All language subtitles for Escape to the Chateau DIY S03E09.540p.HDTV.x264-GTi.English

I'm Dick Strawbridge, and, with my
wife, Angel, and our two children...

ANGEL LAUGHS
Don't crash!

...we're nearly five years
into our French adventure,

restoring this once-abandoned
chateau.

That one!

DICK LAUGHS

It's been a lot of hard work.

Oh, that's heavy!

But a lot of fun, too.

Families. ALL: Families.

\ Cheers. I

And all over France,

there are other intrepid British
families doing exactly the same.

I'm just randomly drilling holes
in the wall at the moment!

Now Angel and I are once again
lending a hand

to other expat chateau owners.

That's working for me.

I love it!

We'll meet some new faces...

ii

CRASH
Oh!

...and some old friends.

SHE CHUCKLES

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

You're Monsieur Dick!
ANGEL LAUGHS

There'll be plenty of highs... Yay!

...and lows.

SHE GASPS
No! No.

But however hard it gets... Whoa!

...they're all battling to transform
these abandoned buildings...

It's not the size of the wine press
that matters.

It's what you do with it. Yeah.

...into extraordinary homes
and businesses...

Oh, this is wonderful!

...to live the dream as custodians
of their very own castle.

Today, one couple try to prepare
their new garden event space...

You don't need instructions.
Only when it goes wrong.

Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

...and end up in a tangle.

Oh.

Don't tell me you've done it wrong.
I've done it wrong.

At our place,
it's best foot forward.

Apparently,
that is not a pretty bootjack...

...as Angel sets me to work.

By the time this is built,
there's no reason why

these won't be around working
for a very, very long time.

This owner tackles
a greenhouse renovation.

I'm not cheating! I'm not cheating!

OK. You can open your eyes.

Oh!
THEY LAUGH

And with their first official guests
due in a matter of days...

Oh, no, no, Jayne!

Right. Put it in.

Now you've got it
all over the gravel.

...these two chateau owners
have their work cut out

to be ready in time.

It could turn out looking awful.

Couldn't it?

Of all the properties
sold across France

to international buyers
last year,

around a third of them
were bought by us Brits,

which is hardly surprising, because
there are some stunning properties.

Take the charming 15th-century
Chateau Mareuil.

Originally a medieval fortress,
it's now been home

to South Londoners Belinda and Lee
for four years.

We often lose each other
in this place.

Sometimes I have no idea
where Lee is.

There's a custom, I think,
with French farmers' wives

that live in the countryside,

is having a whistle or
a particular type of call.

Hang on, I didn't know about this!

I think that's what I need, I need a
sharp whistle. Like a dog, you mean?

Yeah. Blow a sharp whistle
and I come running like a dog?

So that I can blow this whistle
and then I know where you are.

Located 40 miles from Limoges,
after several years of renovation,

last summer
they launched the chateau

as an events and
holiday let business.

They're now keen to expand
into the wedding market,

and with their first booking secured
for just eight weeks' time,

they've built a water feature
in an outdoor area

they're planning to use
for the reception.

I'm really excited about hosting
our first wedding here

and they want to use the garden
for their drinks reception

when they come back from church.

So, it's really important
it's finished in time. Hmm.

With the countdown on, today they're
adding one last romantic flourish

to finish off the garden -
a pergola.

Ooh, Lee. That's nice.

Hey, that's not bad.
The colour's nice.

You don't need instructions.
Only when it goes wrong.

That's when
you read the instructions.

Famous last words!

Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Right, they're the bottom ones.

These Gothic arch things,
these are the bottom ones.

I'll put that there.

Half an hour later, though,
he's not feeling quite so confident.

Thinking better of it now,
the instructions.

It's not as simple as it looks.

BELINDA SNIGGERS

Don't tell me. You've done it wrong.
I've done it wrong.

Yeah, it's round the wrong way.

Oh, hang on a minute. What?

These are longer.

THEY LAUGH

Why didn't we read
the instructions first?

Oh, you did it?

No, well, it's called
bodge it and dab it.

