Original subtitles

In the heart of the French countryside,

a magnificent chateau stood uncared for and abandoned.

Then six years ago, everything changed...

THEY GASP Wow. Oh! Look at that!

...when an intrepid British couple...

Turn, turn, turn, turn.

Wow.

...unlocked its front door...

Everything is gorgeous.

...fell in love with its grandeur and embarked on an adventure.

It's so incredibly important to bring it back to life.

Since they moved in, engineer Dick Strawbridge

and his wife, designer Angel,

have transformed almost all 45 rooms,

including four sumptuous guest suites

for their wedding and events business.

But despite their hard work,

their dream often resembled a nightmare.

You should not be able to see the sky out of your roof.

Behind every romantic story is the reality.

This year, life at the chateau has been rather different...

I'm on an Heron Island!

...with no weddings and events to host...

I think we need a roof garden up here.

...they can tackle bigger projects than ever.

This, I'm thinking, is a big swimming pool.

I've got headache. HE LAUGHS

And there are lots of surprises in store...

THEY SCREAM

Come on, let's have a little look. Is it stiff? Will it open?

...as the chateau reveals more secrets.

I love it. It's so me.

And now, inspired by a 19th century ledger...

This is all the way back to the start of the chateau.

...the family is turning traditions from the past...

It's looking like a roof that my family would expect from me,

not perfect and a little bit wild.

This is the original meat pie that was a mince pie.

...into a magical 21st century Christmas.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, everyone.

Christmas is coming to the chateau.

Woo! You got it? Yep. Ready? Up.

Oh. Right. I'm in the lead.

Oh, you're going first. OK.

Me, I go first. I do feel like singing a song

when I'm holding this.

All right, let's go. Oops. Oops, caught a branch.

You're in?

Oh, it smells incredible.

It's lovely and warm in here.

Getting a ten foot high Christmas tree into the house is one thing...

Two, three, up. All the way.

...positioning it perfectly, quite another.

Good size, isn't it? Yeah, oh, it's a great size.

All Dick needs to do now is make sure it's straight.

That's easier said than done.

I feel a bit twitchy. Am I allowed to stand back or...?

This is where I live quite a long time while Angela says,

"Rotate it left a little, rotate it right, backwards and forwards,"

until she's happy it's not wonky.

Darling, have you let go?

Is it staying there?

Oh, my goodness, me. ls that all right?

That's the straightest tree we've ever had. Shh!

Don't tempt fate.

I reckon we probably go maybe back a bit, but...

HE LAUGHS

Darling, I'm usually here for 45 minutes rotating these things.

I know, but this is gorgeous!

So you're quite happy. I can get up.

Come on and stand here. Look.

Yeah, it's good. It's really good, isn't it?

Lights. Lights. Are they working?

I didn't get that far.

Dick may be a top notch engineer,

but nothing ever prepares him for his annual tree light tussle.

I don't remember what this is for.

All I want's lights that you turn on.

What's going on here?

I am naturally quite grumpy,

and untangling lights that look like they're tidy,

one of those nightmares.

What we do here is we do spirals.

This is my preferred method of lighting a Christmas tree.

They're going to get moved anyway.

Who are we kidding?

But the lights are not just a technical challenge for Dick,

they're an artistic one, too.

So you're just chucking them up, are you?

My feeling is that we're missing quite a lot at the front.

WHISPERS: Told you she'd move them all.

Well, looks good to me. Lovely, perfect.

But before the tree can be finished,

there's a crucial Christmas decoration to make.

We have a new addition to our family, Petal.

SHE CHUCKLES

This year's tree would not be perfect without Petal.

Petaljust wouldn't be Petal without her little tail.

I'm giving her a little jumper.

There we go, it's going to go into here.

Starting to look like Petal now.

This is quite sweet.

The kids, I think they're going to be quite excited

about a little Petal.

They don't know I'm doing it yet.

Be one big surprise.

With Dorothy and Arthur home from school,

it's time to transform the tree from ordinary to magical.

ANGEL LAUGHS

It's quite a big tree, isn't it? What do you think?

Lovely, Dorothy, well done.

Should we put on this bit here?

To make their tree extra special,

every single decoration has either a meaning or a memory.

Aw, lovely. Who are we missing?

Low here?

Up there between your mummy?

And now Petal is part of that Strawbridge family tradition.

Hold on, how does that look?

