DESPITE suffering from a cold, TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp had the crowd in stitches as she welcomed them to a new Dorchester store.

Miss Allsopp, who presents Location, Location, Location and Kirstie’s Homemade Home, was at Scats Countrystore on the Grove Trading Estate over the weekend.

She began by asking the crowd to bear with her if they heard her sniffing, adding: “I’m not going to stand here and blow my nose.”

Taking questions from the crowd, Miss Allsopp was asked how she and Location co-host Phil Spencer coped with house hunters who ‘didn’t compromise’ on what they were looking for.

She replied: “The last one we had was when I was heavily pregnant and that could get me quite bad tempered.

“On one show we had to edit over what I actually said to them with the line: ‘I’m off for lunch, Phil’. It was very clever editing’.”

Scats store manager Sue Trolley said she was delighted to have Kirstie on board to help promote the store.

She added: “Kirstie’s somebody who lives in and enjoys the countryside and uses our other stores elsewhere in the country. We’ve had a tremendous turnout.”

n See tomorrow’s Echo Country for a full interview with Miss Allsopp.