No, but seriously.

Finally, after much bodging
and dabbing, it's up.

That's it. That's in.

That's in.
And that one's not, but...

Now, you want to get it in to
position now, don't you? Yeah.

So, now, what we need to do...

The doorway here needs to be in
alignment with the walkway there.

OK.

\ Right, imagine. I

THEY SING "HERE COMES THE BRIDE"

Now for the small matter of
getting ready for that wedding.

When we moved into our chateau
five years ago...

Turn. Turn, turn, turn.

Wow.

...it had stood unloved
and abandoned for years.

Look at the sewage,
look at the electrics in here,

you look at the lead paint.

200 plus pages of reasons
NOT to buy a house.

We're now most of the way to
transforming it into our dream home,

but the work is never done.

Oh!

One of our most recent
projects has been the boot room.

It's a part of the house
that's close to my heart.

The whole of the boot room area
is much more me.

It's all the sort of coats
and wellies, which is not Angela.

I bought her
her first pair of wellies

the first Christmas
we were together.

We went up to just
above Abergavenny, up on a hill,

there was snow, and...

...she wore her wellies
and a fur coat

and her most amazing hairdo
and everything else.

She didn't quite get
the whole concept of wellies.

Now, she wears them all the time,

because we're out and about
the place,

but she still doesn't get
the concept of wellies.

Mrs Strawbridge may not do wellies,
but she does do style,

and there's one finishing touch to
our new boot room she's requested.

Apparently, that is
not a pretty bootjack.

Apparently, yeah. Fair cop.

I'll keep this in my workshop,
bootjack,

and make some pretty ones
for Angela.

A bootjack is
a tool for taking off boots

and no boot room is
complete without one.

To turn this into a pretty bootjack,

I suppose, I have to do
something like, come down.

A bit further across,
give me a base.

And then from this side, if I come
down to join it from up here.

And then underneath it,
have my sort of...

piece of wood for putting it on,
like that.

That's a prettier shape.

It's just slightly more elegant.

The first thing I need to do is
cut out the shape from some wood

I've pinched from one of our
old linen cupboards.

Because this is oak, by the time
this is built, there's no reason

why these won't be around working
for a very, very long time.

We're talking about 50 years,
they'll still be there,

working away.

Be quite nice, won't it?

That's the sort of thing
I really like.

I'm all measured up. Now to cut out
the mouth of the bootjack.

Another piece of wood on the bottom,
like that.

That is a bootjack.

But I will make it prettier for her.

A bit more work
and a splash of varnish,

I reckon this will be
a bootjack fit for an angel.

Approximately 352 miles south,
at Chateau Thuries,

husband-and-wife team
Jayne and Steve,

who moved in last year,
are keeping busy.

I didn't come over to
the south of France to sit down

and do nothing,
but I'm looking forward to...

...when all the hard graft
is finished,

to actually take my foot
off the pedal a little bit,

you know, and just making sure
the standard is kept.

Located near Toulouse, they plan to
open the 19th-century chateau

as a B&B and have so far renovated
the guest rooms and reception rooms.

Obviously, we're moving towards
that goal of opening,

so we've got a lot of work
cut out for us, haven't we?

But I just can't wait to get it
over and done with now.

With their first official booking
in just over a month,

they have one of their last
major jobs to do -

create a reception area in
what they call the orangery.

It's where people are going to
come into when they arrive,

so it's got to feel quite welcoming,

and we want people to be able to sit
and relax in there in the summer.

Just make it a nice, warm room.

Yeah. And you're going to
stencil the floor,

because you hate the floor.
It's so cold and horrible.

So I'm going to paint it red
and then put a stencil on it.

It could turn out looking awful,
couldn't it?

Only one way to find out,

and that involves
Steve and a paintbrush.

They're using a floor paint to cover
the existing terrazzo tiles.

This terracotta colour's
going to be a base colour

and then we'll do the stencilling
with a lighter colour on top.

Instead of rolling walls,
it's rolling a floor for a change.

Leaving Steve unsupervised
to finish the floor,

Jayne's onto the next stage of
the job, measuring up her stencil.