Perfect!

With everything in place, it's time to turn the magic on.

Here we go. Ready? Bumper.

Aw! ARTHUR: Oh, I can see Petal!

Do you know what that is called? Tradition.

It is tradition. It is tradition.

That is just like a twinkle tree.

I think it actually looks magical.

Christmases have been celebrated at the chateau since the 19th century.

And for this year's festive feast, Dick's keen to take inspiration

from the Baglioni family's 150-year-old ledger.

Going through the ledger and looking at some of the ingredients

that were bought around Christmas time.

Cos this is all the way back to the start of the chateau.

And you have to go through the months, and there's December.

And in December, there's a lot of shopping done.

There's salmon, there's a lot of meat being done here.

Charcoal and sardines being bought just before Christmas.

The variety of the food not only gives an insight

into what the Baglioni's ate but how they lived.

And at Christmas, we've got things like foie gras and oysters

and that's the sort of thing people were talking about.

But the poorer food was snails.

That was 1879.

I wonder what they did in 1880.

Next year, they're still eating sardines.

So, fish, that's interesting.

Yeah, more salmon, this is December's.

Ah, they've got chestnuts.

The December 18th, they got their oysters in.

What was the payment going out? The payment for oranges, OK?

And every Christmas stocking has an orange, or a walnut

or something like in the bottom of it.

We haven't changed that much, you know.

Knowing the ingredients that they were using,

it's a matter of going back to the old cookbooks,

and see what we can find that's a Christmassy recipe.

Luckily, Dick doesn't have far to look.

It's interesting, looking back through these books,

the very earliest mince pies have got meat in them.

But then the later editions,

they've gone to being completely sweet pies,

which I think we have to explore.

And Dick's keen to share his plans for a 19th century feast with Angel.

Just going through some of the ledger bits,

different times of the year, you see different things being bought.

And every December that I looked at,

salmon was being bought towards the beginning of the month.

Every Christmas, my grandma would always buy an entire salmon

and it was always on our table at Christmas.

It never crossed my mind to have snails for Christmas lunch.

And, you know, it never crossed my mind

to put meat in a mince pie.

I think it'll be interesting to see if we suddenly taste something,

and think, "Why aren't we doing this every year?" Yeah.

I agree. And I would actually love to make, as part of our tradition,

a tradition of finding something new every year.

By the time you're my age, you may be running out.

THEY LAUGH

But it's not just the food that Dick would like to recreate.

If I was to say to you,

"What is your image of Christmas going back to Victorian?"

That's the sort of time we're talking about.

What's your image of Christmas?

I've got a picture in my mind of a Victorian table,

and it is very stylised with lots of, kind of, is it aspic?

Mine's not the table.

So, I've got this thing in my mind where you've got a street scene

with people selling roasting chestnuts. Mm-hm.

It's people skating on the Thames with lamps,

gas lamps in the background.

When we first came here, I think in the boot room,

there was a box of old skates or blades.

Ah! I can remember those now!

They're old rusty things, weren't they?

They probably skated on the ice outside.

But imagining an idyllic Victorian skating scene at the chateau

is one thing...

It's freezing.

...bringing it to life, quite another.

You're serious about skating at the chateau?

I love ice skating.

I haven't been since, sort of, pre-us, but...

I'm not built for it. That's not true! You don't know.

Well, darling, I knew. The last time I ice skated

was probably before you were born.

OK, and that's a very good reason.

But as the chateau's moat hasn't frozen over,

Angel's had to come up with a 21st century solution

for Dick's 19th century vision.

There's a thing, you know, ice skaters train on it,

and ice hockey people use it.

It's not ice. It's faux ice.

Put it down, use it for a few weeks, and then put it away.

And she's already found the perfect place for it.

The chateau's 250 square metre terrace.

What size are we talking about? Let me... She's setting off.

Hold on, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Corners. OK. Let's start negotiating. Come on.

Put one there. Stop, stop, stop, wait, wait, wait.

Let negotiations start.

What are you...stop it! Stop it!

We pay by the square metre.

Really?!

How big is it?!

All right, I'm going to go length-wise now.

Don't move anything, please. You are joking.

WHISPERS: Four, five, six, seven, eight.

Yeah. It's huge.

That's about 40 square metres.

HE WHISTLES

Let me see.

SHE LAUGHS

This is me skating.

What?!

