Original subtitles

I'm Dick Strawbridge and along with my wife Angel...

Hello! ..and our two children,

we've lived in this magnificent chateau for the past five years.

Aw, it's lovely.

It's my little corner of paradise.

It's not just our home...

Whoo!

THEY LAUGH

..but our business.

That's a proper kiss!

And with over 1,000 chateaux in France...

Wow.

SHE GASPS My God!

Absolutely incredible.

..we're not the only Brits buying into the French fairy tale.

Do you like it? Wow. I mean, yes.

It is gorgeous.

We'll follow more daring owners...

It looks to be a massive undertaking.

..and familiar faces...

Why?

..as they battle to renovate their homes.

That is disgusting.

And we'll reveal more about our own chateau life.

That is lovely.

There'll be ups...

SHE GASPS

Sweetheart, this is beautiful.

..and downs.

What are you going to do? Not do it today?

It's going to take all day. Yeah, but there's no alternative.

But, however hard the going gets...

No!

..these plucky Brits... Ugh!

..get to live the dream as custodians...

God bless France.

..of their very own castle.

Today...

This, is it. Oh, my God.

..a removal lorry has a close shave at one couple's chateau...

He doesn't care. He's coming straight through, regardless.

Watch out, watch out, it's gonna go.

..a home-grown squash almost defeats a keen chateau chef...

SHE LAUGHS

Ooh!

..and this damp couple get bogged down in restorations.

The inevitable happened, we're stuck. Abandon. Game over.

I think we can say that was a mission impossible.

It's all happening now.

I'm Dick Strawbridge.

Oh!

Ever since my wife Angel and I...

moved into our chateau for the first time...

Sacre Bleu!

..it's been a joyous voyage of discovery...

Argh!

Brilliant.

..as we've come to terms with the work involved

in owning a majestic home like ours.

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

Yay!

Hey!

And all over France,

there are many Brits at the beginning of their chateau journey.

That includes the new custodians of this classic French beauty,

the 19th century Chateau les Bernards.

Set in 12 acres of land,

this fairy-tale castle

with 11 bedrooms...

..tennis court and swimming pool,

and its own self-contained gite,

was purchased for £490,000

by ex-mortgage broker Debbie and engineer husband, Simon.

Some days you wake up just really happy,

other days you wake up thinking, "What have we done?!" Oh, God, yeah.

Owning a place like this is a dream come true.

Located 24 miles north-east of Vichy,

in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of Central France...

..this pair were in search of a slower pace of life

when they moved here from Surrey.

I had a bit of a health scare last year,

and we just decided that we wanted an adventure

before we were too old to start all over again.

And here we are.

Having only arrived three days ago,

and most of their possessions currently in transit,

Debbie and Simon, along with daughter, Georgie, grandson, Jensen,

and son-in-law, Tom, are all living with their essentials.

Ready? Jump!

Like many fledgling chateau owners,

their new adventure will be restoring this neglected chateau

back to its former glory,

and, despite having minimal hospitality experience,

opening it as a B&B.

We'd never thought in a million years we'd end up

doing anything like this.

Never. Never.

If that's the compromise for this laid-back, lovely lifestyle,

then, hey, I'm happy to change beds. Yeah.

Do you want to wash up and I'll make the tea?

I'll make the tea, you wash up. You make the tea, I'll wash up.

Today, their worldly goods will be arriving from the UK.

So we've got a lorry and a transit van.

So this is the lull before the storm, isn't it?

It's a beautiful day.

However, that laid-back lifestyle they're after

is about to be tested.

This, is it. Oh, my God!

The 19th century gateway was built for horse and carriage,

not articulated lorries.

They come back and forth to France all the time,

so they must be used to these little roads.

Wow, you see, he's done it. Wow.

The van may have got through the gates,

but it still has to get up the narrow drive to the house.

Is it going to fit?

It might do. Really?

I don't think it will, but we will see.

Whoa! My God.

He doesn't care, he's coming straight through, regardless.

Mind that bush. Mind that bush!

Watch out, watch out, it's going to go.

Something indeed had to go.

Turned out it was the truck's wing mirror.

It made it.

