Original subtitles

Hello! ..and our two children,

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

Oh, it's lovely.

This is my little corner of paradise.

ANGEL LAUGHS

It's not just our home...

Woo! THEY LAUGH

..but our business.

That's a proper kiss!

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

Wow! Oh, 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.

THEY CHUCKLE

There will be ups...

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

God bless France.

..of their very own castle.

Today, one couple have a bird-brained scheme

to transform their aviary.

Water comes in through the hole in the roof.

That's why I want you to fix it.

But will it come back to bite them?

What are the chances of there being snakes in this stuff? Hm.

At this chateau... Right.

..work starts on a new renovation project.

That's it, I'm getting the sledgehammer. Patience runs thin.

Time is money.

Time is money, isn't it?

And a heatwave strikes in the south of France...

I reckon we're looking at 45 degrees.

..as wedding preparations hit boiling point.

My problem is I haven't got enough time to do what I need to do.

You might think that once a new chateau business was up and running,

the hard yards had been done.

But even when it's well-established, the challenges are never-ending.

Like here, at the magnificent 19th-century

Chateau du Puits es Pratx.

Boasting 39 rooms and seven acres of land, it's been run as a hotel

and wedding venue since 2007 by Londoners Sasha and Tim.

It's perfect.

Just tie it in a knot and shut up.

You wouldn't think we've been married 30 years, would you?

SASHA LAUGHS

Their daughter, Lily, and her boyfriend, Luke.

I take pleasure in running the hotel. Off I go.

But more than anything, I take pride in it, also.

It's just the last titivations.

15 years down the line, I think our joint desire for the chateau

to continue is for it to be a place that people can enjoy

and love as much as we did when we first came here.

Set in the Occitanie countryside, Tim and Sasha

have been busy this low season, upgrading the hotel spa.

We're ready, we're ready.

I think it looks magical.

As well as transforming the area outside it

into a wellness garden for guests.

We've got a beautiful garden where people can relax

and just enjoy the surroundings.

Now, with the summer season almost upon them,

Tim and Sasha are gearing up for the 20 weddings they have booked in.

Luke?

And, today, they're focusing on getting the chateau grounds ready,

starting with a troublesome tree.

We're having an old pine tree cut down

that sits next to the swimming pool.

We don't like cutting trees down on principle,

but the needles from the pine tree affect

the chemistry of the swimming pool and causes misery every year.

I've objected to the cutting down of the pine tree for a long,

long time, but now I've agreed.

Unfortunately for Sasha...

Right, so I need my plants.

..the tree surgeons aren't the only ones who need a head for heights.

The time is nigh, I have to go up on the cherry picker.

I'm planting two vines in each of the urns on top of 15-foot pillars.

Lots of ivy to trail down.

They recently picked up two urns for the main chateau gateposts,

and now Sasha is venturing into uncharted territory.

I've never been up in a cherry picker before.

I'm somebody with no balance at all, so I'm going to be wobbling

around all over the place and I will try not to scream or to swear.

Eurgh!

Ooh!

SASHA LAUGHS

Ah, OK!

Don't look down. Oh!

She's looking remarkably confident.

Watering the plants up there is going to be interesting.

Are you winning? Ooh!

I would love to buy a cherry picker.

I understand your need.

Woo!

# Here we go again. #

I can't reach that side, so I'm going to...

If you can't reach, darling, just get out

and stand on the top of the column.

Can you move the urn a centimetre? She's going to throw it. Careful.

THEY LAUGH

Oh!

Oof!

Are you coming down? Yeah.

Oh! Don't look...don't look down!

SASHA LAUGHS

Well, they look good from up there, anyway.

The gardener has landed. TIM LAUGHS

Right. Are you OK? Yeah. Ooh.

Merci.

I enjoyed that.

All my apprehensions are put to rest.

Can we buy a cherry picker?

Er, yeah, we've been through that.

SASHA LAUGHS

That's one green-fingered job ticked off

and the tree surgeons are also making good progress.

But now the lower branches are gone, Sasha's having a rethink.

So, you've had second thoughts about cutting the tree down, now, yeah?