HE WHISTLES

ANGEL LAUGHS DELIGHTEDLY

You know what's even funnier? You haven't even seen me on skates yet!

When you see me on skates, it's going to be worse!

Christmas at the chateau 150 years ago would have been filled with fine

food and festive treats.

Look at that sun. The sun's going down quite quickly.

But whatever the century, few things beat a traditional

crisp, wintry walk.

Aw, look, all those beautiful pine cones.

This is pine cone central. Watch this.

Pull it down. Oh, wow!

Oh, look at those.

They are beautiful.

And, as they head into the woods...

Wow!

...Dick soon spots something that always guarantees

a very merry Christmas.

Right, look up.

What can you see? Mistletoe!

Mmmmm...mwah!

Ah, mistletoe!

Christmas may still be a few weeks away,

but, for Dick, it's come early.

Right, close your eyes. Trust me.

Right, right, come here, come here, close your eyes

and open your eyes!

So, it's a lovely old ladder.

I thought that this would be a lovely Christmas present

to the library and you and us as a family, to the chateau.

DICK CHUCKLES

But this is no impulse buy, because, for the past five years,

the ladder has been on Angel's wish list.

Everything is a round shelf

and we just sit here with our books.

We have a ladder.

Right. OK, this may not happen in phase one.

So, when Angel says "present", she actually means "project".

You don't want that ladder to look like that there, do you?

Well, I do, but hold on wheels!

That's exactly what I knew!

Not only does Angel want the ladder to be on wheels,

but for it to glide effortlessly

around the 19th century turret.

However, I have no issues

if it is genuinely impossible.

Nothing's impossible.

As far as Dick's concerned,

he's just been given a Christmas conundrum.

It is a big challenge

And it's a hard one to solve.

50, anyway, Happy Christmas!

ANGEL GIGGLES

Whilst the Victorian's may have lit a candle for every day of Advent,

this year Angel's designed a calendar that's guaranteed to fire

up Arthur and Dorothy's imagination.

Every day we're going to come and open a drawer

and there's going to be something in there.

And with that something you guys have to make something.

You can make it into anything, but you are only allowed to use

what's in there, your imagination...

What about glue? ..and glue and scissors.

Put your finger in

and pull it out together.

Perfect. Oh!

ANGEL LAUGHS

OK, hold on.

Right, shall we go down into our work area?

Come on, let's go down and see.

With a drawer filled with a treasure trove of beads, charms and twine,

Arthur and Dorothy are soon hard at work.

And it seems they've inherited former jeweller Pappy Steve's

eye for finery.

OK, what one will you put that one on?

Silver spirals. On this one?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's perfect.

OK, you hold that in one hand

and that in that hand.

OK, now put it in.

You see?

Brilliant! Mum, I did it!

Ha! Ha! Amazing!

Grandad is going to be so proud!

And, like her mum, Dorothy is a perfectionist

when it comes to design and details.

Right, so it's this one next. Yes, it is!

It is, you've just done that one!

And, just as Angel hoped, it's clear that the new Advent calendar

is about to become a firm family favourite for years to come.

All right, hold on.

I think this is looking incredible

and it really goes with your shirt.

Mwah!

Over at the workshop, it's time for Dick and Quentin to transform

the new library ladder...

Let's get this little bad boy in. Are you ready?

Let's take it this way, Quentin.

...into a moving masterpiece.

Using a metal ring that should, in theory,

act like a curtain track sliding the ladder around the room.

The idea is that all these feet sit on the top shelf.

OK? Screw the shelf, screw into the wall.

But there is just one slight problem.

At around two metres in diameter,

it won't fit through the doors.

Dick though thinks he has a solution.

Right, we're going to cut it over here.

Then we're going to be able to squeeze it in to get

it up and over and set it down.

Hoping his plan will work, it's time to put it into motion.

You got it?

Guide me, Quentin, I can't see you're in charge of all this.

Oh, badly...

Quentin!

Now, you're not allowed to bash anything, Quentin!

No bashing of anything.

Oh!

And, once they've managed to manhandle the ring in...

Stop a second.

Bend your end. Smaller.

...it's only a matter of somehow raising

it three and a half metres up.

I'm glad this isn't heavy, sharp and hard to get up in the air!

I'm loosening it up.

Well done, grab the bottom bit, mate.

See if you can get that. I've got the bottom one.

