Angel Adoree is a British business entrepreneur, hospitality expert, author, and television personality best known as the co-star of Channel 4’s hit documentary series Escape to the Chateau alongside her husband, Dick Strawbridge. Born Angela Newman on April 7, 1978, in East London, she transformed her lifelong passion for 1940s vintage aesthetics and high-end hospitality into an international brand empire. Together with her family, she stepped onto the global stage in 2016 by documenting the painstaking, multi-million-pound restoration of the derelict 45-room Château de la Motte-Husson in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France.
Early Life and Roots
Angel Adoree spent her early childhood years in East London before moving with her family to Canvey Island in Essex. Her parents, Stephan and Jennifer Newman, ran a successful local jewelry shop, which served as Angel’s primary introduction to retail operations, customer experience, and visual merchandising. This entrepreneurial environment deeply influenced both Angel and her brother, Paul, who eventually took over the family jewelry business.
From a very early age, Angel demonstrated an intense fascination with retro fashion, textiles, and antique trinkets. By age 13, she spent her weekly allowance exclusively at local car boot sales and second-hand thrift shops, accumulating a massive archive of historic clothing. In 1995, she moved back to London to establish her first formal vintage market stall at the iconic Old Spitalfields Market.
Financial and Academic Background
While public audiences recognize Angel for her creative flair and visual styling, she possesses a rigorous corporate finance background. She is a fully qualified chartered accountant and spent her early twenties working in London advising corporations on profit and loss management, tax structures, and operational efficiencies.
In 2000, she combined her financial skills with her love for retro lifestyle by launching The Angel-A Vintage Experience, a monthly underground event held inside a converted East London schoolhouse. These premium gatherings featured live jazz music, retro fashion shows, and bespoke catering. To elevate her commercial credibility, she completed a comprehensive image consultancy certification at the Aston+Hayes Institute in 2006.
The Dragons’ Den Turning Point
In 2010, Angel appeared on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den to pitch her expanding corporate hospitality business, The Vintage Patisserie. Her presentation won over the notoriously tough investors, securing a joint investment offer of £100,000 from retail magnates Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis.
Although the formal investment partnership was ultimately dissolved after filming wrapped, the massive national television exposure catapulted Angel into corporate demand. She utilized the momentum to secure major brand collaborations with high-profile clients like Liberty’s of London, Paul Smith, and Kim Jones, while maintaining full equity control over her business.
Meeting Dick Strawbridge
Angel met her future husband, retired British Army Lieutenant Colonel and television presenter Dick Strawbridge, in 2010 through their shared talent agent, Sophie Laurimore. Despite their contrasting professional backgrounds—Dick an engineer focused on structural mechanics, Angel a creative designer focused on historical elegance—they shared a mutual obsession with industrious, hands-on productivity.
The couple welcomed their first child, Arthur, in 2013, followed closely by their daughter, Dorothy, in 2014. Driven by a desire to raise their children in a creative environment and establish a high-yield international wedding venue, they made the bold decision to leave their comfortable UK lifestyle behind and relocate permanently to rural France.
Buying the Dream Chateau
In January 2015, Dick and Angel finalized the purchase of the historic Château de la Motte-Husson in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France, for a base purchase price of £280,000. The magnificent 19th-century castle featured 45 rooms, a sweeping moat, and 12 acres of overgrown parkland forest, but it had remained completely abandoned for more than 40 years.
The property lacked running water, functional electrical wiring, a heating system, or a legal sewage infrastructure. With a strict nine-month window to make the castle habitable before their planned wedding date, the couple began a massive, self-funded renovation marathon that would form the basis of their television legacy.
Television Career and Legacy
The massive undertaking caught the attention of Channel 4, leading to the creation of Escape to the Chateau. The documentary series premiered in 2016, quickly growing into a top-rated international television franchise broadcast across the UK, United States, Australia, and Canada.
The program ran for nine highly successful consecutive series through 2022, capturing the emotional and financial challenges of restoring the property. Following a brief production hiatus, Channel 4 officially greenlit Series 10, bringing the beloved family back to global screens with brand-new episodes tracking the ongoing evolution of the property.
The Chateau Design Style
Angel’s signature aesthetic is widely described as “Chateau Chic”—an eclectic fusion of classic French elegance, art deco geometry, and playful vintage whimsy. Rather than stripping away the historic remnants of the property, Angel deliberately integrated found artifacts, faded wallpapers, and antique textiles directly into her interior designs.
Her most famous interior design triumph is the iconic “Wallpaper Tower,” where she preserved fragments of historic wallpaper discovered in the chateau’s attic, arranging them into a gorgeous geometric patchwork along the grand spiral staircase. Her design philosophy prioritizes bold, rich color palettes, heavy velvet drapes, and salvaged architectural elements repurposed into functional modern luxuries.