It's quite important that
I get the measurements right,

because otherwise I'm going to end
up with half a stencil at one end

somewhere and I don't
want to do that.

Once I've done the first one,
it will be fine, but I've got

to make sure that I've absolutely
got them right before I start.

I just hope I like it, yeah.

Here's hoping.

A few hours later, with Steve's
terracotta base coat now dry,

it's over to Jayne.

The moment of truth.

Right, here goes.

You can see the red very distinctly,
the terracotta colour,

you can see that
underneath the paint.

I think it's definitely going to
need to have a second coat.

OK, let's just see
how it's worked out.

It's not as clean as
I wanted it to be.

Erm...

And it definitely needs two coats.

Second time lucky?

Bit messy.

Oh, well, Jayne,
there's another 50 or so to go,

let's hope practice makes perfect.

Coming UP---

\Hooks.l

...at this chateau, the owner
is on a mission to upcycle...

Where are the men when we need them?
THEY LAUGH

You have to tell me when you move.
Sorry.

...Angel picks up where I left off...

Dick is the engineering
behind everything,

but I'm just a little bit
more fussy.

...and as preparations continue
at Chateau Mareuil...

I've got about 3.5 hours
before our guests arrive

and I've never decorated
a pergola before.

...has Belinda cooked up a disaster?

I've never made anything
so bad in my entire life.

I'm sure it'll taste lovely.
SHE LAUGHS

Sitting in 60 acres is the
stunning Chateau de Lalande.

Dating back to the 16th century,

it's been home to owner
Stephanie for the last 13 years.

Each challenge definitely
becomes easier.

Now I'm able to just try things,
even if I don't know how to do them.

There's so many people who can
show me the right way.

It's worth trying, anyway,
and what could possibly go wrong?

Located in the heart of France,

Stephanie runs a chateau
for events and as a B&B,

and has recently renovated her
fifth and final guest suite.

Oh, this is wonderful.

The light!

Stephanie's now
turning her attention

to one of the chateau's
other neglected corners

that she wants up and running
for the coming peak season.

We're lucky enough to have
a huge greenhouse here,

but it got very damaged
in the storm last winter,

so we're finally
going to restore it.

We should be able to have
lots of delicious vegetables

for the B&B this summer.

I think it makes a very big
difference for guests

to be able to experience that.

You bet it does, but there's a huge
amount of work to be done first,

including replacing the windows
and sorting out the inside.

Luckily, Stephanie has a team of
live-in volunteers on hand to help.

There's a lot to do.

\ Really? I

THEY LAUGH

To finally have it working
as it should've been,

I can't wait to see it, though.

I really can't. Yeah.

Let's get cracking!

Was this is a particularly useful
bucket of stuff to have in here?

Yeah, you go should
put it in the new room.

Clearing out done, but now
something isn't stacking up.

I just think this is the most
stupid shelf system ever.

It's coming a metre into the
room, for no reason whatsoever.

The shelves are this wide.

Things are going to fall
off the back all the time,

so I think we don't try
to restore these. No.

I think we'd be better off doing
just something entirely new. Yes.

To keep costs down,

Stephanie is keen to re-use
items from around the chateau.

So the only thing standing between
us and magnificent shelves

is a peacock and its poo.

And these old scaffold boards
should do nicely.

OK, come on, Thor, off we go.

Come on, darling.

Take away Thor,
and I'm taking away the poo.

I think that's a really,
really good division of labour.

Poo-spotter. Uh-huh!

There you go. All right.

Get behind you, to your left.

Oh, there. Oh, my God. Big one.

There you go.

Excellent.

Next, they try to find some
hooks for garden tools.

OK, now, I think there might
be some in here, Marie.

I try to avoid coming into
this room whenever possible!

Oh, there! There we go.

\ Oh, wow! I

Hooks.

Shall we take it with us
and take them off there?

Yes, let's take it off. Cos this is
a bit of... Take it with us, I mean.

Work it in. OK.
It's quite heavy. OK.