Well, I know it puts a spanner in the works, but... Just a bit.

..I mean, look at it.

It looks so lovely and the beauty of a tree is more important to me

than needles in the pool.

Yes, darling, because you don't have to deal with

the chemistry of the pool, like we do.

But, I take on board what you say.

I know I'm being a pain in the neck, but sometimes...

You change your mind.

Well, yes.

We need to take a closer look.

I have to now sort of watch Tim trying to explain to the

gardener and take responsibility.

Si possible...

Go for it, Tim, you can do it.

I'm causing chaos.

Perfect. Merci.

Well done.

Monsieur le tree lopper agrees. Everything's solved.

Good news, especially for that tree.

But Tim and Sasha are only just getting

started on the list of jobs to be done in time for the wedding season.

Over 350 miles north is the elegant Chateau de la Ruche.

With 24 rooms and 15 acres of parkland.

It was bought two years ago for £380,000 by Lincolnshire couple

IT engineer Tim and journalist Rebecca,

who live here with their sons, Rufus and Laurie.

You definitely have moments where you kind of stand there

and you look at it and you think, it's just phenomenal

and I can't believe we live here.

It's hard to explain quite how tranquil it is,

so you come up the driveway and arrive at the house

and there's just nothing around you other than nature.

It's a much better way of life. Yeah.

Located about an hour's drive from us

in the Pays de la Loire, Tim and Rebecca now run the place as a B&B.

Right.

When we met them last winter, they were struggling to make

the business work and were teetering on a financial knife-edge.

Thankfully, that's now in the past.

There was a moment in February when suddenly we realised,

for the first month since we've been here, that we

would not lose money that month, we would break even for the first

month, which was a big turnaround and it's been positive since then.

Yeah.

But these two aren't ones to rest on their laurels,

and Rebecca's come up with a new scheme

she hopes will impress their B&B guests and make a little more cash.

Loads of our guests come because they like to go brocante-ing

and buying antiques and flea markets and all that kind of stuff.

And they love the things that we have around the chateau, the cutlery

and the glasses and the table linens

and all sorts of things that they just love,

and they want to be able to take a piece of that home with them.

To make that possible,

the idea is to exploit Rebecca's knack for spotting beautiful

bargains by turning their derelict aviary into a bijou brocante.

If there's a snake in here, you're going to be in trouble, OK?

Water comes in through the hole in the roof.

That's why I want you to fix it.

Right, shall we get it cleared out, then?

Since Tim and Rebecca moved in,

they've used the aviary for storing firewood.

What I'm liking about this is the fact that the only way

all these big logs have got in here is by me carrying them in here

in the first place.

But think of those muscles that you've built.

Because we're going to put in nice bits that Rebecca wants to

sell in the little brocante, it needs to be watertight,

so I'm going to try and put some windows in now

and see how that goes...in the rain.

To keep within their low-as-possible budget,

they've gone for the thrifty option.

We decided to do greenhouse plastic, didn't we, instead of glass,

one, because it doesn't break as easily, and two, it's cheaper.

I kind of don't want to do too much to this

because I like the fact that it looks like a ramshackle old building

in the middle of the garden, so we're just going

to make it a bit watertight and fix it so it doesn't fall down.

First off, Tim is making the window frames, while Rebecca cuts off

the wire that once kept the aviary's occupants from making an escape.

So, that's how your window's going to look from the outside.

I think that's fine. Yeah? Beautiful, my love.

Looks all right.

At 300 euros, or about £260, these panels aren't cheap.

Look at that, like a professional.

But they are much lighter than glass and easy to work with.

There you go. Nice.

Window.

It's very...it looks like glass.

So, when we've done this, you can build me a greenhouse.

So, I'll do the greenhouse tomorrow, shall I? Yeah. Yeah?

Or maybe Thursday?

One thing at a time, Rebecca.

Solid.

The aviary brocante is starting to take shape.

It's beautiful. Don't do that, cos you'll pull it off.

Worst case scenario, we'll just get the two at the front done

and then do the others in a few months' time.

If you don't want to fall foul of Rebecca,

you need to get on with the rest sharpish, Tim.

