Much loved TV presenter and architect, Hugh Wallace was remembered in last night's final episode of Home of the Year.
The episode, which saw finalists Lorcan and Adrian prevail as winners with their stunning home in Kildare, finished with a moving tribute to Hugh Wallace, who died suddenly in December. He was 68 years old.
The episode showed a montage of clips of Wallace was shown, including clips of him smiling and laughing with fellow judges, Siobhan Lam and Amanda Bone, as well as thanking the crew for their work on the show.
Lorcan and Adrian's home was praised by Wallace, who could be heard saying that he knew it was the winner property from the moment he set eyes on it.
As expected, this montage left many fans quite emotional, with many taking to social media to react.
"That ending with all the clips of Hugh", one viewer wrote, while another added: "Aw, lovely tribute to the wonderful Hugh at the end of #HomeOfTheYear and yes, the best house won this year. I loved it instantly".
Another said: "RIP Hugh, a joy to watch. Thank you".
This comes a week after Amanda Bone, who worked with Wallace on the RTE home interiors show, admitted that watching these episodes was too upsetting for her.
“I decided I’d watch it with my family this year as there’s no way I could watch it on my own,” she said. “But I actually stopped watching them, because after the third episode, I just couldn’t sleep. I was just so upset".
She continued: “Niall my husband said to me: ‘I think you’re upset, because the more episodes you watch, the less episodes there are to come’. Subconsciously, you’re aware that this is the end. And I think he hit the nail on the head, because I was kind of excited about watching Hugh, and then it was just getting worse".
Another home show that Hugh Wallace was renowned for was The Great House Revival, which is still airing at the moment.
The most recent episodes of the show aired on Sunday, with two final episodes also airing later this year.
Back in December, RTÉ Director General, Kevin Bakhurst paid tribute to Hugh Wallace.
“On RTÉ’s hugely popular Home of the Year, Hugh, with his fellow judges, not only opened the door to the most extraordinary homes in Ireland, but he also inspired viewers to engage with the vast possibilities of innovative design", he said.