I struggle getting my car in and they drive a great big lorry

through the same thing I go through thinking,

"Oh, must watch the sides".

So, yeah, they did really well with that. I'm very impressed.

Time for the fun part, unpacking.

Tiles?

That's the gite tiles. It will feel more homey once everything

finally does get into the house.

We've got lots of empty rooms. Yeah. Yeah.

There's still going to be empty rooms, but...

So many rooms to fill.

Brocantes, here we come.

I love brocante shopping, though, I'll be quite happy doing that.

Got it. It's quite heavy. OK, got it.

Having moved out of a four-bedroom house into a chateau of 16 rooms,

and with eight more in the gite to fill,

there'll be plenty of shopping to do.

Tools. Yep.

That's what we've been needing, isn't it?

Ugh.

But, soon, it begins to feel like home.

The minute your personal possessions

start to sort of come off the back of a lorry,

it is that reality that this is literally home now,

you're not on holiday, and then, of course,

you're faced with the task of looking at...

I don't know how many boxes there are, but,

unpacking your whole life that is in the back of a truck.

I understand how you feel, Debbie.

Moving countries is a big commitment.

Hello. Have you come to see Nana?

But Les Bernards is very different from Camberley.

It may be a roller-coaster, but enjoy.

Over 100 miles west,

and 400 years older than Debbie and Simon's place,

is the historic 15th century Chateau Mareuil.

Originally built as a defence against marauding brigands,

it's now home to south London couple,

retired caterer Belinda and lighting designer Lee,

who bought it for £378,000 four years ago.

I love the sense of history.

It was just set in its own domain, it's like a little jewel, really.

It's a dream. It really is a dream.

Situated 40 miles from Limoges in the heart of rural France,

the couple run the place as a B&B,

but they're pinning their hopes on turning it into

a successful events business as well.

The way that we are generating an income from the chateau

has developed, and I think we're learning as we go along.

Over the past year, they've hosted their first Christmas concert...

SHE SINGS

..fixed the hole in the roof of their main events space...

Oh.

Hello! How are you? Hi, Dick. Hi, Dick.

..and after some engineering advice, created a water feature...

Oh, my goodness. Hey! Happy birthday.

..and transformed their garden into an outdoor venue.

Ah!

Oh, there it is. Perfect.

Today, Belinda and Lee are trying out an idea

for a new business venture, a classic car weekend.

Every year in the middle of September,

in a town called Angouleme,

which is about two hours away from here,

there's a fantastic race meet and car show.

Ugh!

These two have invited a group of classic car aficionados

over from the UK.

The weekend will include a welcome barbecue,

a race day picnic,

and a visit to Angouleme to see the race itself.

So, we've got another couple of hours before they all come,

and this really has to be ready.

And Belinda will not be best pleased with me if it's not done.

However, after also inviting some local French classic car owners,

tonight's barbecue is proving more popular than expected.

We anticipated up to ten people coming,

but it's grown, and grown, and grown

and now it looks like we've got 40 people coming

late afternoon for drinks,

showing off their cars and a barbecue,

and that's, of course, where I come in.

I can feel the panic rising.

So the tables are out, chairs are clean,

we're running out of time, we're up against it now.

Yeah, I know. I'm thinking they're going to come in dribs and drabs.

Four cars coming from England, so...

And I don't know what time they're going to get here.

If this weekend event is successful,

Belinda and Lee hope to make it an annual event.

So they need to get this right.

I've charged the camera. I want photos of this,

because if we do all of this and we don't get photos,

we've kind of.. Of course. ..shot ourselves in the foot, really.

I mean, it's not going badly, I'm just...

Ooh.

Are you going to be using our new picnic basket for tomorrow, then?

I'm hoping to.

If I ever get around to making a picnic for tomorrow.

Otherwise, you'll just be taking a baguette

and a piece of cheese and an onion.

That would be very rustic, wouldn't it?

Well, that's going to let the side down, Belinda, isn't it, really?

I'll try not to. We cannot have a Chateau Mareuil baguette

in a bit of silver paper. Baguette. Do you need me to do any salad prep?

No, but what I do need you to do is to make sure

that we've got all the plates.