I might see if Dale's around to give me a hand.

Coming up, this owner sets to work on her very first guest suite...

It's like plastic.

This is the worst material they could have possibly put on a wall.

..by tackling some groovy decor.

If there was something stupid to be done, they did it in the 1970s.

And as the wedding season draws closer...

Just hit the post, not me.

..Sasha gets some help with her garden.

Melvin, he's the muscle that I haven't got.

SASHA LAUGHS

He's cool, he's cool!

This is the historic 12th-century Chateau du Masgelier.

In its time, the castle has been home to royalty,

and in the 1970s was a children's holiday camp,

but today it's home to DIY-devotee Fiona and her 11-year-old son, Louie.

Been here for seven years, coming up, this summer,

when I signed on the dotted line, signed my sanity away.

SHE LAUGHS

And all of the lows and all of the highs, I'd do it all again.

It's been good, it's been good.

Located in the rural Limousin area,

Fiona is single-handedly renovating the chateau,

with the aim of breathing new life into its medieval walls.

Last year, she transformed the tired 1970s hallway on the first floor.

Now she's taking on an even bigger challenge,

by creating her very first suite.

I'm going to be restoring the southern King's Tower

here on the first floor.

It's been completely destroyed.

It's very '70s orange wallpaper, a real fright,

so I'm going to restore that and create my first master suite.

Fiona has decided to name the suite after Marquis Bremond,

a noble who escaped the guillotine

and owned the chateau during the French Revolution.

So this is the Bremond Suite. Well, what will become the Bremond Suite.

And given the daunting scale of the task ahead,

Fiona will also have to keep HER head.

So I have the floor plans here.

This is where I am now - this is the King's Tower.

She wants to completely remodel

and renovate the two existing rooms of the suite.

The King's Tower will become a lavish circular en-suite.

So the lavatory will be here,

there will be a freestanding bath in the centre.

And in the adjoining room,

Fiona will rip out the existing 1970s holiday camp bathroom

to create a large and luxurious bedroom.

They've put in a mishmash of bizarre bathrooms. So it's just

a matter of gut everything out, rip the carpets up,

get the wallpaper off of the wall

and I'll have to see what I'm left with.

This is a massive job,

so there's no time to lose.

I'm not actually sure what I'm going to find under the carpet.

I don't even know what the floor is.

This could go two ways, it could come up very easily

or it could be glued to an inch of its life.

But I'm equipped - it's not staying.

I don't think there's underlay.

I think it's been glued down.

It's really glued down here. Of course it is.

But it will come up eventually.

Do you see how not one job is straightforward?

You'd think you could just take it, cut it, roll it up,

got underlay, good to go.

Everything takes three times the amount of time, whatever you do!

SHE SIGHS

But at long last, she's done.

Ha! Gotcha!

There you go.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

See ya.

So the next job is to remove all of the wall coverings

and I'm going to start in the Tower Room.

But it looks a little bit like carpet, you know?

It wouldn't surprise me.

I've had carpet on the walls in lots of the rooms,

so it should come off quite easily.

Having spent the last six years stripping 1970s decor

from the chateau, Fiona's come across all sorts.

Oh, my goodness. OK.

Why? WHY? It's like plastic!

This is the worst material they could have possibly put on a wall.

You've got this immensely historic building,

and it's been shown no respect whatsoever. It's sacrilege, really.

If there was something stupid to be done,

they did it in the 1970s.

Tell me about it, you should've seen my wardrobe.

Such a shame. But I'm here now,

so I'm going to correct everything that was done.

You're a lady with a mission, Fiona.

Oh, my days.

Just keep telling myself it's going to be great.

It will be, but you've got months of hard graft ahead of you

to get this suite finished.

Nearly done!

Over 200 miles south, at Chateau du Puits es Pratx,

Tim and Sasha also have their hands full.

Next to that vine, as close as you can get it.

Another one we need here.

The wedding season is coming up fast, so they're flat-out to

get the chateau grounds up to scratch in time.

Why do I always get the going-backwards bit?

We've got three major jobs today -

one is to build a fence around the pool,

to strip the paint off an old wooden bar

that we've bought, and then we also want to plant some new vines.

