Original subtitles

I'm Dick Strawbridge and along with my wife Angel

and our two children...

Yay! Oh, well done.

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

Look, look, look, look, look, look, look.

Oh, my God.

That is so beautiful.

It's not just our home...

Ugh, and we're up.

..but our business.

You may kiss your bride.

And all over France,

there are other Brits doing exactly the same.

Oh, my God.

We'll follow a new wave of intrepid chateau owners...

If I open some windows, it might help get rid of some dust.

..and some familiar faces.

As they take on these majestic buildings.

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

Is everyone ready?

TOGETHER: Yeah!

There'll be triumphs...

This looks incredible.

Do you like it, Laura? I love it.

..and setbacks...

Whoa!

..as they battle to renovate their homes.

And earn their keep.

OK, I'm ready.

But no matter how hard the going gets...

This is probably...yeah, my worst nightmare.

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

Today...

It doesn't look square to me.

..one couple gets to work in their garden...

And that top's completely to cock.

..and risk a flat-pack fallout.

I didn't wanna do this in the first place. Uh.

A new gite project lifts off at this chateau.

Ian and I is going to, "shuggle" it.

Shuggle? Shuggle is a word, is it?

Yeah, we're gonna shuggle it.

At our place, it's a case of boys...

It's our own private road, so it has to be looked after.

..and their toys.

And as one couple gear up for their first ever wedding...

There's the groom. He's forgotten his cufflinks.

..they're in for a shock.

George, the power's gone off again.

Moving overseas to start a new life and business

can feel like a big risk.

Especially if you're sinking in every last penny you've got.

Take the 19th-century, 23-room Chateau Gioux.

It's home to Yorkshire couple Debbie and Nigel,

who put it all on the line

and snapped it up for £280,000 a few months ago.

When we first bought the place,

you have a vision of how you'd like it to look

and the potential is massive here, isn't it? It is.

Located near Limoges in central France, to make ends meet,

Debbie and Nigel have opened as a B&B,

renovating the salon and three guest suites.

You go backwards, now.

No, that's not backwards. Oh.

Ugh.

But it's not been easy.

The main thing that's limiting us is the finance. Mm.

We can't just go out and just buy everything we want to buy.

We viewed it, from the very beginning, as a long-term project,

we'll do what we can, when we can.

Absolutely, because we can't afford to do any renovations

without taking some money in. No.

With an income stream trickling in,

Debbie and Nigel now want to make their five-acre grounds

more attractive for guests.

So these are a couple of Gothic arches

that we've got to go down where the garden finishes and field starts.

There's quite a lot of parts, isn't there?

Yep.

Nigel's been roped in to help

with the unenviable task of assembling the two flat-pack arches.

Oh, Debbie. What?

You haven't put these in very well.

What you done? I think that was your side.

HE CHUCKLES

If anything can test a relationship, a flat-pack can.

Good. Looking good, baby.

First hurdle negotiated.

Now to position it at the end of the garden, should be simple enough.

Right, how far?

I'm just gonna go up here and have a look from here.

Go back to the other bit, Nige.

SHE LAUGHS

Oh...

I think... If you can come and hold this, then.

Hold the middle bit. Yep.

We've got another one to do after this.

I'd keep quiet about that if I were you, Debbie.

A few tweaks later and they're back in business.

That's where we're having it?

Yeah, that's right.

That's not a problem. Right.

Not very good at that, is it?

There is something down there, isn't there? Yeah.

It's bending there, look, can you see?

That's no good, is it? That's no good.

Looks like Nigel's caught between a rock and a hard place.

Have we got a plan B?

I think we go for the nuclear option.

Now, that's a serious bit of kit.

I'm not going to let it beat me.

You don't think it's overkill, Nige? The big drill?

It might be a touch overkill, but...

Hey, when needs must.

Well said, that man.

MOTOR WHIRS

With light work made of the holes,

all that's left is to put the arch in place.