Yeah, all right, then. I'll do that.

SHE SIGHS

There's still a huge amount to do.

But before things get hectic, Lee decides to have a sit down.

Well, Misty.

That's another fine mess you've got us into.

There you go.

Right, come here, sit down and listen.

You and I need to do some planning. Yes.

I think Lee thinks time's elastic,

which, of course, we all know it isn't.

That's the way he tends to carry on.

I just wanted a calm few minutes

to think through

the running order of what's going to happen this afternoon.

Because I know what I'm like, what'll happen is

I'll get so carried away with meeting and greeting people

and seeing the cars, I'll forget.

It's how I'm actually going to be able to serve drinks, say hello,

and get back and light the barbecue.

Oh, and I've got to get...

Oh, yeah...

I've got to get all the cutlery and the plates together as well.

I haven't done that yet either.

While Lee contemplates...

..Belinda's prepping for 20 more people than she first thought.

SHE LAUGHS

And is taking out her frustration on the squash.

It's like a Halloween nightmare, isn't it?

Ooh. I've done it.

SHE LAUGHS

Lee? Right, yeah? I need your help.

Oh, God. Look.

It's like a Halloween... What on Earth is that?

Is that one of the ones that grew? I'm just trying to cut it.

Don't hurt yourself. No, no, you won't...

What is it? It's a sort of squash.

Look at that.

I grew this. You did.

Preparations are soon interrupted by a member of the UK car club.

Roughly, where are you? PHONE: We broke down.

You've broken down? Do you need me to do anything from here?

PHONE: No, no, no. Oh. OK.

That's not good.

It seems like Lee's friend, who's driving a classic Ford Capri,

may not even make it.

The fewer cars here and it becomes less of an attractive event, really.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best

and hope it doesn't happen to any of the others.

Let's keep everything crossed, Lee.

Coming up...

..I rope in the rest of the family to create a penthouse apartment

for the local bird population.

Look at that. That looks so cool.

And disastrous decking leaves this couple with a dilemma.

If you've got 16 lovely girlies all dancing round the pool,

enjoying their hen night.

The last thing you want is anyone going through it.

One of the highlights Angel and I have over at our place is

enjoying the wildlife that surrounds us.

With furry felines on the prowl,

we do our best to help our feathered friends.

We have to think about the cats so the cats don't get them.

So, with the help of Arthur and Dorothy, I'm going

to make a bird table.

I've got this, because I think this is tall enough to stop the cats getting on our bird table.

Arthur, hold it straight for Daddy.

That's not too high, is it? No, it's good.

What are we going to put on the top of this?

A scarecrow.

We don't want our birds scared.

With our post in position, all we have to do now is build

the perfect des res for the local bird population.

Let's go.

Angel and the children are making some bird food cakes

using nuts, seeds, dried fruit and melted marge.

Mix it all up.

I'm a bird. Tweet, tweet!

I use some offcuts of wood to make the house...

..and some old chateau slates to create a roof.

Right, that's ready to go outside.

Right, then. That looks square.

Look, this goes up here like this.

I cannot believe that you did that so quickly.

Look at that. That looks so cool!

And with the new bird hotel now taking bookings,

we need to lay on a bit of room service for them.

Right. That one goes up.

This one goes up.

Who made this?

Us!

You could possibly eat it.

We're going to put it in here and turn it over, like that.

Look at that. That looks great!

Perfect. Good job.

Does that look all right? It's wobbly.

Don't do that.

It's Daddy's amazing wobbly birdhouse.

Now we've got to watch and see who sees the first bird on our table!

All we have to do is wait.

Can we see any birds?

It might be a very long wait.

Over 200 miles away is the 19th-century Chateau de Dohem.

With 15 rooms and its own swimming pool, this stunning house was

bought by former company director Wendy eight years ago for £600,000.

She and her builder husband, Marcus, now run it as a holiday let business

from their home in Kent, but would love a permanent move to France.

The ultimate aim is to not to have to work in the UK any more

and run the chateau.

Make this a full-time business.

Yeah. Yeah.

And live here happily ever after, really.

Located just 26 miles south of Calais,

when Wendy first saw the house, it was love at first sight.

