When television presenter and former footballer Mark Wright began work on his £3.5 million Essex self-build with wife Michelle Keegan, he had one room in mind as a personal priority: a private gym.
Several years later, that space is complete – and it’s a transformation that blends high-end design with practical training needs.
The gym started as an unfinished shell, with wires hanging loosely from the ceiling and walls left bare. Today, it’s a fully equipped facility that wouldn’t look out of place in a professional sports environment.
A gym designed for every workout
The layout has been carefully planned to accommodate both cardio and strength training. Alongside treadmills and dumbbells, the room contains barbells, a power rack, a squat rack and an adjustable pulley system.
To elevate the aesthetic beyond the typical home setup, wood-veneered acoustic slat walls now line the space, softening the acoustics and adding a sense of warmth to what might otherwise have been a stark room of machinery and weights.
Reactions on Instagram reflected how different the space now looks. One follower wrote: “Looks amazing 👏 I would definitely want to train in that space,” while another asked: “How much to join? 😆🤣😂.”
A self build years in the making
The couple purchased the Essex plot in 2019 for £1.3 million and began replacing the existing house with a £35m self-build that has steadily unfolded over several years.
While the wider home was finished earlier, the gym has evolved over several years of planning and fitting before it reached completion.
Other notable additions have included:
- An Ibiza-inspired swimming pool with a wide, shallow step.
- A marble kitchen island sourced from a Mayfair showroom.
- A cinema room arranged around a curved sofa and wall-mounted screen.
- A dressing room lined with custom cabinetry and porcelain basins.
- A master bedroom fitted with a hidden TV lift to preserve the view.
The finishing touch to a long-running project
For Wright, the gym has always been the most personal room in the house. With a background in professional football and sports presenting, it provides a permanent training space without needing to leave the property.
The completion of the gym also signals that the long-running self-build is entering its final stage.
For the couple’s online followers, who have tracked progress since the earliest demolition shots, this latest reveal feels like the most definitive sign yet that the home is at last finished.
