Scotland’s Home Of The Year presenter Danny Campbell’s tribute following death of brother

Scotland’s Home Of The Year host Danny Campbell has spoken of his heartache after losing his beloved younger brother.

Duncan, 31, died last month after a battle with stage four brain cancer.

TV architect Danny arranged a special preview of the next series of Scotland’s Home Of The Year for his sick brother before he sadly died the following day.

“I asked our producer if I could see the final episode of the series. They’re not really allowed to do this but producer Carlin Wallace sent the episode to me,” said Danny. “My parents made Duncan’s favourite dinner, a fish pie, and they watched it together.

“He didn’t have his sight, but Duncan loved it. The next day he died. I’m glad he got to see it, and I’m glad he had his family around him. I’m glad we made it into a positive.”

Danny, 33, from Glasgow, called his brother “the love of my life”, and said he forced himself to go back to work filming the hit BBC show only hours after losing Duncan.

“He died two days before filming the final for Scotland’s Home Of The Year, which was a full day of smiling, laughing and joking,” he said.

“The production company was so supportive, I had the option to cancel but I decided to just do it.

“I thought that’s what he would want me to do. And I’m glad I did, because if I had to do it now, I wouldn’t be able to. It’s honestly been the worst time of my whole life. I’ve never felt so low,” he added. “I’m a parent so I can understand what mine went through was worse than what I went through, even though Duncan was my best friend. We were linked from day one.”

Danny explained how a proud Duncan, a comedian and actor, gave him tips about working on a TV set after landing a role as a host on the last series of Scotland’s Home Of The Year, alongside long-time judges Anna Campbell-Jones and Banjo Beale.

Danny, a father of three boys, said seeing his sons playing brings back memories of him, Duncan and their older brother, Euros.

“I get a lump in my throat sometimes when I see my sons,” he added. “My youngest’s name is Duncan Rex Campbell. He’s named after my brother, we call him D-Rex. It’s a really profound thing that brothers have, that standing shoulder-to-shoulder with your brother.

“It’s like the song Two Little Boys, when the horse charges into the gunfire to collect his injured brother. Did you think I would leave you dying? It’s a powerful thing.”

As well as being a TV presenter, entrepreneur Danny runs his own architecture firm, HOKO Design, and said he’s thrown himself into work over the past weeks.

“When Duncan eventually did go, it was weird because I went into a kind of productive mode and started sorting things out and kind of helped my parents. I went back to work as well. People have been so generous with their sympathy, but there’s a limit to that. The world keeps on going, doesn’t it?”

Running his own business comes with plenty of conflict, explained Danny, but when dealing with workplace conflict, he asks himself what Duncan would have done.

“Whenever I had problems, I would phone him, and he gave me the best advice,” said Danny. “He was incredibly wise, and had so many qualities that I don’t.

“He was immensely kind. He never bitched about anybody, ever. I’m trying to get some of those qualities myself, which is difficult because they’re not synonymous with being a high-achieving entrepreneur.”

Danny appears on the latest episode of podcast Human First, where he talks about his experiences with Duncan’s illness, as well as his own philosophy in life and business.

Although he said he wants to be the “Pablo Escobar of extensions”, Danny drives a budget Smart car, and always appears on Scotland’s Home Of The Year wearing his trademark shoes: a pair of Crocs.

“They’re my favourite shoes, although when it rains they’re really inconvenient.

“With Crocs, the thing is we live in a very unfair world where people judge each other very often. I felt the only way of challenging that is to have so much self-belief that what I wear and what I do is completely under my own steam, and I’m challenging that every day when I wear Crocs.

“It justifies the point, it’s irrelevant what shoes I wear! I’ll continue to crack on and wear the Crocs and drive a Smart car.

“Who I am is my heart and in my beliefs and actions, it’s not the shoes.”

Fatherhood, Danny said, helps him wind down from the intense schedule of running a business and working in television.

“Yesterday I played on the trampoline with my three boys for two hours straight, and we were all just laughing,” added Danny.

“I didn’t think about anything else, and I was able to be free from the other things.

“Duncan talked about depression and suicide in his stand-up show, and he described depression as life being in black and white. But he said that the colour will come back.

“And today, I had eight hours of sleep last night, and I feel I have a spring in my step.

“I have the chance to talk about Duncan.

“You know, the colour is coming back. The colour always comes back.”

The Human First™️ Podcast is hosted by Adrian Murphy, personal wealth and life planner. Find all the episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and other major podcast platforms