Jamie Durie and his young family are front and centre in new renovation show coming to Seven

Jamie Durie has been popping up on Aussie television screens for the better part of three decades. Over that time, he’s fronted everything from garden shows to renovation series (he was The Block’s first-ever host, pre-Scott Cam) — he was even a regular on Oprah Winfrey’s top-rating US talk show in the mid-noughties.

Now he’s back on screens Down Under — and as he explains, his new series is a mash-up of some TV favourites.

“It’s kind of like the eco version of Grand Designs, mixed with a bit of Beyond 2000, mixed with a bit of Backyard Blitz, The Block — even a bit of House Rules,” Durie tells The Sunday Times.

Growing Home With Jamie Durie, which premieres later this month on Seven, sees Durie, a trained horticulturist and landscape designer, and his fiance, Aussie singer-songwriter Ameka Jane, attempting to build their dream eco-friendly, environmentally sustainable family home on a sloping block in Sydney’s Pittwater.

Filmed across the two-year build, the show takes an up-close look at what it takes to bring their vision to life, detailing all the hurdles that come their way during the process.

And there are plenty: neighbour disputes, planning rejections, issues around engineering on the steep, tree-lined block, even the arrival of a nesting pair of ospreys.

“It’s all there,” Durie explains. “We had asbestos (on the original shack), then we hit rock, then we hit more rock, then we hit clay, and then we found we had to lay down twice the amount of tiles that we could engineer properly.

“We went over budget — and, oh yes, we also had two babies during construction!

“All of this appears on camera!”

For the normally private Durie — who welcomed two kids, three-year-old daughter Beau and almost-two-year-old son Nash (he also has an adult daughter, Taylor, from a previous relationship) — putting it all out there was a tremendous leap of faith.

“I wouldn’t normally put my private life on display,” he explains.

“But we felt that the lessons that we learned, in terms of sustainability, were important enough to sacrifice some of our privacy and share our journey.”

Durie and Jane use cutting-edge environmentally friendly technology in their home, which is solar-powered and geothermically heated.

And while the project might have a budget at the top end of the scale, many of the ideas discussed can be adapted for the rest of us watching at home.

“We wanted to prove that one can build sustainably and responsibly without compromise,” Durie says.

“We have worked hard for our dream and whilst it’s ambitious, there are simple and cost-effective ideas here that everyone can use in their own new nest.”

Speaking of nests, along with the other unforeseen issues that sprung up over the course of the build came the arrival of a pair of nesting ospreys (which are a protected species) on the property, who chose to build their own new home atop a crane that was being used during construction.

Durie and Jane decided they couldn’t justify moving the birds, who by this stage had made a sizeable nest, and though the crane was due to be dismantled by October, they decided to keep it up so their new neighbours could enjoy their own “dream home”.

At time of print it’s still standing, with Mama Osprey, Papa Osprey and their little Osprey chick all doing well. You can even watch the birds via a livestream camera the couple set up during filming.

It’s surprisingly addictive to while away some time observing the birds — and a great way to enjoy Durie’s sensational views over stunning Pittwater.

“Our YouTube is just going crazy,” says Durie of the interest the birds have generated.

“My children are watching (the livestream) every day, watching the little chick get fed the best fresh salmon for breakfast.

“Ospreys need to be above the treeline — they always choose high points — and so the crane made them feel very comfortable, and the movement emulates the tree, so they really do quite like it.”

As Durie explains, “this series is about working with nature, not against it” — there was no way they could turf them out.

“The ospreys’ journey is all part of our eco quest as we build a home that’s not just healthy for our family, but also for the environment,” he says.

“We spent the last couple of 100 years doing a lot of damage to our planet, and it’s time now for our generation to clean up our mess, and pave a greener future for our children.

“Having kids that are (aged) two and three has really brought this to the surface for me, and really driven home that if we don’t start practising a more sustainable way to live, our kids won’t have the same planet we’ve grown up in.”

Durie will be talking about his new show in more detail when he arrives in Perth next weekend for Telethon.

“I’m told that I have to do a special performance,” he says. “They haven’t told me quite what it is yet, but whatever it takes —we’re raising money for the Children’s Hospital, so I’m all for it.”

Growing Home with Jamie Durie premieres on October 25 at 8.30pm on Seven and 7plus. Catch Jamie in town for Telethon next weekend.