Well, it's in the right place!

But it's up!

Hooray!

Oh, that was hard.

Now, the countdown to Christmas has begun,

Arthur and Dorothy can start writing their wish lists

and this year they're hoping to impress Santa

with their high class calligraphy.

We're doing your special schooljoined up best writing

for Father Christmas, correct?

You are only allowed four things.

No, you can't, you can't order from Father Christmas!

It doesn't happen like that.

"Dear Father Christmas," cheeky chops!

"Christ-mas". Well done, Dorothy.

Bath or cot?

Do you want a bath or a cot?

Right, write "baby" "Bay-uh".

This is a bilingual list, because it's...

...it's "bebe" and at the end, "baby bath".

So, "baby bath" is a "bebe bath"!

ARTHUR:

That's lovely, baby.

DOROTHY SHOUTS

No, no, no!

Oh, that's nice. That's lovely.

I've got to say, Dorothy...

ANGEL LAUGHS

ARTHUR: Thank you!

Letters written,

it's time for the express mail to Santa's Grotto.

How are we going to post it to Father Christmas?

DOROTHY:

The fastest way to the North Pole, I heard.

You ready?

I didn't see any kisses.

Better put a kiss on the outside, just saying.

Here we go, we're going in now, it's nice and hot now are you ready?

It's going in, now. Here we go!

Oh, yeah, it goes, oh, yeah!

Here the)! 9°!

I can hear them.

I'm hear... there they go.

Soon, though, there's another festive delivery at the chateau.

800 kilos of faux ice for the skating rink.

Si vous laissez ici, c'est parfait.

That'll do!

But Dick and Angel aren't letting Dorothy and Arthur

in on the secret just yet.

That Daddy's, that's for Daddy, actually.

La-la-la-la!

Things I get into it, eh?

Before he can start building the skating rink though,

Dick has his hands full trying to work out how to fix the library's

three and a half metre high ladder to its circular rail.

If I put my ladder onto here at an angle like THIS.

Into the rungs, yes,

and you walk up it and it's nice and safe.

But when the ladder is not in use,

a bit ofjiggery-pokery is needed.

It just hangs in there nice and plush, which means

when I'm sitting in my chair at the end reading my books,

the ladders' not in the middle of the tower.

Unfortunately, that means Dick's O-Level in maths

is about to get a bit of a workout.

This bit HERE, when it swings out...

...is an arc and it's a bit short.

I basically need to have a ladder

that has a bit added on the bottom when it's out.

Right.

I'm going to cut the ends off me ladder!

Two little feet.

And then...

"that's where it lives.

Dick's solution might be a bit Heath Robinson,

but it could just work.

And now, after five years of waiting,

the chateau's cherished library is about to be completed...

Keep coming, keep coming.

...or so Dick hopes!

It hangs like a library ladder. Yes.

Now, if you watch.

Look at this. OK.

Oh, that was very smooth!

The rollers are working there nicely.

Yes, we come to here.

We pull it out. Yep.

We flick the little catches out.

OK, yeah, OK. To here and to here.

Ooh!

OK, that is quite fab.

I think we need another break when it's down.

What? Another catch.

No. Why? Cos when you press on, it doesn't move.

Oh, that's clever!

With the ladder in place,

Dick, very gentlemanly, insists on ladies going first.

Yeah, it's nice and solid.

Would you like a book, babes?

Yes, could I have the one at the very top?

Oh!

It's really solid. Well done.

All books are accessible.

That's amazing!

How'd you like your Christmas present?

Nice, it's old, it's wooden and it works.

Well done!

Christmas is coming to the chateau,

and in homage to their home's 19th century origins,

Dick and Angel want to, this year,

give it a cosy Victorian vibe,

which, for them, includes ice skating.

Right, somewhere over there, Steve.

So with the help of Pappy Steve,

builder mate, Steve, and roofer mate, Steve,

Dick's building the family, their very own ice rink...

...at least that's the plan.

You see, to actually work on an ice rink,

you have to be called Steve, apparently.

That's the size of our rink.

All right? It's five metres by eight metres.

You have to get used to the fact I don't skate.

So when gravity starts taking me down this hill,

yeah, this side had better be strong.

But it's not long before Dick's careful calculations

are also heading downhill.

It's not a metre.

All right, that's interesting.

The sheets of ice may be fake,

but the fact they're smaller than expected, unfortunately, isn't.