Brides want to get married in the vineyard and

this is the original vineyard.

We just want to make it look a picture.

With three and a half acres of vineyard to contend with,

they're making an early start before

the heat gets too much for them and the plants.

WEST COUNTRY ACCENT: You look like Farmer Brown.

SHE CHUCKLES

Between this morning and this afternoon,

we're planting 25 new vines and my problem is keeping them watered.

It's just a nightmare.

It's a bit of an art form, gardening in this part of France,

in the south, because of the heat in the summer.

A lot of plants just don't survive.

So it's a difficult life, to be a plant.

With planting under way, daughter Lily is preparing to strip

the paint off a wooden bar they've bought for the pool area.

I love anything DIY.

I just love doing different things.

My main job is in the kitchen, cooking for the restaurant

and for the weddings, but I just love being in the garden.

OK. Are you ready? Let's go there.

Tim's other job today also involves keeping their pool guests happy.

Luke and I are putting up a fence round the area of the pool decking

where our guests sunbathe, to give them a little bit of privacy.

If it all goes well, we should get most of it done in the day,

we shall see. Just hit the post, not me.

I'll try.

Luke and Tim are making good progress,

and they're not the only ones making advances.

SHE GIGGLES

He's cool, he's cool.

I work with Melvin throughout the winter and the summer, and Melvin...

He's the muscle.

He's a waiter, of course, he's a great waiter, as well.

Doesn't speak a word of English, apart from, "No probleme."

SHE CHUCKLES

Very positive.

The sun has baked the earth hard,

so Melvin is digging the holes for the new vines...

Melvin?

..while Sasha is on water duty.

OK. Oui? Voila.

Been here 15 years, I've got the accent of the region,

which is...is terrible, but anyway,

I try my best. Ah, non, non, non. Non?

I learned from the kitchen. Kitchen French is...uniquement.

SHE CHUCKLES

HE LAUGHS

Leaving the vines in Melvin's capable hands....

Hey, Lily, it's looking good.

..Sasha comes to check on the bar.

This stuff is just evil.

It doesn't want to go.

Whoever painted it wanted it to stay.

Don't worry, your mum's got this.

The plan now is to try and take away the harshness of that blue.

I love getting something like this and creating something new.

Needs a good sand, though.

How much did I pay for this? 15 euros or something?

Ha-ha-ha-ha!

It spoke to me.

Back at the pool,

Tim and Luke are letting their carpentry skills do the talking.

We're getting on well, but, as always, these things take longer.

What's happening? Look at that, it's nearly finished.

I wasn't expecting the fence to go right down to the corner,

but actually, now it is, it's going to look really, really good.

It's called heaven,

when Sasha agrees with ideas I've had.

Working as a team, this lot have got a lot done today,

but no-one can afford to take their foot off the gas.

The wedding season always looms up very quickly and we always

think we've got weeks and months to get stuff done and

suddenly you realise, even though you've been working hard,

that, "Oh, gosh..."

There's always something else to do.

It's just nonstop.

Chateau life.

Good luck with the final push to be ready for that first wedding

of the season.

Back at Chateau de la Ruche,

Tim and Rebecca are transforming their old aviary into a bijou brocante.

Whilst Rebecca's busy with the B&B guests,

live-in handyman Dale is giving Tim some help tackling the roof.

My plan is to take the tiles off.

We've got loads of spare ones, obviously, if any of them are bust,

but otherwise I'm going to try and put them

back on, just as is, with moss on.

With the carpet on it, yeah? Yeah. If that's possible.

Whoa! HE LAUGHS

That's not really solid ground.

Too much fromage, Tim. The ground is really unstable.

HE LAUGHS Don't look so happy.

The alternative was I went up

and down the ladder for every single tile.

Exhibiting exotic birds became popular in high European society

in the 1800s as a way of showing off wealth and status.

You're doing a great job, Dale. Aren't I?

Chateau de la Ruche followed suit.

Tim and Rebecca want to keep as many original features as possible.

HE LAUGHS

HE GROANS

I thought you would have put the tiles on the floor as you

took them off and then you'd know what order they went in.