Right, that's straight there,

that's straight there, that's straight there. But the top isn't.

It is. Is it?

Yes, compared to those two, yeah.

Let's see what those are like, there.

Ah, perfect.

Are you sure?

Doesn't look square to me.

Just looks really cockeyed.

And that top's completely to cock.

We can't have it like that.

Well, I didn't want to do this in the first place.

You're nearly there. Will you pass me that small hammer, please?

What are you gonna do with it?

Is that for me?

SHE CHUCKLES

Don't lose it now, Nigel, you're too close.

Marvellous. I think you've about done it.

In the face of adversity.

I think it looks lovely.

I'm really glad you talked me into getting that.

Right. OK.

Is it beer time?

I think you probably deserve a beer after that.

Cheers, Nigel,

you can think about that second arch while you're enjoying that drink.

115 miles away is the elegant Chateau de Brives.

Sitting in 30 acres of grounds,

this 19th-century beauty was bought nine years ago for £415,000,

and is home to antiques dealers, George and Sarah,

and their children, Tatiana and Alexi.

I think moving to France, for me,

was definitely the best decision we ever made.

It's benefited all of us, it really has been a lovely experience. Mm.

I mean, it's wonderful for the children, growing up here.

They've got the space, the freedom to roam.

Yeah, we're lucky. I think we're lucky.

Set in the south-west of France near the town of Cognac,

to help fund the upkeep of the chateau, Sarah and George

have decided to turn their home into a wedding venue.

George likes to do the big areas

and then I get called in to do the fiddly bits.

Sarah always says that I'm the bodger.

They've ploughed their savings into renovating the old coach house

into an events space.

It's quick, isn't it? Blimey.

And a few months ago,

secured their first booking,

with groom Charlie and bride Charlotte.

Oh, this looks fantastic.

Yeah, it's beautiful, really lovely.

Happy? Yeah, really happy.

It's now just two days before the wedding, and the pressure is on.

The first wedding is terribly important to us. Mm.

Cos we must get it right,

because it's from this that we get the photos to put on the website,

the word-of-mouth, more bookings in the future.

But if we blow it... Yeah.

..then the opposite to all those things.

The wedding party has already started to arrive,

but without guest accommodation,

Sarah and George are giving up their bedrooms for the weekend

and moving into an annexe.

And then here we are, here's your bedroom.

Wow.

Charlotte's dress we've hung up in that room, there,

so we'll just keep that safe.

So it's in the... Yeah.

If you need anything at all, just shout.

With the guests settled, Sarah's onto her next job.

She's invited the wedding party to join them for dinner this evening

and wants everything to be perfect.

Sit there, please.

A few months ago, Angel showed her how to dress the table

and create a napkin flower as a finishing touch.

Um, no. So. Gosh, how did we do it? It's...

You make a kind of sausage.

Possibly something like that.

It's not looking anything like a rose yet.

It's looking a bit like a big, fat doughnut, isn't it,

rather than a rose?

Anyway, maybe they'll get better, the more we do.

SHE LAUGHS

How's that look?

I don't think they look good, do they?

No.

George? Yeah?

Time to get a second opinion.

I would prefer you folded them, darling.

All right. OK. Right.

Let's go for normal route.

I'm so sorry, Angel, we've let you down.

Ah, well, full marks for effort, Sarah.

And even without the napkin flowers,

the table is beginning to look the part.

That's better.

And just in time, because the happy couple-to-be have arrived.

I feel good.

Preparations are going well, we haven't had too many disasters yet.

No, George and Sarah couldn't be more helpful,

they're doing everything they can to make it a special day for us.

And they've made it feel a real home from home,

so it doesn't feel like a bit of a wedding factory,

it feels really special and unique to us, so it's perfect.

With dinner about to be served, it's action stations all round.

I want to create a lovely atmosphere.

Well, it looks like you've done just that.

I like the table. Thank you.

I don't think you'll ask me to do it in the church tomorrow.