We're going to take away eight times four.

We're going to take away our foot. It's going to be a foot shorter.

Right. We're going to do this empirically.

And that just means we're going to guess as we go along.

HE CHUCKLES

I think it's a good size.

SWP'

And once they've levelled the ground with a thick layer of sand,

the fun can begin.

What's really worrying, by the way, is how slippy this is already.

I can hardly budge. HE LAUGHS

Five years ago, Angel and her mother, jenny, and baby Dorothy

established a much-loved tradition at the chateau.

An annual trip to gather winter foliage

for the Christmas decorations.

And this year, all three generations

are keen to continue the chance to bond amongst the branches.

Let's go through the Enchanted Woodlands.

Listen to the sounds.

# Ba-ba-ba! #

I've got my Christmas hat out,

I've got the girls with me,

and it feels like Christmas.

As well as festive greens,

Angel's on the lookout for red berries

to give her decorations a burst of colour.

Mum, I'm glad we've got you with us cos you're tall.

ANGEL CHUCKLES Thank you.

And as soon as she's back at the chateau,

Angel's keen to create a Christmas wreath

that will stretch across both doors of their rather grand entrance.

That's going to be half my wreath.

And that is going to be the other half of my wreath.

And as you open the door...

# Da-da-da-da-da

# Da-da-da-da-da. #

The word "wreath" originates from the old English for "twist".

And it doesn't take long for Angel to discover why.

I'm just going to twist as much as this as I can around this,

and it will start to create my layer that I can stick bits into.

I love a cable tie.

Oh, that's not going to move out of there now.

And once she's built a strong base, Angel can begin to be creative.

I've got a lot of dried eucalyptus around the place.

It also smells amazing.

And that's why I want it all over the wreath.

It's looking like a wreath that my family would expect from me,

not perfect and a little bit wild.

But to ensure it's a true Strawbridge creation,

Dick, Arthur and Dorothy will be the ones adding their finishing touches.

Downstairs in the kitchen,

Dick has started to create his Victorian festive feast.

I'm making mince pies, as we do every Christmas,

but this is the original meat pie that was a mince pie.

So we're making it with lean beef.

Inspired by the ingredients in the Baglioni family ledger

and guided by his 19th century cookbooks,

he's hoping the more savoury version will be a hit

with his 21st century family.

Add some suet, beef suet, in we go.

This smells really Christmassy already.

But it's got meat in it.

And while Dick's Victorian style pies

may seem quite different to modern day mince pies,

they do have something in common, sweet dried fruit.

There's a part of me

that actually wants the children to really, really like these.

Because if they do,

it's something that's just a tradition from the past

that comes all the way forward to the 21st century.

Wow.

Keen to find out what's going on,

Arthur's volunteered to act as his sous-chef.

This is a pastry which is made with a lard.

Put some lard on it, which is animal fat, put it in here,

and swing it up all the way around. Look, see?

That's one.

Keep greasing that. Look, I'm bringing this.

This is our fat and things. Why don't you put it in here?

In goes all of this, pouring away.

HE IMITATES GLUGGING

Look at that. Put that away.

And let's mix it all up.

We're kneading it, kneading it.

Knead it.

Yes. A little bit of flour.

Put it over there.

Yeah, give it a try.

What do you reckon? Good?

No, no, stop, watch, listen.

You have to be very good with knives, don't you?

Cos you're nearly old enough to get your own penknife, aren't you?

Good job.

Do me a favour, Arthur.

Go and get the meat.

Mincemeat, it's mincemeat.

HE LAUGHS

Right here, please, young man. Well done!

But cooking's not the only family affair,

because Angel would like Arthur and Dorothy to add the final touches

to the Chateau's supersized Christmas wreath.

And if you look at those bits in there... ..look.

And the decorations are being given a Victorian twist.

To go with the oranges, they used to take the humble walnut

and guild it.

Take that over by there. Arthur, you get some of the oranges.

OK, oranges. Oranges, right.

If you put things where you want it to be,

Mummy and Daddy will make sure we get it on. OK? OK.

Go up, put it around something, and twist it.

So, see if you can do it by yourself.

Arthur, come here, gorgeous.

Work out where you want it to go, and then you twist the end around.

THEY LAUGH

I think they add a really wonderful bit of colour.

And smell, exactly.