Whoa, whoa!
Are we doing it this way?

Why doesn't one of
us take one end? OK.

Instead of both of us taking the
middle. You go to... OK.

Have you got it?

THEY LAUGH

All right, great. OK.

And we're off.

You have to tell me when you move.
Sorry, I had to get under the rope.

To the garden. To the garden, yes.

And beyond. Yes.

All right.

Right, I'll get a screwdriver.

Here we go.

Oh, these are going to look so good.

I love it.

Don't let the excitement distract
you from your plan, Stephanie.

There's a lot to be done in here.

We need to bring the
workbench in, make the shelves,

finish all of the panes
and do a lot of painting.

But it's going to look
great when it's finished.

At Lee and Belinda's,
they've been hard at work

getting ready for their
first-ever wedding booking.

These are longer.

THEY LAUGH

Why didn't we read
the instructions first?

Unfortunately, they've
received some bad news.

Due to a family illness, the
wedding couple has had to cancel.

Excuse me, Misty.

However, there is
another potential event.

A friend of Belinda's asked
to hold her 60th birthday

party at the chateau.

They've decided to use it to
launch their new outdoor venue,

although it's put them
under even more pressure.

Because we had guests
here last night,

so we're on a real tight
turnaround, actually, today.

We'd planned to have the
garden, with its new pergola,

ready in time for the wedding,

which has sadly had to be cancelled.

So what we've done now is to
actually bring it forward

for this celebration.

So we've put ourselves under
a huge amount of pressure -

I don't know why I'm laughing,
really - to get it done.

Outside, Lee has
big plans for the pergola,

even though they're up
against it, timewise.

The idea, conceptually,

is to have kind of
like vines running down,

interwoven with flowers.

And we'd quite like white flowers -
Belinda wants white flowers in here.

With no time to plant anything,

Lee's making do with cuttings
from the chateau grounds.

I've got about three and a half
hours before our guests arrive

and I've never
decorated a pergola before,

so I'm not quite sure
what I've got to do.

I'm going to have to take some
stuff from the garden,

so I need to go around
and find stuff.

Hope Belinda doesn't notice
I've just savaged a...shrub.

Snip away while you can,
Lee - Belinda's distracted,

baking the all-important
birthday cake.

I am feeling stressed, to be honest,

because I've got to
get this cake done.

Let's just hope,
you know, it looks OK.

Although I have made cakes -
I DO make cakes,

not very often, admittedly -
what's really worrying me

is actually the
decorating of the cake.

Because that... Do you
know, I cannot remember

ever having made a celebration
cake with decoration.

Looks OK, actually -
I'm quite impressed.

Let's hope for the best with
this one, then. In you go.

See you later.

Outside, Lee's artistic vision
for the pergola is well under way.

So, I'm just tying this.

I don't know what it is,
but it smells really nice.

I've never been a gardener,

but once you start
working a chateau

and you end up with quite
a lot of land,

you realise that you have to learn
quite quickly about gardening.

I'm not sure what this is
looking like, overall.

Only one way to find out.

Oh, it looks lovely.

That's really nice - that's much
nicer than I thought it would look,

\ honestly. I

Oh, good. It's slightly skewwhiff.

What do you mean?
SHE LAUGHS

What do you mean?

I think the pergola
is a bit skewwhiff.

No, the pergola's all right.
I've spirit-levelled it, it's fine.

It's the ground that's wrong.
It's the ground that's skewwhiff.

The ground that's wrong,
the pergola's perfect.

Smell it - have you smelt it?
Smell this one.

I knew that was coming. Right.

You old charmer, Lee.

There'll be plenty of
time for smooching later,

but now you've got a bar
to build in an outhouse.

I've got to clear all this lot out.

So I've got to get from this

to a decorative 60th birthday bar
in less than two hours, actually.

HE SIGHS
OK.

L'lljust get this out of here.

Up there.

HE GRUNTS

Now, we've the bar underneath,
fairy lights next.

That's it.

Yes! They're on.

The Ooh La La Bar
is back in business.

Belinda is also in business.

