CBS Stars Phil Keoghan, Max Thieriot Featured in ‘Secret Celebrity Renovation’ Premiere on CBS

Phil Keoghan, host of The Amazing Race, on Secret Celebrity Renovation
(Image credit: CBS)

Phil Keoghan is the star of the season premiere of Secret Celebrity Renovation, on CBS Friday, August 4. Keoghan, host and executive producer of CBS unscripted shows The Amazing Race and Tough As Nails, and creator of the latter, returns to Antigua, where he grew up, to surprise his former neighbor with a good deed. 

The show sees celebs pull off a surprise building job for someone in their life who did a good turn for them before they became famous. 

Keoghan oversees a renovation of a local hospice center where his old Antigua neighbor, Lotte Edwards, volunteers. 

Season 35 of The Amazing Race is on CBS September 27. 

Nischelle Turner hosts Secret Celebrity Renovation. Rob Mariano, known as Boston Rob from his time on CBS reality show Survivor, is in the show’s design team with Sabrina Soto from Trading Spaces

Two episodes air on premiere day. The second sees Max Thieriot, creator, executive producer and  star of CBS drama Fire Country, return to his hometown of Occidental, California. He surprises his best friend from childhood, Josh, a local firefighter, “with the home renovation of his dreams,” according to CBS. 

The celeb featured in the August 11 episode is J.B. Smoove. 

Past stars of CBS shows that have been featured in Secret Celebrity Renovation include Utkarsh Ambudkar of Ghosts, Billy Gardell of Bob Hearts Abishola and Mariano himself, before he joined the Secret Celebrity Renovation design team. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.