So this is the first bit.

And once everyone's satisfied with their work,

it's time to put their combined creativity on display.

Look at this.

Everybody out. THEY LAUGH DELIGHTEDLY

DOROTHY EXCLAIMS

OK. How's that? Oh! What do you think, children?

You like it? Good.

Last Christmas, the festive oyster picking trip

was a boy's own adventure.

But this year,

the whole family's come to Penestin on the Britanny coast

to hunt for some of the best wild oysters in France.

Do you see this post?

So, in that direction, the island over there,

that's where I think where the big oysters are. Oh, really?

But anything you see now is treasure.

Oysters have been a traditional Christmas food

in France for centuries.

And collecting them is fast becoming a Strawbridge tradition too.

What have you found, babe?

Oh, show that to Daddy. Yeah. Dad!

Yep.

It is an oyster. Well done, mate.

This one's just about OK.

Not big, but it's not terrible.

You find a biggie?

Hey, hey, well done!

Whilst the old Chateau Ledger showed oysters were a firm family favourite

in the 19th century...

All the way across there, that's off now.

...last time Arthur tried them, he wasn't impressed.

But now Dick's come prepared to give them another go.

We're just going to do this, watch. Come over here, you.

I'm going to do a little hole in the end of it.

Suck it in. Suck.

That's good. That's yummy.

That's yummy. How was that?

Big one.

Luckily for Arthur, Dick's brought along home-made pumpkin soup

to warm up his young family of oyster-catchers.

Right, I'm sitting here. Right. This is my seat.

Oh, yes! Oh, yes.

And the other one.

Right. Cheers. Cheers.

Cheers, darling. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Oh, that is heaven.

I've had the best day ever.

Is it tradition that the girls can come now?

Do you think the girls can come with us next year as well?

AWKWARD SILENCE

ANGEL LAUGHS

You can't miss out on this. Can't miss out, honestly.

How about we do it on the other side?

Oh, yes, we'll... SHE LAUGHS

We can take our tradition that way, you take your tradition that way.

Yeah.

150 years ago, the Baglioni family

would've spent the winter skating around their chateaus frozen moat.

Today, Dick and Angel are keen to recreate the fun,

but with their own 21st century version.

It does look very special, sweetheart.

Very Victorian, darling.

I think it looks great.

But it's not just the ice that's artificial.

I have bought something, for the first-time in my life,

that I never thought I would buy,

a fake garland,

but I didn't want to spend two days making a garland this big.

So, I'm doing a little cheat.

I'm going to put some little bunches of real stuff over the top.

Dick, though, is yet again battling with a long line of lights.

It's like the Christmas tree lights only bigger.

I know, l...well, I love it twinklier.

Hold this for me here. Yeah. just like that.

Yeah. You got it? Yeah. Sort of twist it around.

Just loop it over, couldn't I? Yeah.

Oh, look, Ang. Oh, brilliant!

Up to there, like that. Fantastic.

I just think it looks glorious.

I think the children are going to

really feel like they're having a special Christmas.

It's enough cold, that wind is... It's freezing isn't it? Yeah!

That's just to get you in the mood for Christmas.

Going like this, we could actually have snow.

The irony of that would be very funny,

that we've built an ice rink, and then.. The moat freezes.

...the moat freezes! THEY LAUGH

It's the night before the chateau's Victorian Christmas feast,

and though the rest of the family are sound asleep,

Dick and Angel are busy honing their home-made cracker skills.

Really feels like Christmas to me when we do things late at night.

You know, I just think the pressie wrapping and, you know?

Not only are the crackers carefully crafted,

but filled with small personal presents.

Arthur's pressie is so special for him.

There's going to be rules associated with this penknife, by the way.

And the very simple rule is he's not allowed to

open it without my permission.

For Dorothy, there's even a vintage vibe.

I've got a sweet little broach. That's lovely.

I think she'll love it.

And not only are the crackers handmade,

the Christmas chuckles come courtesy of Pappy Steve.

The first one of Dad's jokes has gone in.

I'm secretly really looking forward to them.

When we have the time to actually stop and do things like this,

I get all mushy and think about the year.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

And it has been...boy, has it been a year! Been a year, hasn't it?

Do you know what, Arthur and Dorothy keep us grounded.

ANGEL LAUGHS Yeah? They do.