It just looked like a magical fairytale castle and I knew that, if

I walked through the gates, I would be the proud owner of this chateau.

Good evening, ladies.

To try and turn their dream into a reality

and help with their permanent leap across the Channel,

Wendy and Marcus launched a hen party business,

which occasionally calls for a starring role from Marcus.

But the big plan is to convert their barn into a wedding venue...

Ta-dah!

..a process that began last year.

SHE SINGS WEDDING MARCH

You've got to ignore the big pile of plasterboard and insulation.

Right now, there's a pressing issue with the pool.

I had to take the decking up because the joists are absolutely rotten.

If you've got 16 lovely girlies all dancing round the pool,

enjoying their hen night...

The last thing you want is anyone going through it. Yeah.

With guests imminent,

they've already made a start with the digger.

As a result, Wendy's precious lawn has taken a bit of a battering.

Today, the new paving arrives to replace the decidedly dodgy

and decrepit decking.

It had come from India, via the UK to France.

As the lorry can get no further than the entrance, Marcus has hired a

telehandler to unload the lorry and then move the paving to the pool.

But it's been raining for weeks and conditions aren't ideal.

We did have a very windy day yesterday,

so hopefully that's dried out the ground a bit.

We only have the forklift until Monday.

It's going to be a real pain in the neck if we can't get that stone down there today.

But with the lawn to cross before they reach the pool,

Wendy and Marcus need to come up with a plan.

Ooh, listen to it!

I know, it's really squidgy.

SQUELCHING

I think I'll have to have a go with one. Mm.

If it works, then I'll get them all done.

I guess there's only one way to find out.

A few different buttons to push if and when I get stuck.

There's a tortoise and hare button and there's also a spinny-wheel button.

Marcus, looking at the ground, you're going

to have to lock your differential - that's the spinny-wheel button.

Unfortunately, the weight of the vehicle combined with

the paving stones proves too much for Wendy's lawn.

The inevitable happened - we're stuck.

There's a lot of weight on there,

and this machine is just not getting traction on the mud.

The wheels aren't big enough, the treads are not big enough.

I mean, look at the mud in the tyres.

I know. It was just spinning like mad.

No, it's too wet. Abandon. Game over.

I think we'd say that was a Mission Impossible.

Yeah. Oh, don't worry, honestly.

It will be fine.

You tried.

Never mind, chaps.

But with guests arriving, it looks like you're going to have to find

another way of moving the paving stones.

Over 300 miles south, it's been two months since Debbie

and Simon moved into Chateau Les Bernards,

and their dreams of opening a B&B are about to take shape.

So we finally start the renovations this week, which is

exciting and terrifying at the same time.

The first project is the master bedroom.

This is where you say, "Does my bum look big in this?"

LAUGHTER Yes!

Right, let's get started.

With engineer Simon currently working back in the UK, Debbie

has drafted in daughter Georgie to give her a hand.

The plan at the moment is that we are going to try

and keep the paper that is on one of the walls, just to keep

some of the original paper from when we bought the chateau.

Strip three walls, get those painted,

and then we also need to get the floors all cleaned and

polished before we can start putting furniture and things back in.

Er, that way. Yep.

The first job is stripping that wallpaper off.

I don't know what I'm doing!

If they can master the ladder platform.

So you're going to do the top, even though I know you hate heights,

and I'm going to stay safely on the bottom, and I'll catch you

if you fall. But don't squash me.

Just do as I'm told. Exactly.

I've been assured it's perfectly safe.

As chateau DIY novices, it's the first time Debbie

and Georgie have done anything like this, so Simon's presence is missed.

Simon is an engineer by trade, which means he can fix anything,

can do anything, understands how everything works.

And I'm the complete opposite.

Are you all right?

No! Just be careful.

But with trusty steamer in hand, it doesn't take them

long to get the hang of it.

Just rip it.

Yeah, rip it.

The plaster on the edge. Yeah?

It's kind of coming off.

Although discovering crumbling plaster stops work pretty quickly.

Do I just peel it off?

I think so. No, this bit.

The loose bit. Do I just make a hole?

Mm-hm. Yeah? Mm-hm.