Her friend's birthday cake
is out of the oven.

All she needs to do now
is decorate it.

This icing...is really very soft.

SHE LAUGHS

I don't know what's going to happen

when I try to put it
on top of the cake.

SHE LAUGHS

I really don't know what's gone
wrong - I followed the recipe!

I think maybe it's the
French ingredients.

Perhaps something was
lost in translation.

This is very funny.

I'm going to put this
other cake on top.

It's the thought that
counts, Belinda.

\ Very rustic. I

I've never made anything
so bad in my entire life.

I'm sure it'll taste lovely.

Well, with the celebrations
due to start shortly,

there's nothing a few
freshly cut flowers can't disguise.

At our place in the
Pays de la Loire,

with my bit of the bootjack done,

it's over to Angel
to finish the job.

Mr Strawbridge's
beautiful bootjack.

He's come up with a really
beautiful, elegant shape

and made it really well.

And they are expensive to buy.

She's adding a touch of
luxury to my design.

Dick is just all about function,

and that is totally fine -
that's why I love him.

You know, he's the
engineering behind everything.

But I am just a
little bit more fussy.

I like things to look a
little bit more...elegant.

And it looks great.

So I've got a rough template,

and then that is
going to just be stuck down.

But I need to make sure that...

...l'm just matching Dick's shape.

There we go.

With the patch done, Angel can
do the decorative stitching.

Right.

Now happy it all looks good,
it's time for the glue.

Get this in place.

It's going to be lovely.

When we get home,
we've all got our jack.

I just, I cannot wait to just go
for our walks, our winter walks,

and our hot chocolates
and have family time.

We've got three chairs on either
side, so I've done three bootjacks.

Good.

Done.

All that remains is to find the
bootjacks a home in the boot room.

They look nice.
They're not bad, are they?

Darling... It's not bad. ..l think

we could go into business,
these are a fortune online.

Are they? I absolutely love them.

You take wellies off with
these, not those. OK.

I'm happy to admit these
new bootjacks knock

the socks off my old
plywood original.

Hopefully, they'll be welcoming
muddy boots to the chateau

for many years to come.

Coming UP '

Stephanie gets down to
DIY in the greenhouse.

Scalpel. Thank you.

LAUGHTER

At Chateau Thuries, their
guests can't arrive soon enough.

The coffers are running
very low right now,

so, you know, we just have to
try and do it as cheaply as we can.

And can Belinda and Lee
avoid their garden party wilting?

I just looked at the pergola earlier
on and the flowers have drooped.

Well, I can chuck a bucket of
water over them, if you like.

At Chateau Thuries, Jayne
and Steve are racing

to transform their orangery into
a reception area

ready to welcome their first
official guests

in four weeks' time.

We might have to buy three.
Two or three.

Yeah. I think we will because
there won't be any

that are as big as that wall.

Jayne's been stencilling for several
clays, and now it's done.

And it's a pretty amazing job, too.

For the cost of a couple of tins
of paint,

she's achieved the look
she was after.

Now, Jayne's turned her attention
to the plants

she wants to put in there.

I'm just looking up this
Bougainvillea

because I think in the orangery,
they'd look really beautiful,

if we could find some way of
planting them.

But I'm just worried, because it
does get cold in the winter,

what you need. It says here,
"Minimum 7C to 10C."

Ah. So...

What we'd have to do is make sure
that we...heat that room...

What, in the winter? ..somehow.
I know.

Not practical. So maybe it's going
to be...

Have you got any ideas?

I like the idea of lemon.
A lemon in a pot.

Well, yeah, but they don't climb.

No. Because we've not lived
here for many years,

we don't know what the habits are
of these plants,

so I think we need to take a bit
of advice

at the garden centre about it. OK.

They need to choose plants that'll
do well in the winter...

...so they're after expert advice at
a nearby garden centre.

Excusez-moi. Oui, bonjour.
Merci, bonjour.

THEY SPEAK FRENCH

This is beautiful. Ask him what
this...? I like that.

That's perfect. This is perfect.
Parfait.

