A FARNHAM family swapped their Castle Street mansion for a council house in Basingstoke when they took part in a Channel 5 show.

Rich House Poor House sees families from different circumstances swap lives for a week to see how the other half live.

The Hogan family starred in the show’s Christmas special, which aired on Boxing Day.

Noel Hogan, aged 58, his 47-year-old wife Lisa and daughters Amber, 22, and Aysha, 18, swapped their lavish five-bedroom mansion in Castle Street with a three-bed council house belonging to Tanya Buck and her three children, Dylan, Faith and baby Esme.

At the start of the week, both families discover their budget, which is based on disposable income.

The Hogans were given around £140 to live off, which Noel pointed out as being £20 a day, while the Bucks enjoyed a disposable income of around £3,300, to which Tanya said: “That is half my year’s earnings.”

As well as buying gifts for her own children Tanya, who owns a cleaning business, also donated gifts to the “forgotten homeless” – those living in temporary accommodation, similarly to where her own family had lived.

Noel, a private investigator, spoke of his own childhood growing up in a council house and commented on the Buck’s house having “almost the same layout” as his childhood home.

During their stay, Noel and Lisa visited a local foodbank to see firsthand the demand for support, especially in the festive period.

The pair were moved to tears following their visit, where Noel said they “met the real-life Father Christmas”.

“He runs a foodbank,” he continued.When they arrived at the Buck’s home, the Hogan family were shocked to discover the house was without carpets. They took it upon themselves to pay for the whole house to be carpeted, helping Christmas come early for the Bucks when they returned home.

Noel told the Herald they decided to pay for the new carpets “just because we’re in a really fortunate position to do it”.

“We decided to see what we could do and she was absolutely delighted.”

They have since had the Buck’s house completely redecorated.

Noel formerly worked as a policeman at Farnham Police Station from 1979 to 1982, before joining the Metropolitan Police until 1986.

That same year, he went on to set up his own business, which later moved into Borelli Yard in 1989. Hogan International has now been running for more than 30 years.

The family have lived in their Castle Street home for six years, having previously lived in Tilford.

They got involved in the show after receiving a letter from the production team at Hat Trick.

“We spoke to the kids and they said they’d do it,” Noel said.

“It was all very interesting really. It was a complete change of lifestyle for a week. It was interesting to see the kids take on things.

“It would have been more difficult if we were living completely on their budget.

“The kids were good, they got into it and we took our dogs with us.

“They (the kids) found the filming difficult – they filmed us for 60 hours.

“It’s amazing how much work went into it. The people at Hat Trick were very good.”

Noel added they had become friends with Tanya and that she has been over to visit since the show.

“She found it really positive. She’s a really nice woman. She just enjoyed a nice week away!”