Ready? Sure?

Yeah.

Oh, dear!

Time to call for a second opinion.

Hello.

We were stripping the wallpaper above the fireplace,

and the plaster's coming away.

Do I just crack on?

So do we crack on and let the plaster come off,

or do we just not?

I told you we were going back up.

Hang on a moment.

Well...

Yeah.

It's on the fireplace.

It just fell off.

Bye-bye.

OK, bye, then.

It's definitely going to be a steep learning curve, but at least

there's an unexpected bonus of doing this DIY project as a team.

Before moving out here, we didn't really spend time together.

It's nice to actually be able to have a conversation

rather than, at home, you'll spend time together, "What do you want for dinner?"

We haven't killed each other yet or argued, which is...

Yeah, we haven't, have we? Haven't had a cross word or anything.

No. Nothing. That's really good.

Chateau life is a better life.

Yeah. More relaxed, isn't it?

It is great, but I'm not so sure about relaxed.

You've done well there, George. You've done the main wall.

And we've still got plaster on the wall by the fireplace. Always a bonus.

That is always a bonus.

Let's go.

Time for a cuppa, I think.

Just a little bit of milk in mine, please.

Cheers, big ears.

Good job. Good job.

Over at Chateau Mareuil, the cars have started to

arrive for Belinda and Lee's classic car event and barbecue.

Miraculously, the broken-down classic Capri has made it

and heads straight into the barn for urgent repairs.

The guests have started to arrive, they're a little bit early, but

I'd rather that than them late and me worried that no-one's turning up.

But in the kitchen, Belinda's feeling the heat.

I think the big challenge, certainly for me, is the numbers.

I did not anticipate having to prepare food for this many people.

There's nothing like people arriving early, is there?

That's distinctly put me on a back foot.

While Belinda cracks on with her canapes,

the pressure's on Lee to find space for all the cars.

I've let the side down a bit, I had it all planned in my head.

People have turned up and they've done their own kind of thing, really.

Stop!

We've got 13 cars here, which is really, really good.

That's everyone here and parked.

Are you doing drinks for people?

We've got 50.

50?

50% English, 50%...

Half and half, French and English. I thought you meant 50 people. No. No, no. I don't know how many people.

Give me a nightmare, heart attack!

So, are you going to go and light the barbecue?

Light the barbecue and make sure everyone's got a drink, that's what I'm doing at the moment. Perfect.

Merci beaucoup. Merci.

With guests tucking into drinks and canapes,

the event is now in full swing.

Lovely to see you. And you.

I've just counted. We've got 38 people here.

Good.

Are you happy? Yeah, very happy.

Is it what you wanted? Yep. Good.

It's good for us. It's what it's all about. It's good for business.

They're all enjoying themselves.

The master of ceremonies calls everyone to the table.

Madames et messieurs, s'il vous plait, mange.

The locals have understood Lee's French.

Anyone like a bun? Anyone like a burger bun?

And everyone's enjoying Belinda's fabulous food.

Absolutely terrific.

The atmosphere is wonderful.

Fabulous chateau, and Lee and Belinda are perfect hosts.

But the hard work isn't over yet.

We go to this place, which is where it always kicks off from.

Tomorrow, Lee's planned an expedition to watch

the classic car rally with a picnic en route.

All in. Dib-dib.

Dob-dob.

Dab-dab.

Done.

Although Belinda needs to manage his expectations.

I was going to be preparing a picnic for you tomorrow for your car

journey, but I will still be preparing that picnic.

I thought you were going to say no then.

But you might recognise some of the items from this evening.

Would they be the very severely charred items that

came off the barbecue?

Semi-charred. I like a bit of crunch.

There will be other things that you might recognise from a previous occasion.

As long as we've got some food, I don't mind. You will.

That'll be interesting.

I can't wait for tomorrow.

Coming up...

..Debbie tackles furniture painting for the first time.

Oh, wow. This is scary.

Much easier when you're just thinking about doing it.

And Lee's doubts come to the surface.

Have I dragged all of our guests to a town in the middle of nowhere?

It will be a disaster for the day if nothing happens.

26 miles from Calais in Northern France,

Marcus has been working hard on the paving around the pool...