So we'll take that one. OK.
We'll take this one.

\ This one? I

That's beautiful. And now we just go
and look for some climbers.

And that means heading outside.

I think we could just get one of
those. Just a jasmine. Yeah.

I like jasmine.

Au revoir.

A pretty successful morning,
but yet more expenditure.

They've bought a couple of lemon
trees and a jasmine.

The coffers are running very
low right now,

so, you know, we'lljust have to try
and do it as cheaply as we can.

But, obviously, you know, we've got
standards to keep here, haven't we?

I mean, you know, the rest of
the house is looking really nice,

and we can't sort of just not spend
any money on the orangery.

It's the room that people walk into
when they arrive,

and, you know, it's got to
be welcoming,

it's got to look lovely.

Hopefully, your guests will be
suitably impressed.

You'll find out for yourselves
in a matter of weeks.

Back at Chateau de Lalande,
Stephanie and her team

are cracking on with refurbishing
the greenhouse.

Marie, can I have the brush
and the paint?

All right. Here you go.

Thank you.

The rusty window frames are being
given a fresh lick of paint...

...while Stephanie's builder Ian fits

the reclaimed scaffold
board shelves.

Now 33 new polycarbonate
panels need to be fitted.

They're much lighter than glass
and, at £600 all in,

a lot cheaper, too.

It's a big task, though, so Ian
and work away Marie

are on hand to help.

So if we take sheet number one.
They've all got a number

at the bottom. Wow. Oh. Oh!

Turn it around, and if you could
pass me the silicone...

Oh, the silicone.

...which is a... Which will
glue them all in.

The first silicone bead holds
the panel in place.

Need to then drop it in,
push it down,

peel that one off, and away we go.

Is it normal to be really, really
excited about a greenhouse window?

Of course it is. Then we put another
bead, a bit thicker this time.

And a second holds
and makes it watertight.

We can give it a shot now. Yeah.

OK. Who's first?

I'll have a go. Jolly good.

I'm quite excited about this. Yeah.

Ooh, this is satisfying.

It's like those things when you
shave your legs,

you just rip them off, like this.

Sorry. Got distracted, there.

There you go, madam.
Thank you so much.

Oh, no problem.

There we go. Yeah, that is
satisfying, Marie.

LAUGHING: Yeah.

Scalpel. Thank you.

To the manor born, Stephanie.

So, do you want to go for
number three?

Yeah. Let's do it. Right.

Yep, good fit, this one.

Not long,
though, and she's starting to flag.

I think that this is one of those
jobs that you hit

a bit of a wall of boredom after a
while, and I think that it can

only be re-set by gin
and tonic in this weather.

SHE LAUGHS

Six panels is a start, but there's
still plenty to do tomorrow.

The next day, Ian's been put on
window duty, so Stephanie

and Marie can move on to the next
pressing task.

We have three times 70 litres
sacks of soil.

Yes. And compost soil.

We have tomato plants that we are
going to plant in here.

OK, good. This is exciting. Yes.

How much of this are we putting on
here? Just a little bit.

Get some eggshells in there.

Eggshells add minerals to the
compost,

though I have to say, I usually add
mine to my composter, not the bed.

Let's start mixing it up.

It's a good exercise.

That's the bit I don't like, Marie.
Don't remind me.

MARIE LAUGHS

With the soil and compost mixed,
finally, they can get planting.

And then we just pop them in?
Yeah, yeah.

\ Perfect. I

Well, this is exciting. Yeah.
I want to see them grow, now. Yeah.

OK, everyone - the lettuce,
radishes and tomatoes are in.

Does anyone want tea or coffee?
Tea, please.

OK. Yeah.

I'll be back in a minute. OK.

I think the greenhouse is going
really, really well.

It's making me
want to be out there all spring.

I don't know how long that
enthusiasm will last

for the garden,
but I'm really enjoying it.

I'm chuffed to see you getting
excited about this, Stephanie.

Take it from me, nothing beats
your own produce on your own table.