As a Victorian Christmas is being held at the chateau,

and the whole family will be enjoying a 19th century feast,

Angel's keen to ensure that the dining room is just as magical.

The old French linens, I mean they're all hand stitched.

Lovely.

Whether it's handmade or home-made...

Arthur and Dorothy.

...there's the personal touch.

And to finish everything off,

a winter forest of festive foliage.

Love it. SHE LAUGHS

In the kitchen, Dick's busy preparing

his Victorian hors d'oeuvres of oysters and snails.

Smells good.

Leaves you a nice flavoursome stock.

That's what gives the snails the flavour.

But the chateau kitchen isn't just filled with an earthy aroma,

there's also the sea salt scent of the family's hand-picked oysters.

The kids did well!

We might have to invite the girls back next year.

Hello!

Soon, the whole family is gathered.

And this year's chateau celebrations are promptly launched

with a glass of Dick's home-made sloe gin.

Dorothy, I know you're very good at .

Can you take that to Grandma, please?

DOROTHY: Grandma? All right. Thank you very much.

Oh, perfectly delivered.

And for the younger members of the family...

Dorothy grab your glass.

...another Baglioni favourite, French grenadine.

Merry Christmas, Pappy!

Merry Christmas, Dorothy.

Merry Christmas, Mum.

Love you.

Sloes, it was months ago, but we got them for Christmas.

Who wants to do this next year? Yes.

Good thing to do every year, I love it.

Let's go and eat. Are you hungry?

Across the hall, Angel's Christmas table is ready and waiting.

Have a seat, have a seat.

BOTTLE POPS

Hooray. I like that sound, Mr Strawbridge.

Thank you very muchly. Ah. Right.

You're very health, Merry Christmas!

Come on! TOGETHER: Merry Christmas!

Hey!

Ah! Whoa, hoo-hoo!

Oh, wow.

Oh, ho, ho!

I knew it would be a pen knife!

Can you see there are rules?

You only open it when you get permission to open it.

See the end? It's not got a pointy end,

it's got a slightly rounded end to make it safe.

What do you think of it?

You know, the beauty about making home-made crackers?

They're unique.

There's no other cracker quite like that in the world.

And Pappy Steve's humour is also one of a kind.

GRANDMA: What do you get if you cross a bale of hay and a moat?

Yes! THEY LAUGH

ANGEL: Woohoo!

It's time, though, to focus on the food...

# Coming down. #

...and find out whether Dick's 21st century family

will like his Victorian appetisers of oysters and snails.

ANGEL LAUGHS

Good?

I agree, Arthur. They are, they're really good.

I think I'm oyster more than snails.

Really?

Is it? For Arthur, it's a tie.

And following the surprisingly successful starter,

the fish course.

Salmon!

DOROTHY:

Well, in that case, darling, you'll have your share.

Dig in?! That's like bon appetit!

And to Dick's delight, it's soon clear that salmon

is as popular today as it was 150 years ago.

Do you think we should be having salmon as part of our Christmas?

We're doing a vote.

Yes, salmon.

So salmon on the menu next year.

And it's not long before another

tasty tradition is established at the chateau,

the Christmas goose.

Oh, that stuffing, guys! Thank you.

Mm!

I don't know if you know this, all the vegetables are

seasonal vegetables because traditionally,

they could only use the vegetables they had out in the potager.

So this is very traditional.

Do you want to know something, I think Goose is the way forward.

GRANDMA: Lovely, I'm loving it.

PAPPY:

But outside, there's an even bigger surprise waiting for the family,

and it's truly magical.

Come have a look at this.

I love this!

Well, who is going on the skates first?

Woo! Ah! Mummy's off.

Woohoo!

I am smiling from ear to ear.

Oh, grand, Dorothy!

THEY LAUGH

Oh, no!

I'm actually holding on to you!

You know what's really funny, you're saving me, Arthur!

Pappy. Pappy's on! Yay, Pappy!

Wait for me, wait for me!

Mr Strawbridge? Yes, Mrs Strawbridge?

You have the happiest wife.

But before the evening is over,

there's one more taste of the past still to try.

Dick and Arthur's meaty mince pies.

Ooh! Oh, yes. Wow.

Tell us what you think, tell us what you think! Good health!

It's a beef pie.

No!

That mulled wine's great!

This to me just feels like Christmas.

Go on. ARTHUR: Best Christmas ever! DOROTHY:laughs