Sarah and George, your first wedding weekend has officially begun.

Let's hope the rest of it goes as smoothly.

Coming up...

..one owner is hunting for bargains.

I like it, but have I spent too much today?

But ends up getting carried away.

I think I'm going to get it.

And for Debbie and Nigel...

Is that better? Wow.

God, yeah, there is quite a lot of cracks, isn't there?

..a terrace restoration causes consternation.

Is it clear paint, the resin then, or...? Yes.

Right. I don't know.

This is the splendid Chateau de Lalande.

Sitting in 60 acres of stunning countryside, it's home to Stephanie,

who's run it as a B&B and events business for the past 13 years.

One of the best things about living in a chateau

is the sense of constant adventure and excitement.

You have no idea what's going to happen next,

it's always new and also, you never run out of projects.

Located 53 miles from Limoges, to boost her income,

Stephanie has recently started renovating a Renaissance-style gite

in the oldest part of the chateau.

Oh!

Sweetheart, this is beautiful.

That's very nice.

There's still the salon next door to finish,

where she plans to have made-to-measure wood panelling.

Well, the thing I'm most worried about is

the wall covering for the room next door

because we don't have that yet.

It has to be beautiful, it has to be sumptuous

and in keeping with this bed.

It's got a lot to live up to, now.

Wary the panelling's going to be pricey,

Stephanie's keen to save money on furnishing.

So, today, she's visiting a local charity shop.

I don't have money to burn on this because I don't yet know

how expensive the wall coverings and the panelling are going to be.

So, I'm not going to buy anything very, very expensive.

But if I can find something at a reasonable price, then I can get it.

And it's not long before something catches her eye.

Yeah, look at this detailing, here.

It's really Gothic, that's exactly what I'm looking for,

kind of neogothic furniture that will actually fit in

really well with the Renaissance idea.

It's 120 euros,

which is actually more than I was hoping to spend on the table.

I'll go and see if they can...

..make that price better in any way cos it needs a fair bit of work.

Looks like a reasonable price.

THEY CONVERSE IN FRENCH

Now, get out of there before your eyes start wandering,

you're on a budget, remember.

Uh-oh, she's spotted a vintage upholstered bed.

And Stephanie's not done yet.

I like it, but have I spent too much today?

I come here for one thing and I end up going with things

that I didn't come to look for at all.

But I do like the mirror.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I think I'm going to get it.

Then again, at 180 euros, just over £150,

let's hope it doesn't reflect badly on your budget.

THEY CONVERSE IN FRENCH

Today has surpassed my wildest shopping dreams.

I'm excited about the Renaissance salon,

but it is a bit daunting because I want it to look right.

I want people to feel, as they walk in,

that they're walking into something

that's looked that way for hundreds of years.

And that's going to take quite a bit of getting right.

It certainly is.

But back at the chateau and a couple of weeks later, there's a hitch.

We've got some good news, which was we found somebody

to do amazing wood panelling in there for an incredible price,

and I couldn't say no to that, it was too good an opportunity.

So, that means he can't come until the end of the year,

which means that we've got a two-month delay there.

So I'm cracking on with our second gite,

which is pretty exciting.

And it's totally different from the other one

because the first is where the Marquis used to live

and it's very old-style.

And this one is where the groom used to live,

so it's the opposite end of the spectrum at the chateau

and we're going for something much brighter

and more contemporary in here.

Not wanting to put all her eggs in one basket, for the past year,

Stephanie's also been working on converting

the old stables into an apartment.

She now wants it guest-ready

to start generating income for next season.

In terms of the business,

it is really important to get more rentable spaces.

And under French law, you can only have five bedrooms rented

and still remain a chambres d'hote,

but you can have gites on top of that,

so it's important for us to do this.

Looks like you've got your work cut out, Stephanie,

better leave you to it.

Less than 40 miles south at Chateau Gioux,

Debbie and Nigel are busy giving the place a face-lift.

I think that's looking nice, isn't it?