..all eventually moved into position by hand

after his telehandler got stuck, ruining Wendy's lawn.

We had to get a very big tractor to come round and pull me out

and Wendy is now working tirelessly to bring that lawn

back into something half decent.

You're banned from driving across this lawn, Marcus Clarke.

Do you hear me?

He is never being allowed to drive over this lawn again.

It will come back.

In about a week's time, we have clients arriving

and this needs to be at least seeded.

With Wendy in the driving seat,

there can be no doubt who's in charge.

The reason behind my shirt is because I AM the boss.

So, if they're not working hard enough,

I'll be out there bossing them around.

Erm...

..exactly where is anybody?

Turns out Marcus wants to get something off his chest too.

Oh, yeah, got your T-shirt on?

Yeah, I've seen what you handle. Yeah.

You handled my lawn all right, didn't you?

Yeah, you just let me handle it. Mushed it.

WENDY LAUGHS

Marcus has now "handled" getting everyone back to work.

There? Yeah.

Do you want me to stand on it? No. WENDY LAUGHS

Not yet.

After Wendy re-seeds the lawn...

..they crack on filling the gaps

between the 144 square metres of paving.

We're using this product which you mix with a hardener.

It's a bit frightening when you see it going down,

like tipping ice cream all over your beautiful paving.

Then we have these squeegees and we are literally jhooshing it,

it's a technical term, into the joints, where it settles.

The product goes off quite quickly,

so you have to do it relatively fast.

And then the excess, you broom off.

So, you go from jhooshing to brooming

and then you end up with a beautiful finish.

I think it looks really beautiful. Yeah.

It's lovely.

Fantastic. You've done a great job.

Well done, you two.

And all completed in time for your holiday guests' arrival.

Right. Let's go get the painting done.

Over 300 miles south, at Debbie and Simon's,

after stripping the bedroom walls, and patching up the flaking plaster,

Debbie and Georgie get on with the painting.

You can go up today. Oh, no. Yes.

No, I might have a heart attack.

I think I've done my quota of going up the scaffold.

Not negotiable, for any reason. GEORGIE LAUGHS

God.

I definitely feel a bit of pressure to get this absolutely spot-on,

just because I know what Mum's like.

Oh, that's harsh.

No, I'm joking.

No, it's just cos you've got people coming to pay to stay in here,

you just don't want them to look at the walls and be like,

"Should have paid somebody, rather than do it yourself".

Probably. Sorry if you get covered.

It'll just add to my grey hair.

Yeah, pretty much.

However, let's not forget, teamwork makes the dream work.

Right, I'm done, Mum, I think. All done? Yes. Yay!

It's really important that we preserve as much as we possibly can.

And one thing of course was to keep the paper that was in that bedroom.

But also the furniture that came with it,

I think it's important we carry it with us on our journey.

I think we'll just take the one, George, to start with...

So, while the paint dries,

Debbie plans to update these Louis XV style chairs,

along with some mirrors

and all of the beds left by the previous chateau owner.

Now you come out in daylight, you can see it's really badly marked.

The plan is, if we paint the wood white,

hopefully it will lighten it up, sort of fit in with the bedroom.

There you go. And it's another first for Debbie.

Oh, wow. This is scary.

It's much easier when you're just thinking about doing it

than when you're actually about to launch yourself with a paintbrush.

Good luck.

This is when you wish you had somebody with you who would

tell you how to do it properly.

I've never done anything like this.

I'm not really creative by nature,

so this is completely out of my comfort zone.

It's difficult to know how much to put on the brush.

You're better off not putting enough on and having to do a second coat,

than putting too much on and then getting lumps or runs.

Yeah. Looks all right from here, though.

It's not really going as I planned

cos I think I've got the wrong brush.

It's not long before having the wrong brush

is not the only thing Debbie has realised.

I think the problem is if we paint it with the fabric in place,

when we reupholster them,

it's not going to fit flush with the paintwork that I've done.

We've made a fundamental mistake.

Don't worry about it, Debbie, we all have to start somewhere

and you've learned a valuable lesson early on.

Now for the most important decision of the day.

So, what now?

