or vintage, you’d go 'Oh no, you know I don’t want that’.
"But we had pieces of furniture on the show that are second-hand that are still brand-new. Still have their tags attached. That would still come covered in the original packaging.
"So I’m getting so much better at that," he added. "I’m definitely more aware of sustainability when it comes to like curtains. Or up-cycling. For example, if you look at a character and say you don’t like it – and I’m really bad at stuff like that.
"But when you know what you’re doing, you can up-cycle anything and make it look incredible."
The Salvage Show begins on Virgin Media One in October