The Global Brand Empire
Angel successfully expanded her design concepts into a multi-million-pound retail empire operating under The Chateau brand name. She designs exclusive soft furnishings, bedding lines, luxury curtains, and wallpaper collections inspired by the actual rooms of her French home.
In addition to her home decor lines, Angel maintains highly lucrative retail partnerships with major UK brands, including custom flower bouquet collections for Next and a premium signature home fragrance line. Her online retail hub ships custom-branded lifestyle goods, heirloom gifts, and artisanal homewares to design enthusiasts all over the world.
Published Literary Works
Angel is an accomplished, best-selling author with several highly acclaimed books detailing her lifestyle philosophy, hospitality secrets, and renovation journeys. Her early works established her authority in retro entertaining, while her later collaborative titles chronicle her family’s transformation of their French estate.
The Vintage Tea Party Book (Octopus Publishing, 2011)
The Vintage Tea Party Year (Octopus Publishing, 2012)
The Vintage Sweets Book (Octopus Publishing, 2013)
Chateau: The Beginning (Chateau Publishing, 2018)
A Year at the Chateau (Orion Publishing, 2020)
Living the Chateau Dream (Orion Publishing, 2021)
Practical Information and Planning
For design enthusiasts and travelers looking to experience the magic of Angel’s world firsthand, the Château de la Motte-Husson operates as an exclusive, private working estate. Because it serves as the private primary residence for the Strawbridge family, access is strictly limited to scheduled business events.
Location: Martigné-sur-Mayenne, Pays de la Loire, Mayenne department, France.
Accessibility: The estate is located approximately 2.5 hours west of Paris via the high-speed TGV train line to Laval, followed by a local vehicle drive north.
Event Offerings: The property hosts high-end fairytale destination weddings, premium vintage afternoon tea days, corporate strategy retreats, and seasonal working garden workshops.
Booking Requirements: Due to overwhelming global demand, public events and wedding slots are managed via an exclusive online lottery system on their official website, with reservations typically filling years in advance.
FAQs
What is Angel Adoree’s real name?
Angel Adoree was born Angela Newman. She adopted the creative moniker “Angel Adoree” as a professional nickname during her early years building her vintage fashion business in London, eventually taking her husband’s surname to become Angel Strawbridge after her marriage.
Is Escape to the Chateau returning with new episodes?
Yes. Following a production break after series nine wrapped in 2022, Channel 4 officially announced the return of Escape to the Chateau for an all-new tenth series, bringing the Strawbridge family back to document their ongoing castle projects.
How much did Angel and Dick pay for the chateau?
Angel and Dick purchased the Château de la Motte-Husson in January 2015 for a base price of £280,000. However, the property required hundreds of thousands of pounds in structural investment to install basic utilities like electricity, heating, and plumbing.
Is Angel Adoree a qualified accountant?
Yes, Angel is a fully trained, qualified chartered accountant with a strong background in business studies. Before finding fame on television, she spent years in London auditing financial statements and advising corporations on corporate profit strategies.
Can you stay overnight at the chateau?
Overnight guest accommodations are exclusively reserved for individuals attending scheduled private weddings, corporate retreats, or specialty events hosted directly by the family. The chateau does not operate as a standard public hotel or walk-in bed and breakfast.
How old are Angel Adoree’s children?
Angel and Dick have two children together. Their son, Arthur Strawbridge, was born in 2013, and their daughter, Dorothy Strawbridge, was born in 2014. Both children have grown up on television during the filming of the series.
What happened to Angel’s Dragons’ Den investment?
Although entrepreneurs Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis publicly offered a £100,000 investment on the show, the deal was amicably dissolved during post-filming due diligence. Angel retained 100% ownership of her business while remaining excellent friends with Meaden.
Where can I buy Angel Adoree’s wallpaper and bedding?
Angel’s official home decor collections, including her famous wallpaper, bedding, and cushions, are sold directly through the official website (thechateau.tv) and via premium department stores and home retail outlets across the United Kingdom.
What department of France is the chateau located in?
The Château de la Motte-Husson is located in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, which sits within the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Does Angel Adoree dye her hair red?
Yes, Angel has openly stated that she is not a natural redhead. She adopts her signature vibrant, vintage-styled red hair color as an essential element of her 1940s-inspired look.
How many rooms does the chateau have?
The Château de la Motte-Husson features 45 rooms arranged across five historic stories, surrounded by a private moat, an architectural orangery, and 12 acres of land.
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