Yeah, it was a good move, getting this arch.

Glad I thought of that. DEBBIE LAUGHS

With two new arches in, next, they're moving onto the large,

rather tired roof terrace at the rear of the chateau.

The terrace itself is for our bedroom at the moment,

but we have plans of maybe moving upstairs into the loft,

in which case, we'd have our room as a family room

and then they'd have this terrace as their outside space.

So it would be quite a premium room if we could do that.

Currently, the terrace isn't watertight

and leaks into the room below.

To fix that, Nigel first needs to power-wash away years of grime.

But he's barely started before there's a hiccup.

Got a blockage somewhere, have we?

Yep, doesn't seem to want to go.

Hosepipe isn't turned off, is it?

The water pressure has separated the hosepipe from the tap,

so it's time to call in the cavalry.

I'm the official hosepipe holder...

LAUGHS: ..stopping the pipe blowing off.

Oh, the glamorous life of a chateau owner.

How's it going?

That better? Wow.

Before we power-hosed it, you can't see where all the problem areas are.

God, yes, there is quite a lot of cracks, isn't there?

Filling the cracks in now, with self-levelling cement

and then cover it in the resin.

Is it clear paint, the resin, then? Yes. Right.

I don't know. Oh, you don't know.

THEY LAUGH OK.

Better crack on anyway, all that filling in is going to take time.

To me, this whole area, it's all a bit of an eyesore,

so everything we're doing to improve it is great,

it just improves the whole look of the chateau overall.

And, obviously, everybody comes in to the front,

but it's important to have the back nice as well.

With the cracks filled,

Nigel can get on with the work of applying the waterproof finish.

Here we go, let's get it on.

But with 100 square metres to cover by hand,

rather your knees than mine, matey.

It's chateau on a shoestring for us.

And this is the best way we can do it to make it watertight

until we can afford to do it properly.

Wow, Nige.

Amazing.

Oh, it's going to look so much better, isn't it?

Yeah. Well done.

Good effort. Thank you.

I couldn't agree more, that's a big old terrace.

You're just going to have to keep going, there, fella.

At our place, we've learnt that chateau maintenance never stops,

from the early days

of patching a roof of tens of thousands of slates...

It is quite a serious problem.

..to the Herculean task of cleaning over 50 windows.

Ooh.

I think this is the bit where you get a bit twitchy, isn't it?

Years later, there's still an endless list of jobs to do.

Oh, it's that one.

They might not be the most glamorous of tasks,

but they're essential to running a place like this.

When you buy a chateau, you realise you're going to do everything,

unless you've got lots of money and you pay somebody else to do it.

There's every aspect of human life takes place in a chateau.

It's... Yeah, it keeps you busy.

With all the comings and goings,

one job I needed to keep on top of was our 100m-long driveway.

It's our own private road, so it has to be looked after.

Once or twice a year, I come out and just sort of do

a bit of scraping, usually by hand, but the tractor's so much easier.

I never need much of an excuse to get on my tractor.

First, it's a matter of levelling the surface...

..then filling the potholes,

before any visitors to the chateau came a cropper.

And finally, a hand-raked flourish.

This is hardly the pristine driveway that some chateaux have.

That's not too terrible.

That works for me.

Jobs like this couldn't be further from the glitz of a wedding,

but it's this essential maintenance that keeps our home running.

Now, what was next on my list?

Back at Chateau de Brives,

it's the day of Sarah and George's first wedding

and there's no shortage of glamour...

Look, there's the groom.

He's forgotten his cufflinks.

SARAH LAUGHS

..or of nerves.

We're really nervous, really, really nervous, actually.

At six o'clock this morning, nothing was ready,

apart from the grass had been cut and the tents were up.

Nothing else had been done, so...

We've been up early and done a lot.

Even though they've hired a wedding planner to run the day,

Sarah and George still have concerns.

I'm most worried about the weather because it's patchy...

But as long as the rain holds off, we'll be absolutely fine.