Start here, they are the top ones, they're the middle ones

and they're the bottom ones.

I hope he does a good job putting it back together.

So, is any of that wood staying? The down bits?

The down bits. The "down bits"!

What's the official name for the down bits?

I don't know, I don't know what the difference is between a joist

and a rafter, and a blah-de-blah....

OK, Tim, I can help you there. The down bits are rafters,

the horizontal bits you attach the tiles to are battens,

and, by the looks of it, they all need replacing.

Can I get anybody anything?

A beer would be lovely. No.

Tim plans to fix a new timber frame to this end of the roof,

so he's replacing rafters using the old timbers as a template.

When they built these things, it was all built properly,

even though it's only a little aviary in the garden.

And with that, the frame can go up.

Roof done.

That looks all right, doesn't it? Yeah.

There's still plenty to do - adding new battens,

putting back all those tiles and finishing the windows.

How long can it take? Days. At least a week.

But Tim and Rebecca's little brocante is one step closer

to completion.

Coming up...

HORN BEEPS ..Tim and Sasha's wedding preparations motor ahead...

I'm going to drive it all the way down the end of the vineyard, tooting. "Toot-toot-toot-toot."

..at the risk of a car crash.

I can't see out the mirrors! It's covered in ribbons.

And the next stage of Fiona's renovations

send her potty.

"So, Fiona, what did you do with your day today?

"Did you have a nice day today?"

SHE GRUNTS

At Chateau du Masgelier,

Fiona is moving onto the next stage of her master suite renovations.

Today, she's ripping out the '70s holiday-camp bathroom

in what will become the suite's bedroom.

To do that, she needs to

turn herself into a one-woman wrecking ball.

I've just turned off all of the water.

And I'm going to be removing these three sinks,

cut out all of the pipework completely,

cap everything off and take it right back to the mains.

First, is to remove the existing piping.

Take my jacket off.

I'm taking my jacket off because I put it on

so when I'm cutting with the angle grinder,

the sparks don't actually come out and burn my arms.

Little bit of health and safety, there. Right.

BANGING

It's all modern fittings, which is super to see.

That makes life easy.

With the fiddly stuff out of the way,

Fiona can now get really stuck in.

Every bedroom on this floor, there are seven or eight bedrooms,

they all have rows of sinks, rows of lavatories, rows of showers,

so that's the first one.

I'm trying to do it without breaking it, that's the thing,

but it may have to come to it.

We've lost that one.

What can I say? I tried. Tried to save the sink.

You know what, I've got about 100 sinks.

Getting a bit fussy, aren't I?

Right, that doesn't want to come off, either. Right.

That's it, I'm getting a sledgehammer.

Time is money. Time is money, isn't it?

Should have done that in the first place.

"So, Fiona, what did you do with your day today?"

"Did you have a nice day today?"

Yeah. WATER SLOSHES

SHE GROANS

Fiona's having a smashing time, but she's not done yet,

she makes short work of what's left of the wall...

Right, that's down.

..to reveal the newly opened-up room.

Wow! Look! Oh, my gosh, look. Look at that.

It's the first time it's been opened up like this for about 25, 30 years.

From here, it's a massive room.

Can you imagine? It's going to be lovely.

All of the light coming in through the French doors.

Beautiful. I can see it, it's all in my... All in here.

I reckon these two rooms are going to make a spectacular suite

for any future guests,

but Fiona still has a mountain to climb to get it finished.

I know what you're thinking.

But it's going to be great.

Back in the south of France, at Chateau du Puits es Pratx...

No, don't spoil it.

..the wedding season kicks off tomorrow.

Tim and Sasha are hosting the nuptials for English couple,

Natalie and Sam. And with around 50 people arriving this evening...

OK.

..it's action stations.

Sasha's making a start on the decorations...

So these are the drapes that go over the wedding arch.

SHE EXHALES

..but things are hotting up.

We're working in incredible heat.

For us, working, it is a tough deal.

Sasha does get stressed sometimes.

She gets intense because she's a perfectionist,

and I live with that. HE LAUGHS

Oh, where, am I?