40 miles away at Chateau Mareuil,
Belinda and Lee are about to

host their friend
Tina's 60th birthday celebrations.

They've spent the day
racing to be ready,

but at the last moment,
Belinda's spotted a problem.

I just looked at the pergola earlier
on and the flowers have drooped.

Yeah, well, they're going to.
They really have drooped.

Well, I can chuck a bucket of water
over them, if you want.

Too late to worry about that now,
Lee -

the guest of honour is pulling up.

Hello, you. Hello. Nice to see you.

You too. We've laid out the red
carpet for you, as you can see.

Let's hope Lee's bar hits the spot.

THEY LAUGH

Da-dah! Ooh-la-la bar.

Oh, fabulous! It's brilliant.
Absolutely brilliant!

Very excited!

Tina's Ooh-la-la bar is fab,

and I'm sure it will be enjoyed by
the family.

Speaking of which -
here they come now.

Make yourself feel at home.

The beer's over there,
the Ooh-la-la bar's in there.

How are you? Very, very well.
Good.

We couldn't fit any more people in.
Every bedroom's taken.

Every room is taken.

Every bathroom is being used.

It's just such a pleasure.
It really is good.

And let's not forget, you've
got your outside garden space, too.

There may be the odd wilting bloom,
but it's come a long way

from the unloved corner it was
three months ago.

Befinda
and Lee now have the outside area

they wanted for the party
guests to enjoy.

I'd just like to say thank you
all for coming.

Welcome to Chateau Mareuil
and happy birthday to Tina.

Happy birthday.

ALL: Happy birthday, Tina.

I think this is a beautiful spot,
just ideal for photographs.

Definitely a birthday to remember.

Oh! The candle's gone.

And no party would be complete
without a birthday cake,

which, despite Belinda's worst
fears, has turned out pretty well.

Y ay!
THEY LAUGH

It's meant to be a musical candle.

I think it's going to have to burn
brighter than that.

So I'm feeling mightily relieved
that my cake was not the disaster

it could have been and I think it
ended up looking reasonable.

I think we need to buy some fresher
flowers for the garden.

Well, it was a temporary fix.
It was very temporary.

Didn't work very well. It was so
temporary, it didn't last a day.

THEY LAUGH

Cheers. Cheers!

In the end,
it was a mad rush to get ready,

but the party's been a great
success.

Belinda and Lee may not have
hosted their first wedding,

but they have created a great
outdoor spot,

ready for when their next
booking comes in.

Coming up... It's action stations for
Steve and Jayne in the orangery...

I think that's lovely.

...as tempers start to fray.

Are you sitting down on the job
already? Yeah, I am.

And at Stephanie's...

Ah, got it. Whoo!

THEY LAUGH

...what will the greenhouse verdict
be?

Oh, look at that radish.

Oh, organic lettuce.

At Chateau Thuries, Jayne
and Steve's first official guests

are now due in a matter of days.

I need to know where you want me
to put it.

The exact position of it.
Yeah. OK.

Their orangery will be the B&B
reception area for chateau guests

and there's still a lot to do
to get it up to scratch.

We've finished all the decoration,
so it's basically

a case of bringing all the furniture
that's going to go in there.

The seats, the plants,
there's a mirror to put up.

Got to look really welcoming
and everything.

Yeah, and feel welcoming. Yeah.

We've basically got a guest
arriving, so we've got to...

We need to be finishing it.
..try and get it all done

before they come. Yeah. Exactly.

Sooner started, soonest finished.

OK. That's it.

So we need just to centre
this behind the mirror.

Underneath.

Oh, it's comfortable, this sofa.

Are you sitting down on the job?

\ Yeah, I am. I

Almost there.

It's time to get those
new plants in.

Just loosen the roots a bit.

No, no, Jayne!

I'm going to put some more in.

\ Right, put it in. I

Now you've got it all over
the gravel.

Look. Does it matter? Yeah!

Well, that's why we did it outside,
rather than inside.

OK, that'll do.

Are you sure? Yeah.

So you can carry that one in.
00f.

Come on, you two.
STEVE EXHALES IN EFFORT

You all right? The orangery is
nearly done.

