Facts: Pernilla Wahlgren
Age: 55 years.
Occupation: Artist, actor, podcast profile.
Background in selection: Got the title role in the musical “Annie” as an eleven-year-old and has since played in a long line of musicals and theater productions.
Released his self-titled debut album in 1985 and came fourth in Melodifestivalen with the hit song “Piccadilly Circus” the same year.
Put on his own stage show “Kort, glad og grucken” in 2019 and the sequel “Pernilla Wahlgren har hubris” premiered the following year.
Is the main character in the reality series “Wahlgren’s world” and runs the podcast “Wahlgren och Wistam” together with Sofia Wistam.
This summer is the new presenter for “Allsång på Skansen” in SVT.
Current: With the reality series “Villa Wahlgren” in Kanal 5.
Anyone who follows “Wahlgren’s world” is probably well aware that Pernilla Wahlgren has bought a mountainous plot of land on Lidingö outside Stockholm where she has built her dream house. Those interested have also been able to follow some of the construction’s joys and tribulations via the Instagram account “Villa Wahlgren” – the house’s name, which is now also the title of a new TV program about the construction.
Follow the process
In four parts, viewers can follow the house journey from the first sod to the housewarming party, and the idea to make television about the process came from Wahlgren himself.
— House, interior design and food programs are what I myself love and watch. And since I still had a camera crew around me filming “Wahlgren’s world”, I thought it might be a good idea for viewers to follow the entire process, she says.
However, it was important to Wahlgren that “Villa Wahlgren” be different from her other reality series. Here, the house and the building should be at the center, not the person Wahlgren.
— “Wahlgren’s world” is a pure feel-good programme. In the new program, the focus should not be on me as a person, and I really wanted it to be serious and informative without me playing pranksters, she says.
The architect Thomas Sandell tries to give Pernilla Wahlgren advice about the house building. Chooses yourself
The program features the well-known architect Thomas Sandell, who thinks about the choices Wahlgren has made regarding everything from house type to interior design solutions.
And he doesn’t always agree with her.
— Sometimes I could panic a bit, like when he said I had chosen the wrong type of house for this impossible, mountainous plot. That maybe I should have built a basement house instead. I have taken his advice to heart, but still do what I want (laughs).
Pernilla Wahlgren believes that the faithful “Wahlgren’s world” viewers will enjoy “Villa Wahlgren”, but perhaps above all those who are generally interested in house building, architecture and interior design.
— You can get tips and inspiration even if you are perhaps “just” renovating an apartment. Of course, not everyone can buy a plot of land and build a new house, even if the plots are cheaper in the countryside than on Lidingö.
“Villa Wahlgren” premieres on Kanal 5 and Discovery+ on April 26.
Pernilla Wahlgren was careful that the TV series would not revolve around her but focus on the house construction.