Clearly I need a cup of tea to get over the trauma of the chair.

Goes without saying, doesn't it? Yeah.

Here's hoping the rest of the chair renovations go more smoothly.

180 miles away near Angouleme,

it's day two of Belinda and Lee's weekend event,

and the day of the classic car rally.

BEEEPING

It is a highlight of the local calendar

and attracts car enthusiasts from all over France and beyond.

Hundreds of rare and precious cars and thousands of spectators

have converged on this medieval town for the event.

To avoid the crowds, Lee has devised a special tour for his guests,

taking in the best vantage points on the route

from which they can see the cars go by.

Brilliant, look at the view, we can have a picnic here.

Yeah, why not?

It's a military operation.

Let's chow down. OK.

Let's have a look and see what's in the picnic box.

Leftovers from yesterday's barbecue.

Would you like some chicken?

Thank you.

Oh, the tomatoes are great.

She did all this last night.

So, thank you, Belinda.

So, after setting off at the crack of dawn,

racing a Ferrari down the road,

overtaking several other cars,

how do you reckon the trip's gone so far?

It ain't been too bad.

No-one's blown up yet, which is a bonus.

No cars have broken down, which is a good thing.

Weather's great.

And look at that view, look.

So, this afternoon,

what I'm proposing we do is jump in the car,

we get ahead of this lot, go and park up somewhere

by the side of the road and watch all the cars go flying past.

What do you reckon? Yeah, good plan.

Right, tally ho. Let's go.

CAR VROOMS

Oh, come on, behave, boys, or that Capri won't be going anywhere.

The ending point of the tour is Angouleme.

And what we've done is we've cut all of this part off

and gone from here straight to there.

We should get a good view, then, shouldn't we? I think so, yeah.

And I reckon we're about five minutes ahead of the main pack, so.

They're just starting to come through.

They should start coming through now, actually.

I'm expecting the main frame of cars to come up this road,

go right past us and down the road here.

We'll be able to see all of the cars that are on the tour.

Sounds great.

Time to sit back and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

I would have thought by now

there would have been some cars coming through here.

At the moment, I've just seen one

and that could have been by accident.

After half an hour, the pressure's starting to tell.

Have I dragged all of our guests to a town in the middle of nowhere,

waiting for cars to arrive that aren't going to arrive?

It would be a disaster for the day if nothing happens.

You don't think I've got this wrong, do you?

They wouldn't have changed the route at the last minute.

D699, isn't it? Yeah, D699.

Hang on, I'm just going to go and check on the traffic again.

Oh.

No.

Yes.

Yes.

Ah, we are on the right route, ha-ha. The cars are coming.

There we go.

Hey, what's that? What's that? Wey-hey!

BEEPING

Oh, yeah. Well done, matey.

You pulled it out of the bag.

That's what I call a good job well done.

Coming up...

..Debbie and Simon find some undiscovered treasures in the attic.

We found some journals, we found paintings.

It's actually really exciting.

Blow-up cactus, anybody?

And things are going SWIMMINGLY at Wendy and Marcus's place.

ALL CHEER

At Wendy and Marcus', after weeks of working on the swimming pool

and garden, it's all hands on deck for the arrival of their first

rental guests of the season.

Wahey, shall we?

Oh, go on, then.

Show us your face?

SHE LAUGHS

Beast! You're going in.

You're going in the pool!

Don't you dare! Don't you dare!

Oi, you two!

There's no time for that - your guests are here.

Welcome.

Hi there, I'm Marcus.

Good to meet you.

On y va, as they say, let's go.

Staying for a week's fun,

the first thing for this UK family is a tour of the chateau.

This is the lounge - nice, light and airy.

And if you do want to put the fire on, it's really,

really easy to get going.

Ooh, la-la!

Nice, calm, soothing colours.

And some of its unique features.

I'm just going to show you in this cupboard here -

a nice range of Mexican hats, cowboy hats.

Glitter balls.

We do like a party.

Blow-up cactus, anybody?

So, heading on, heading on, heading on.

So, you've got your beautiful pool there.

Just five weeks ago, the pool was a building site.

Now, with its natural stone paving, it's picture perfect

and ready to be shown off to guests.