What's that they say about famous last words?

It's just starting to rain. Oh, no.

We've got 45 minutes. It's OK.

Oh, help.

Oh, crikey, that's bad timing.

If it really rains, we're going to have to change every single plan.

I mean, we haven't moved anything in the house.

We're just hoping it passes

because we're not ready for plan B.

With guests already arriving at the local church,

there's no time to worry.

So Sarah's checking bride Charlotte's on schedule.

SARAH KNOCKS AT DOOR Yes. Hello.

Hello, how's it going? Yeah, good.

Oh, look at you all.

You look absolutely gorgeous.

We'll leave it to you to get ready.

All right? What, now?

Well, no, whenever you're ready.

We've got loads of time. We've got, like, what...?

35 minutes until you're there. It's 35 minutes.

We'll leave you to it. It looks amazing.

Have fun, girls.

She's still extremely relaxed, Charlotte. Good. So...

..as long as she does get there on time, we'll be fine.

Car is coming.

Oh, lovely.

And that's not the only good news.

Look, you see, it's gone again, the rain. Yeah.

It's looking positive, yeah.

Let's just hope that was a blip half an hour ago.

The sun may have made an appearance, but Charlotte still hasn't.

She hasn't got her dress on yet.

Yeah, but you put it on at the last minute, don't you?

I know. You do.

No, I'm...a bit stressed about it.

Oh, look, guys.

They're coming down.

It's quite a special moment, isn't it?

You look absolutely beautiful, all of you. You look lovely!

Ah, false alarm, it's just the flower girls.

And with groom Charlie waiting at the altar,

there's still no sign.

Oh, we're a good ten minutes late

and she hasn't come to the top of the stairs yet.

Oh, I hear footsteps.

But she's gone back in again.

Oh, come on, Charlotte.

I'm impatient. LAUGHS: I want to get it started.

Charlotte's a tad late.

She was supposed to walk down the aisle 15 minutes ago.

It's up to Sarah and George to make sure

it's only the cake that's in TIERS.

Coming up...

Are we OK at the base? Yes. Yep, yep.

Stephanie's on a roll in the stables.

By sheer fluke, spot-on.

And at Chateau Gioux...

How good does it have to be?

LAUGHS: You can tell I'm bored already.

..Debbie struggles with a new job.

Yeah? Keep going.

Only 756 to go.

DEBBIE LAUGHS

In central France, with work halted on the Renaissance gite,

Stephanie has moved on to another of her ongoing projects -

a guest apartment that was once the chateau's stables.

She's been renovating it for the past year

in between other jobs, and today is tackling the bathroom.

I'm going to wallpaper this room now with a paper that

I bought in a sale about ten years ago.

I knew I'd use it one day, but now I'm worried.

I've got four rolls and I think it might be a bit tight.

As ever, Stephanie's keen to cut her cloth to fit her budget.

But with just enough wallpaper to cover the walls,

any slip of the scissors could be a costly mistake.

I'm measuring twice, cutting once.

The paste she's using brushes on pink to avoid missing any patches,

but dries clear.

Pretty clever stuff.

Right, Natalia, I think I'm going to need your help.

I'm coming. I can't actually get to the wall.

Stephanie's roped in work-away Natalia to give her a hand.

Will you let me know when you've got enough down there?

That's it now.

Yep? Yep.

OK, it's long enough, that's the good news.

A bit of a stretch, a quick check with the level...

Oh.

By sheer fluke, spot-on.

And with the first section hung, the rest follows fairly easily.

Well, that was awesome.

I have the paper here, so let me know if you want it now.

I do. Natty, we are the dream team.

The pattern...

Quite high.

Are we OK at the base? Yes.

We are. Good, because I cut a lot... Good. ..at the top.

Right.

Mission very nearly accomplished.

And I love the paper. It looks really, really pretty.

Satisfied with the progress in the bathroom for now,

Stephanie's turning her attention to the apartment's wooden floor.