Ah, OK, so that goes around this.

And then we'll sort out the white.

The white will go on the top of the blue,

cos the blue is quite harsh in colour,

so we want to soften the whole look.

So this is only the beginning of the making of the wedding arch.

Out in the corner of the vineyard under the scorching sun,

the boys are also busy.

What we're doing is clearing a track,

Sasha's going to be driving down the vineyard

with the bride, and she needs to be able to turn round here

to be... And then go up the central aisle for the ceremony.

So that's what this is all about.

I received an e-mail from this bride saying,

"Could you source a typically French car?"

So I had a search on the Internet,

and found this beautiful blue 2CV called Mimi!

And the funny thing is, it was the first car I ever had,

except mine was burgundy colour.

I mean, imagine, 18 years old.

Boho. Definitely boho.

SHE LAUGHS

And a, and a bus goes into the back of me,

the car just bounced. They're so light, it just bounced.

Boom. No damage at all.

Anyway, it's a complete secret, I'm going to drive it

all the way down the end of the vineyard and come out tooting.

Toot-toot-toot-toot.

Mimi has arrived right on time.

Woohoo!

Ah, isn't she lovely?

And Sasha has extravagant plans

to decorate her in the bride's colour scheme.

Mimi, Mimi, Mimi, you're a gorgeous girl.

Tomorrow's groom has no idea

his bride will be turning up on four wheels, so to keep it secret,

Tim and Sasha are doing the decorating

in a neighbour's driveway.

I'm trying to cope here.

It's not easy doing this in secret in the wind.

It's going to be such fun driving this through our vineyard,

and everybody is going to be watching the other direction.

It's going to be great.

Our wedding was very boring compared to the weddings we put on.

It was very understated. Really?

I didn't think so. Well... Until I was asked to give a speech,

it never occurred to me I'd have to give a speech.

I hadn't prepared anything, and it was an absolute disaster.

Anyway, moving swiftly on. Are you nearly done?

Yeah, have we got enough yet? That's fine, all right?

Yep. I'm going to park it. SHE SIGHS

Angel and I have learnt it's the little things that matter

when you're hosting weddings.

I can't see out of the mirrors, it's covered in ribbons.

SHE LAUGHS

And with Mimi now hidden away,

it looks like the happy couple are in for a real treat tomorrow.

Can you tell me where the wall is?

Back at Tim and Rebecca's, the aviary roof is fixed,

the windows are in and it's finally ready to house their bijou brocante.

It's water-tight, ish.

I love how ramshackle it is. So we managed to repair it,

so it still looks like a little falling down garden shed, but...

It does, yeah. ..it isn't actually falling down.

No, we didn't take anything that was wonky out.

No. We left all the wonkiness in it.

Now I just need to fill it with all the things. Yeah, exciting.

The aviary will be a showcase for some of the antiques

the couple have picked up since they moved to France.

That's cool.

Furnishing the chateau on a budget

has given Rebecca a real knack of spotting antique gems,

and she's been squirrelling them away in one of the outbuildings.

We're going to use some of the furniture as shelves

and stuff for displaying stuff in the shop. Display.

But everything in there will be up for grabs if people want it.

Are you all right backwards? Do you want me to go backwards?

It's all right, just go sideways.

Mind your head.

First in is a small antique washstand...

Over there? Yeah.

..the sort that was all the rage in the 19th century.

Beautiful. Lovely.

This is actually quite big, it's like a TARDIS.

Well, tell me about it, I knew that

when I was doing all of the windows. SHE LAUGHS

Next, the smaller vintage bits.

Tim's in charge of, sort of, kind of, structural things,

and I do making things pretty.

Is that right? Yep, yep, yep.

But there are some pieces beyond even Rebecca's styling skills.

Oh, those girls freak me out, it's awful.

It says Renoir on the back,

but I very much doubt that it's actually a Renoir.

If it is an original Renoir, it could be a life-changer.

Anyway, it's over to Tim for the casting vote.

I've absolutely no idea who Renoir is,

but I'm assuming he or she would have signed it,

and it's not signed, so...

