The TV presenter thinks the posh seats are ‘an absurd waste of money’ – but only where her kids are concerned

Vacation, vacation, vacation: why Kirstie Allsopp upgrades her flights – but not her children's

Name: Kirstie Allsopp.

Age: 46.

Appearance: Relaxed, reclined, wined and dined.

Where is she? At a spa? No, on a plane.

She turns left at the door, I take it. Oh, yes. The presenter of Location, Location, Location often upgrades her flights when she goes on family holidays.

How nice for her. Still, I suppose if you can afford to buy expensive seats for you and your children then … Oh, no. The children are not included.

The kids stay at home? No, Allsopp’s children travel in economy when she and her partner sit up front in relative luxury.

Why? She thinks buying business-class seats for kids is “an absurd waste of money and very spoiling”.

I see. She wants them to understand the value of resentment. “Club class should be a huge treat you’ve worked hard for,” she says. “If kids get used to it, what do they have to work towards?”

I did not even realise this was allowed. I thought I was supposed to sit next to my kids so that no one else had to. Apparently, it is a thing among the moneyed classes. The chef Gordon Ramsay also leaves his kids in economy while he swans about in first. “It is my wife and I’s choice to keep them real,” was how he put it.

I don’t think there is a teachable moment about realness anywhere in this. Allsopp claims she would rather spend the extra money on the holiday itself, rather than the journey.

Imagine how much money she could spend on the holiday if she sat in the back with her children. I think you might be jealous of Allsopp because you don’t have anything like the cash needed to get on the horns of this particular dilemma.

Not at all. Does she do this on trains as well? She has not spoken about that.

Does she eat with her children when they go to restaurants or does she just bring their food out to the car? I can see a nerve has been touched.

No, I am fascinated. Tell me more about Allsopp’s rules for living real. She is also very down on people having washing machines in their kitchen.

What? Why? She says it is “disgusting”.

But my washing machine is in the kitchen, right next to the bathtub. Allsopp feels your pain, but she would like you to try harder.

Do say: “It is all about spending on the vacation, vacation, vacation.”

Don’t say: “Family means nobody gets left behind. Except you and you. Have a good trip and don’t forget to act poor.”