Choosing the right finish is crucial,

so she has a big decision to make.

I'm going to try these two stains

and I'm picking this floorboard and this floorboard,

because they're both quite badly damaged,

they're right in the middle of where the bed's going to be,

so, let's give it a shot on these.

That just feels naughty.

That is a lot darker than I was expecting,

so it might actually hide the marks, after all.

That's probably enough to test.

I'll try the white one now.

This is a rubbish brush, this one.

It's really stiff.

I think this just looks as though I'm pouring PVA on to the floor.

It's definitely not covering the stain.

I can see already it's still...

..definitely coming through.

I think I like the blue. Blue-grey.

I like this one, but I'm going to let them dry

and have another look tomorrow and think about how it's going to

look with the furniture that we've got as well.

But I'm quite drawn to this one, and I like the fact

that it's the same colour as the stables and the courtyard.

Prepping and painting this expanse of floor is going to be

no easy task.

This is going to be a huge job.

I mean, just clearing the floor so that we can paint it

and sanding the rest of the floor, it's really vast.

And once the decision's made, there's no going back.

At Sarah and George's, they're in the middle of

their first ever wedding.

SHE FEIGNS SNORING Come on, Charlotte.

Or at least they would be,

if the bride wasn't running a little late.

She's ready. She's coming.

Oh. She's coming.

Finally.

The motor's running and, with a quick dash to the church,

the wedding ceremony can get underway.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all here today

on behalf of Charlie and Charlotte to this beautiful church

in the heart of the French countryside.

I now have the pleasure in pronouncing you husband and wife.

You may now kiss your bride.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

With the ceremony over, the celebrations can begin.

And with a professional wedding planner and caterers on site,

Sarah and George are confident this first wedding will be a success.

I think we've done the hard part, actually. I think. Well...

I think we're on the home run, as they say.

CHEERING

I think we'd better have a drink.

The wedding is going wonderfully. The chateau's fantastic.

Everyone's commented as they've wandered through and said how

just lovely it is.

To be the first wedding here is really special.

The happy couple happy,

and with the coach house good to go, the guests soon will be, too.

But behind the scenes, there's a problem.

The electrics have blown.

Are these on or not?

OK. I've seen you've got the chateau ones on. Yeah.

It turns out the electric ovens and catering equipment

are tripping the power.

GEORGE: How long before the cooker's off?

As soon as the meal is served, then the cooker's finished with.

A quick dash to the fuse box and the power's back on.

Now Sarah and George need it to stay that way

until after the food's ready.

Are you all right?

It's gone off AGAIN? George, the power's gone off again.

We need to turn something off. Erm...

With the bride and groom about to enter the room

and problems in the kitchen, George and Sarah's first wedding

is facing calamity.

115 miles away, Nigel and Debbie are giving

their crumbling roof terrace a budget face-lift.

Nigel's covering it with a waterproof compound,

but with less than half of the 100 square metre terrace done,

he's hit a problem.

I've been painting it by hand and we're just using too much paint.

The problem is that it's a textured surface.

It says that each tin will do 50 square metres,

and each tin is doing about ten square metres,

so, we're going to very quickly run out of paint.

He may want to keep the cost of the job down, but for Nigel,

there's no danger of him not having the right tools.

So, I'm going to use the sprayer, and it'll go on a lot thinner.

Fingers crossed, but getting this terrace fit for guests

doesn't appear to be a one-man job.

Right, Nige. Yep? Wire brushing?

Yes, please. Do you want to start in that corner?

Over there, yeah? Yeah, and then work your way along.

The rusty old railings surrounding the terrace

also need some attention.

How good does it have to be?

SHE CHUCKLES

You can tell I'm bored already.

If you just get the loose rust off... Yeah. ..it'll be all right.

It doesn't have to go back to the bare metal.

Yeah, that's good. Yeah? Keep going.

Only 756 to go.

The terrace is really important.

Obviously, Nigel's weatherproofing that.