Never mind, Rebecca only wanted the frame, anyway.

I don't want it straight, it needs to just be hung up wonky.

Where would Madame like her chandeliers?

Got it?

Muscles.

No swinging on the chandeliers in the brocante.

GLASS CLANGS, SHE GASPS, SIGHS

Good catch.

A few finishing touches, then voila.

Looks awesome.

I'm properly pleased with that.

After a lot of hard work,

their tumbledown aviary has been transformed.

For less than 500 Euros, around £430,

they've created a charming antique shop.

Rebecca and her gift for styling have done it proud.

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.

Not a massive money-spinner, but every little bit helps.

And it's restored that building a little bit,

which if we'd just left it, it would have just got worse and worse,

whereas now, it's given it a reason to be.

Cos everyone always asks what it is, as well.

Now we can say, it's a little shop, go and have a look.

Nice job, you two.

Look after the pennies, and the pounds look after themselves.

Coming up, as France swelters under a summer heatwave...

It's going off very, very quickly, hold on.

..Fiona hits a sticking point.

It's gone too hard, it's literally gone off.

SHE GASPS

..and at Tim and Sasha's...

I'm happy to get married in here. THEY LAUGH

..it's not just the groom that's wilting.

My hydrangeas have just died in the heat.

SHE GROANS

At Chateau du Masgelier, Fiona has ripped out...

Nearly done.

..and stripped out what will become the Bremond Suite,

her first guest room.

Wow, look! Oh, my gosh, look.

And, at last, she can get on with the more constructive bits.

This morning, I'm quite excited, up with the larks,

and the delivery is coming for the bathroom suite.

The fabulous freestanding bath.

It's just nice when the niceties start arriving.

It's not like I can go out shoe shopping or anything,

so I get my kicks with bathroom suites.

The bath is here right on time. And, lucky for the delivery men,

they only have the steps up to the salon to negotiate.

If we could have it here.

Oh, fabulous.

I know, it's like being a child in a candy shop, isn't it?

SHE GASPS My goodness, it's beautiful.

Wow. Beautiful mock-crocodile effect. Ooh.

Even though I'm absolutely exhausted on five hours' sleep every night,

it gives me the motivation,

a bit more energy to get the room finished.

Just as well! Fiona's soon out of the bath and back to work...

..starting in the circular turret room

that will eventually become the suite's bathroom.

So the next job for this room is

I'm going to board up this little alcove here,

and then plaster over that.

It's pretty straightforward. She says.

At least it would be,

if the elements weren't conspiring against her.

The thing is the temperatures at the moment

are forecast 41 degrees this week,

so it's going to be very, very difficult to do the plastering.

It's going to be setting too quickly.

As France has seen numerous heat waves this summer,

Fiona has no choice but to crack on the best she can.

And with the board cut to size, she can start the plaster work.

All I've got here is a French plaster mix,

and what I'm going to do is I'm going to dot and dab the board

to fix it onto the opening.

There we go.

Plasterboard is pretty heavy, actually.

I'm going to tape all of the edges.

It helps when you're plastering, skimming the walls,

and it gives a nice, flush finish

and what it also does is it stops any cracks from happening

and appearing. We're going to make up a bit more plaster,

cos it's going off very quickly.

With a new batch mixed up, it's now a race against time

to tape and skim the edges before the plaster sets in her bucket.

It's going off very, very quickly, hold on.

It's gone too hard. It's literally gone off. OK, cool. OK.

And some speed-plastering later...

You'll never know there was a weird little alcove there.

It's so hot, do you know what?

That will probably set in an hour,

even though it's quite thick.

Yeah, and then I can just pack it out a little bit more,

and then it's all ready to plaster, lovely and smooth.

But it's going to be a while before she can attempt that job.

It's going to continue being hot for days,

so that stops me plastering the room, which is a bit of a pain.

I wanted to get this room all plastered out

and ready to go, you know?

Get it painted up, ready, so I can start wallpapering

and lay the floor and put the plumbing in.

Yeah, there's a lot on the list, when I think about it.

I won't think about it. I'll just do it, get on with it.

I try not to think about it, or I will panic.