Number one gets it swirling.

Finally, Wendy's piece de resistance - the hot tub.

Nice glass of wine, watch the sun go down, it's incredible.

No boys allowed! Oh, I'm so excited.

There we are. Thank you very much. Lovely.

Happy holidays.

Here's to having a wonderful week.

ALL: Cheers!

Oh, sante - we should be saying sante, shouldn't we?

Sante!

Sante!

It seems Wendy and Marcus' guests are happy with the chateau

and its pool.

Makes you feel like you're posh.

Really excited about the jacuzzi.

And champagne everywhere in the house.

And it's not long before the holiday starts in earnest.

LAUGHTER

It's bittersweet that I've finished this pool area patio.

I have to hand it over to someone else to enjoy first before we can.

Now we must concentrate on the wedding barn and get that finished.

So, with a happy house of holiday-makers having

a heavenly time, Marcus and Wendy can return to the UK.

We're heading back to Whitstable,

and we are heading out for a curry tonight.

So, I think we've earned it.

You certainly have,

and I'm looking forward to seeing your wedding barn take shape.

Over 300 miles south,

Simon has returned from his two weeks working in the UK.

While he was away, Debbie's been busy.

She's finished painting the chairs and reupholstered them, too.

Right, let's grab this bad boy. OK.

But now it's Simon's turn to help.

So, today, we're just finishing off the pins on the back panel here.

I think, Debbie, we need to pull this fabric round a bit more.

This is the bit where it all goes wrong.

Come on, hit it hard!

There it goes, that's one.

That one's in.

That's it, perfect.

Brilliant. Next one.

I'm not at all artistic, so it's all been very scary.

We've definitely missed Simon.

As good as Georgie is, and she's great,

she doesn't always know where Simon's tools are, and we have no

idea what tools he's got, so often, we'd have to FaceTime him and say,

"This has just happened," and he'd say, "Yeah, garage, third drawer

"on the left, there's a so-and-so that does that," and you're like, "Oh!"

In spite of having limited DIY experience

when they arrived at the chateau, Debbie, with some

help from daughter Georgie, has picked up some new skills.

I can see what the girls have done to the chairs.

I mean, they're absolutely brilliant.

They're totally different chairs.

I think I have to go away more often so they can do some more!

Carry on working hard.

To accompany the chairs,

Debbie and Simon have been exploring the chateau,

hoping to find some other pieces for the newly decorated bedroom.

We've got so many treasures in the attic.

We've found some journals, we've found paintings,

and one of the paintings looks like it may have

been of that bedroom in the past - that's actually really exciting!

Right. Yay!

Not too bad for a beginner.

That's a job to be proud of.

Well done, both of you.

While Simon's been away, Debbie and Georgie have completely

transformed the bedroom, and Debbie can't wait to show Simon.

Wow!

You and George have done well.

But they've saved a job just for him -

changing the old light fitting for one more appropriate to a chateau.

Right. It makes me feel sick looking up, it's so high.

Hurray! There, you see?

The final job of the day is finding a place for the revamped chairs

and the painting they rescued from the chateau's attic.

I just think I love this picture,

the chair in the painting is not dissimilar from the chair that

we've just painted and everything ourselves, and it's by a window,

so it just looks like this exact corner, but maybe 100 years ago.

Good choice.

Once a holiday home for the previous owners,

the rooms at the chateau were dingy, dated and unloved.

But the care, time and enthusiasm Debbie, Georgie

and Simon have invested is already making a difference.

That feels like we've really... Achieved something.

..really sort of achieved something and we're on our way now.

That's one room down and 15 still to go.

Debbie and Simon have taken a step in the right direction,

and I can't wait to see how the rest of the rooms turn out.

Next time...

I need to get a bucket.

I'll go and get a bucket.

..this exhausted pair are all at sea hosting a busy event.

I feel like I'm sailing on the good ship Titanic,

looking forward to seeing the iceberg.

That's worth a try, isn't it?

The language barrier gets one couple in a pickle.

Is it pickle?

Look.

I need to lean on it.

And these two raise the bar in northern France.

Sorry. No, it's fine.

It's better we know now.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media