It will be nice to get railings painted as well.

It is therapeutic in a very odd sort of a way.

A few days and a whole lot of brushing and painting later,

Debbie and Nigel can add the final touches.

Right. Who's worked the hardest?

You have, dear. SHE CHUCKLES

Just three weeks ago,

years of neglect had left this terrace leaky and crumbling.

Now, thanks to Debbie and Nigel's hard work,

not only is it protected against the elements,

but has become a relaxing suntrap for their future B&B guests

to enjoy.

I'm really pleased with the terrace, I think Nigel's done

a fab job on it. Oh, thank you.

And it's only fair that Debbie and Nigel give it a first spin.

There we are. Ah, this is good.

Wait for it to go, "Crack!" No, it's fine.

SHE SIGHS CONTENTEDLY

These two collected the keys to this place just six months ago.

Look at this.

We're here. Wow.

It's been a whirlwind six months. It really has. Yeah.

And I couldn't wish to be anywhere better. No.

I'm really happy to be here with you. Ooh.

It is an amazing experience.

Working on a tight budget, they've been grafting ever since

to earn an income, finishing their master suite just in time

for their first guests.

This is Vassiviere room. Wow. That's amazing.

You like it? Yeah.

They've spruced up the sunroom and salon...

..and their success so far is a credit to them.

We've been really, really surprised and, obviously, very pleased

about how the chambres d'hote has taken off.

We've had people in every week, without fail.

For the first year, that's pretty good going.

I'm very pleased. I didn't think we'd be as busy as we have been.

And all of that is just the beginning.

The priority for us next is probably to convert our current bedroom

into a really nice suite for families.

We would then move upstairs into the attic,

so we'd need to obviously do something up there,

convert that into a bedroom and bathroom as well.

It doesn't feel like work. It's something that we enjoy doing

and we're happy to do it. Mm-hm.

BOTH: Cheers.

Congratulations on a fantastic first six months.

And, with bookings already coming in for winter,

long may it continue.

Coming up, Stephanie battles furniture...

Brilliant. You see? I did it all.

You did it? Yes, of course you did!

..and a mutinous work force...

Less of the talk.

Tea, one sugar, one milk.

A nice little cake wouldn't go amiss.

..and can Sarah and George save their wedding from disaster?

Ca marche? No? Oh, God, not funny just before service.

At Stephanie's in central France,

she's been working 24/7

on the new apartment in the chateau's old stables.

I finally managed to finish the floor

at 6am,

so we can walk on it now and I really love the colour.

I like this sort of teal,

and now we're just trying to move all the furniture in.

Luckily for Stephanie, reinforcements have arrived

in the form of Isabelle, her husband Percy,

builder Ian and Gerry.

Ian and I is going to shuggle it.

Shuggle? Is shuggle a...? Is shuggle a word, is it?

Yeah, we're going to shuggle it.

First, it's a team effort to get the new sofa in.

It's caught on the door.

No, we're through.

Brilliant. You see? I did it all.

You did it? Yes, of course you did.

I've seen mountaineers do that.

I know the technique.

IAN: Exactly.

I knew you would. And it worked.

OK?

IAN: Right, mind the table.

Yes.

Oh, wonderful.

Better.

Oh, well done, Isabelle.

So-fa, so good

especially for Gerry.

Don't get too comfortable.

He's quite settled now.

Less of the talk.

Tea, one sugar, one milk.

A nice little cake wouldn't go amiss...

..to keep my energy levels up.

The refreshments will have to wait,

time to get this place dressed.

And it seems that charity shop bed

was a pretty savvy purchase after all.

What was once a rough-and-ready resting place

for the chateau's groom...

..has been transformed into a sophisticated space.

Next door, the bathroom's been brought up to scratch

with Stephanie's old wallpaper

and roll-top bath.

And I'm clearly not the only one who's impressed.

CORK POPS

Well, I must say, it is a wonderful thing to have achieved.

Stephanie, you are to be thanked profusely.

