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TV star and architect George Clarke has warned if they want more and a , cleaner Britain: "Don't cut the £7,500 grant boiler upgrade scheme!" The main barrier to ditching old for an electric heat pump and the UK to reach net zero is the , so the government offers £7,500 grants with their Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

But this week that Energy Secretary may be poised to ditch its 600,000 heat pump installations-a-year-by-2028 target - as budget cuts threaten his net zero ambitions. It's also been claim Mr Miliband's Department for Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) budget could force him to reduce Boiler Upgrade Scheme funding, expected to expire in 2028 with the Government yet to confirm if it will be renewed.

So the Daily Express sat down with heat pump advocate and star of 'The Restoration Man' and 'Amazing Spaces' George Clarke, 51, to hear his views on rumours of a Government roll-back on heat pumps.

Walking gingerly after jarring his knee, we met George, in his role as a heat pump ambassador, at Mitsubishi Electric in Trafford, Manchester, as he fielded calls from the public about the green technology.

George told us: "The government have backed air source heat pumps and electrified heating. They've backed cleaner, greener energy solutions. They do want to be as green and clean as possible.

"But I think it's a shame if they get rid of the boiler upgrade scheme. It'll be devastating for a lot of people because it gives a lot of support to make that transition for clean and green home heating.

"But we've got to remember that we've set it in the law that we're going to make our net zero targets by 2050. So we need to take steps to be as clean and green as possible.

"It's about energy security as well. We talk a lot about energy security being a problem. If we're too dependent on gas from other countries who might not sell it to us cheaply.

"So generating our own energy through renewable sources and having an electrified system is really important. I can understand that the Government's got its challenges, but I hope it doesn't cut the scheme."

Talking passionately about the damage humans have done to the planet by burning fossil fuels, George stressed "saving the planet's pretty important, isn't it?"

He added: "Genuinely, it's a really, really serious problem. You're having significant floods in parts of the world that would never have had flooding before. Climate change is absolutely real and it's happening.

"I'm not just saying this to be some kind of environmental campaigner - I'm saying it as a parent, a human being that lives on Earth.

"We've absolutely messed things up on the planet over the last 150 years because we've been a global community that burns stuff. We burn stuff and burning stuff is overheating the planet.

"If we can get around that by having clean, green, home heating solutions, it's the right way to go. And If you use timers, you can be tapping into cheaper tariffs for your electricity on off-peak times."

Recently, a key planning restriction that heat pumps need to be one metre from a neighbour's property was lifted to speed up the adoption of low-carbon technology.

But George said the real reason Britons are reluctant to switch to air-source heat pumps is our countless "misconceptions" about the technology.

He laughed: "I could give you a list of about 100 things if you wanted!!

"People say it's completely unaffordable. Well, is it completely unaffordable if you've got the boiler upgrade scheme?

"There's a couple that I've filmed with recently, they've just put on a Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump. And the overall cost to them to change from a gas boiler was 800 quid.

"Now to change your gas boiler and have a full installation done, it's going to cost you like two and a half grand. Then people say air source heat pump is inefficient, it doesn't heat my house properly.

"When gas boilers and central heating came in, even my grandad was pessimistic about it - he was used to burning coal because he'd been brought up that way.

"When central heating came in, he was like, 'oh, I'm not sure about that'. He was scared about having gas coming into his house and then an ignition flame to light it. He thought it was going to blow the house up!

"So any shift in new technology takes a long time because in the UK we're very conservative. It takes a while to make that transition. I get it."

Surveys reveal that half of UK homeowners want 'green' low-carbon heating, but most of us admit not knowing enough about it to make an informed choice.

The UK aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, to help combat climate change with an ambitious target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028.

However, to meet the previous government's targets, the rate of installations would need to increase ninefold within the next three years.

According to MCS Certified, the trade standards body, just 65,600 heat pumps were installed in the year to April.

Sources claim numbers are lagging because of delays to the Government's Future Homes Standard, which would have made heat pumps compulsory in new-build homes.