Keep cool and carry on, Fiona.

In these situations, it's the only thing you can do.

At Tim and Sasha's, the summer heatwave has also arrived.

Delphiniums and agapanthus.

And this afternoon's wedding guests, lounging by the pool,

aren't the only ones feeling the burn.

The problem in the south of France is you can't do the flowers

the day before.

Even with the cold room, it has to be done on the day, fresh.

With the temperatures we've got at the moment, in the courtyard,

I reckon we're looking at 45 degrees.

I've got five bridesmaids' posies to do,

the wedding bouquet and two head-dresses.

And we haven't even started on the tables, yet.

I was up at 7.30 and I'm still not ready.

SHE SIGHS

Oh, God. You'll be there. Everything will be fine.

Oh, bloody hell.

I think, of all of us, Sasha is probably under the most pressure.

Come on, fill up.

The ceremony is at three, everyone is sitting out in the heat,

so you can't hang about.

My hydrangeas have just died in the heat.

SHE GROANS

Can I stand in the cold room for a minute? Yeah.

Even Sam the bridegroom

is taking a pre-ceremony chill-out in their walk-in fridge.

I'm happy to get married in here. THEY LAUGH

I can see the logic. But with the ceremony flowers done...

That looks great.

..the guests are already gathering in the vineyard.

So we have the dahlias down both sides.

We need the petals as well.

There's no let-up for Sasha yet.

I need the bride's bouquet.

While Tim makes a start on the photos...

CAR HORN HONKS

..she's onto her next job

as official wedding chauffeur for bride Natalie,

and hubby-to-be is clearly surprised.

Let's hope the brakes work.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we have a bride who certainly knows

how to make an entrance. LAUGHTER

It is for Natalie and Sam that we gather together

to witness and to bless their marriage.

APPLAUSE

With the ceremony in full swing,

Sasha's team put the finishing touches to the tables

in the courtyard.

These go on the stands around the fountain.

We're ready. We're ready for everybody to come in.

One, two, three.

THEY CHEER

I'm now going to go into the kitchen to see if I'm really needed.

Because I need to collapse, very quickly.

I've just finished plating up all the entrees.

Ah, you're cool in here.

Nawal? Yes? Do you need me?

Every time. I miss you. SHE LAUGHS

Do you need me this evening? Non, non.

She works so hard.

She's here from the morning, right till late, nonstop.

Always working.

I don't know where she gets the energy from, but it's amazing.

Sasha has certainly earned a drink.

Melvin, please. Oui, oui, Sasha.

Gin and tonic, please.

And who better to serve it than her favourite gardener?

Chin-chin. Cheers.

Chin-chin.

So would you please allow the couple to have their first dance?

Sasha just nailed it.

We've said thanks to Tim and Sasha like, what, 100 times?

They're probably getting bored of hearing it now, but, like,

it's been epic.

This wedding is just the latest success in what's been

an eventful year for Tim and Sasha's family business.

It began with a bang...

What a brilliant start to 2019.

..they then renovated their spa...

I think it looks magical.

..and created a wellness garden.

How long have we waited for this to be filled? 15 years?

15 years, wow.

And they've got big plans for the future, too.

We're buying a couple of plots of land opposite here,

and, this autumn, will be planting it out with hedging

and big conifers and maybe planning

an apartment for us, or I'm not sure yet.

It's all, all, all on the, uh, future for us.

Good work, you two. Together with Lily and Luke,

you've made great strides with the hotel this year.

I'm sure it'll stand you in good stead.

Next time,

the finishing line of Fiona's marathon renovation is in sight...

I want the castle to regain her luxury, sophisticated look.

She's a very expensive mistress, that's all I can say.

..Tim and Rebecca get a new gite project under way...

The worst thing that will happen

is we'll drop it on the floor and break it. Oof!

At our place...

Arthur, Dorothy. I've got a job that I need a bit of help with.

..Angel takes a new design assistant under her wing...

Mm, those reds are a bit clashy, though, aren't they?

..and these chateau owners reach breaking point.

Whoa! Whoa, what was that? Oh, no, it's cracked.

SHOUTS: No!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media