What for?

I honestly didn't think there would ever be a time in my life

when I would be able to say to you,

"You are working too hard."

To the tack room.

Yeah, to the tack room.

Well, now that this has finished, my first priority is to sleep

for several days.

But after that, in the immediate future,

is the restoration of the chapel

and the completion of the Marquis' apartment.

It was really annoying, getting quite close

and getting the bedroom done,

and then having to pause because

I really can't do the sitting room yet,

but at least it forced me to do this,

which is great, and I've got something to look forward to, still.

So, this winter, I'll be able to work on that.

It's been a busy year for Stephanie.

She's restored a vintage, horse-drawn carriage...

Yeah, it's coming all over me.

Hold it.

..and transformed her terrace

into an alfresco dining area

to host none other than her mum Isabelle's big day.

Woohoo! Yay!

I see these areas that I've wanted to tackle

finally come to life

and it just makes every day happier than the previous one.

With a successful wedding under her belt,

a brand-new apartment

and another one almost finished,

the future is looking rosy for you, Stephanie.

I wish you all the best.

Back at Sarah and George's,

their first-ever wedding has some troubles.

We've got a bit of a problem with the electrics, but don't worry.

It's all right, don't worry.

With the food yet to be served,

they're dealing with major power cuts

in their newly-renovated coach house.

No? Oh, God.

Not funny just before service.

A fiddle in the fuse box and the power's restored,

just in time.

Introducing the bride and groom, Mr and Mrs Carter.

CHEERING

The power's still on, and once the food goes out,

the power will be fine.

And here it comes.

Is it OK now, the electrics?

But even though the ovens are off now,

once again, the power trips.

It's a bit worrying, isn't it?

Do you think there's anything that we can turn off?

Well, no, turn the Aga off. Yeah.

All right, I can do that now, if you want. Go on, then.

In a last-ditch attempt to keep the power on in the coach house,

Sarah's heading to the chateau.

Oh, what a nightmare.

OK, Aga is off.

Let's hope that does the trick.

Back at the reception,

it sounds like Sarah and George's light-bulb moment

has saved the day.

Great noise.

Great vibes coming from the barn.

This is my dream.

LAUGHTER

All those people I love, looking at me.

With the power back on, hopefully for good this time,

the evening can really get under way.

APPLAUSE

It's weird to think that, six months ago,

it was a derelict barn and now it's a wedding barn.

Weird, but wonderful.

And while the guests are distracted as the cake is cut with

one of George's antique swords...

CHEERING

..the building is transformed, from dining room to party room.

Well, Sarah and George, sparks flew at times,

but it looks like you've pulled off your very first wedding.

We had a slight problem with the power tonight.

Um, I think that was due to having electric cookers

in the catering kitchen,

but, apart from that, from my point of view, ten out of ten.

I think it surpassed all of our expectations.

Is that all right?

What a few months it's been for Sarah and George,

as they've toiled to turn their chateau

from family home into chic wedding venue.

Clean, fresh.

Ready for weddings.

They've got their website up and running...

Perfect.

..created a splendid party venue in their old coach house...

Mine doesn't look quite as good as everybody else's.

..with spectacular results.

We've had an awful lot of visits

that have come through the website

and we've got five bookings, so... I think five out of six, so...

Yeah, we're absolutely thrilled. We're in it, now.

Yeah, we're in it for the long run, now.

And we're enjoying it. Yeah, we are.

Well done.

You've done a grand job

and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

Next week...

..a whole new bunch of adventurous chateau owners get to work.

That is disgusting.

One couple's budget spirals out of control.

How much, is it? SHE MUMBLES

3,500 euros?

One family go big for a wedding.

Then, of course, you'll have a fabulous view

and also you'll be having lots of champagne in the shower.

I set Angel a challenge in the garden...

This is like the start of our actually working out, isn't it?

It's quite romantic, really.

..and new chateau owners want to make a big impression.

Smile!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media