Banking and finance industry body UK Finance has released new data showing that the UK needs to install around 1.5 million heat pumps per year by 2035 to meet its carbon reduction goals.

Yet some countries, like those in Scandinavia, are well ahead of the UK in home insulation and heat pump installations.

George told us: "We're way behind them and we shouldn't be. They were putting triple glazing in houses in Scandinavia in the early 90s.

"They very sensibly said the right thing to do is let's insulate to the highest standards. We don't insulate to the highest standards still in Britain, I don't think.

"I think Britain should see it as a real opportunity to live in a more comfortable, green, more sustainable house, which is going to be better for the environment."

So we asked George what Labour, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband can do to help realise this green revolution across Britain.

He said: "What the Government could look at is the cost of electricity in comparison with gas, because gas is massively subsidised.

"They could look at rebalancing that to make electricity more affordable for people. If the government have said that they want an electrified home heating system, we need to make electricity cheaper."

Addressing any of our readers who are 'on the fence' about heat pumps, George suggested: "You've always got to weigh up the pros and cons. You want minimal disruption in your house for a new installation.

"You want to make sure your home is being heated properly. You want to make sure you've got good hot water all the time.

"But just don't believe all the myths out there. We've got a very powerful gas industry that want us to keep installing gas burners. But I don't think that's good for anyone.

"There might be a lot of negativity out there, but I'm super positive about the industry.

"On TV, I filmed with a couple in Scotland last week on the outskirts of Glasgow. They live in a fairly rural part off-gas. They're on oil, and it's costing them an absolute arm and a leg.

"I said you've got this stone building with thick walls, and it's got decent levels of insulation in. Get an air-source heat pump. And so they're doing it.

"I want to make Britain's homes more sustainable. I'm passionate about the environment, about Britain's homes and that that people who live in those homes are getting good value for money, getting good levels of comfort, and are trying to live as clean and green as possible with whatever form of heating that they've got."

When asked if pushing for green energy and eco-homes could be his legacy, George stressed that family comes first.

The Sunderland fan is twice divorced and now dating opera singer Florence Hvorostovsky - but George dotes on his three children Georgie, Emilio and Iona from his first marriage to Catriona.

George told us: "As long as my kids say I was a decent dad, that's my legacy."

He said he works hard but makes sure he gets a holiday when he simply switches his phone off and relaxes.

He added: "I'm making 24 programs at the minute. If you think most presenters might do eight in a year or 10 in a year, and I'm doing 24 each year.

"When I do take a batch of holidays, I turn my phone off and I hide from the world. I work like crazy when I'm working, and then I relax like crazy when I'm off!"

The high price of the green technology has put homeowners off making the switch from gas, critics claim.

Mike Foster, of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, told us: "The 600,000 heat pumps installed a year by 2028 was a Boris Johnson target, drafted on the back of a fag packet, which industry always thought was unrealistic."

But Dr Jan Rosenow, Senior Jackson Research Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford University, told the Express confidence among investors would suffer should Labour get rid of the 600,000 upgrades target.

He said: "Heat pumps are the key technology for decarbonising home heating in the UK as the Government's own analysis shows.

"The heat pump market surged last year making it one of the fastest growing markets around the world, although from a low base.

"It is important to keep the eye on the price and, even if ambitious, keep the heat pump target in place. Scrapping it would damage investor confidence and lead to market turmoil."

The Daily Express asked the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for a statement over claims this week that Ed Miliband is poised to change his heat pumps grants and targets.

But instead of a detailed response or rebuttal, their statement merely read: "We do not comment on speculation."

Previously, they said on the heat pump issue: "The energy shocks of recent years have shown the urgent need to upgrade British homes.

"Through our Warm Homes Plan, up to 300,000 households will benefit from upgrades this year, such as insulation, double glazing, solar and heat pumps - making them cheaper and cleaner to run.

"We have almost doubled the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to £295m, and it recently enjoyed its best month since opening, with 4,028 applications in March 2025, up 88pc on the same month last year."

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