Oh, yeah, that's lovely.

With the last of the candles lit,

Steve and Jayne can finally stand
back and appreciate their hard work.

Ah, voila.

An unloved room at the end
of the chateau

has become an elegant
reception area for guests.

Jayne's stylish stencilled floor,
along with the plants

they picked up is going to make
a great first impression.

Nice.

Lovely atmosphere, candles.

It's quite welcoming, isn't it?
Yeah.

Steve's not going to pass up
this chance

to take some snaps for their
website.

I think we've succeeded, haven't we?

Well, I think it's looking great.

Yeah, it is. It's looking
really nice.

Really welcoming, which is
what we wanted.

We are obviously excited.

We've spent over a year, you know,
on this chateau.

Our first guests are going to be
arriving and, yeah,

we really would like to get some
positive reactions.

It feels welcoming to me.

Yes, it feels welcoming to me, too.
Yeah.

Anyway, we'll soon know.

You certainly will.

There's nothing like welcoming
your first official guests,

and it's just a couple of clays away.

Back at Stephanie's
and it's time for her summer season.

The new greenhouse is
now in full bloom.

It looks so good.

I know.

I love it so much.

She and Marie are adding some
finishing touches.

Ah. Got it. Woo.

Don't move!
THEY LAUGH

I like them like that.

And just in time,
mum Isabelle is visiting

and chomping at the bit to see it.

I'm quite excited because I have
been prevented from looking

at the greenhouse since I arrived.

I happen to be
the gardener in the family

and it is so important to preserve
the greenhouse,

because it's lovely to have another
corner of the chateau

in working order.

A neglected lean-to has been utterly
transformed

into a bright and beautiful space
where Stephanie and Isabelle

will be able to potter about
for years to come.

And with the salvaged shelves,

hooks and pots from about the
chateau, it's cost next to nothing.

I'm quite proud,

because other than having to pay
for the new windows, which,

luckily, were covered by
our insurance,

we haven't spent anything
else on the greenhouse,

other than these little brackets
to put shelves up.

I hope that my mother will be proud,
actually.

Go on, have you got your eyes
closed, Mummy?

My eyes are closed. Keep going.

I'm not cheating, I'm not cheating!

OK, you can open your eyes.

Oh, my goodness.

\ It's wonderful. I

Do you recognise these?

How lovely.

Do you recognise these,
from the barn? It's amazing.

I can see that. I can
see everything.

My hats, as well.

I love it! I love it.

I'm going to spend hours upon hours
upon hours in here.

Right, Mummy, mojito,
with the mint from the garden.

Oh, thank you.

Cheers. Cheers.

Cheers. Thank you, darling.
Thank you.

\ I am so blessed. I

You know, I think lsabelle's
impressed.

And to celebrate,

all that remains is to collect
their very first greenhouse harvest.

What joy to come in here.

Oh, look at that radish!

Oh, organic lettuce.

Done.

And to serve it up to family
and friends.

So, ladies and gentlemen,
here it is -

the first salad from the greenhouse.

CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
Thank you.

I'll put it down here.
Beautiful.

I'm so hdPPY-

This meal marks the start of a whole
season of different vegetables

from the garden
and I'm very excited.

Great job, Stephanie.

We'll make a gardener
out of you yet.

It's fantastic you've got
the greenhouse finished,

but with the summer season upon us,
there are plenty more jobs to do.

Next time...

Here's the pool, here's the
solar farm, here's the sun.

...Lee devises a way to
heat the pool.

Have a feel of that.

Wow! That is so hot.

That is too hot.

Jayne takes decorating to
new heights...

I've done nothing but look
at mountains and see the tones

and how it all works together.

My name isn't Michelangelo.

I'm very, very nervous about it,
really.

...and at Stephanie's...

Quite a lot to do.

...there's a difference of opinion...

Let's get the men in
and let's see how it goes.

I tell you how it's going to go.
It's going to go to pieces.

...as stables are turned
into an art studio.

Whoa.

It's a total transformation.

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