Original subtitles

and along with my wife, Angel, and our two children...

Welcome aboard, mateys!

..we're now five years...

Woo!

..into restoring this once-abandoned chateau.

That is beautiful.

It's brought its challenges...

SHE SCREAMS

..and some amazing rewards.

Thank you for my flower garden, Mr Strawbridge.

And across France, there are dozens of other Brits

who are on their own chateau adventure.

Yay!

We'll meet some old friends...

Smile! I am.

..and new faces.

These rooms really haven't been touched in 60 years.

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

It is so much better in real life.

There'll be highs...

Yay!

..and lows...

Oh! Oh, no!

God. What a disaster!

..as these plucky Brits...

Time is money.

..transform these once-unloved buildings into incredible homes...

I just cannot believe how much work you put in for us.

..as well as businesses... CHEERING

..and get to live the dream

as custodians of their very own castle.

Cheers, everybody! GLASSES CLINK

Today...

Oh, my goodness. Yeah.

..new chateau owners take on more than they bargained for...

OK, there's a lot to do.

THEY LAUGH

..I do some dinosaur DIY...

Why don't we give him a robot leg that's maybe a metal leg, like that?

..but Arthur questions my ability.

Daddy, I like it, but I don't want it to fall apart.

One couple have a mountain to climb...

We need to do a lot of restoration work,

fix everything up, reupholster, paint everything.

Gosh.

Actually, we're not quite done yet.

THEY LAUGH No. As you're talking, I'm like...

There's still... "Are we in the same room?"

..and at another chateau...

Don't panic, but... You're going?

..the wedding hostess goes into labour.

Two seconds - I'm getting a contraction.

Last year alone,

some 8,000 Brits bought properties such as chateaux in France.

Turning them into dream homes is a tremendous commitment,

but as we know, it can be immensely rewarding.

This beauty is Chateau Gonneville.

Set in 15 acres of grounds, with 16 rooms and four outbuildings,

it's now home to fashion designer Anna

and her Italian film-maker husband Philipp,

along with daughters Lily and Ella.

Philipp woke me up and was like, "I've had an epiphany.

"I think we need to sell our house and buy a chateau,

"and make it into, like, a bed and breakfast wedding venue."

I was like, "Oh. Yeah, actually, that's a great idea!" You know?

That was exactly the same feeling she had when she met me -

regretted it much later. THEY LAUGH

Having lived together in and around Paris for seven years,

the couple have put their careers on hold

to trade city life for country life.

For me, it's like returning to what I had as a child.

Apart from the chateau, the lifestyle in the countryside

is not something completely foreign.

Like, I experienced that when I grew up.

And that's kind of, erm, what I want for my girls.

So I think it's going to be brilliant.

I think it will be just... Yeah. ..a dream life.

Located in Normandy, over 100 miles from Paris,

they've sunk all their money into buying the chateau

for £900,000,

and had to negotiate a loan for almost half of it.

We paid more than we originally intended to.

So we used most of our renovation budget

to buy it.

After six months of waiting, they've finally got the keys.

But with a massive loan to pay back and plans to give up work,

there's a lot at stake.

Welcome to your new house!

Anna's parents, Jenny and John, have come over from the UK

to see what Anna and Philipp have bought into.

I'm so excited!

Oh, my goodness.

It looks lovely. SHE LAUGHS

For me, it's not an additional pressure.

Actually, it's...it's good because I know that my father-in-law

is an excellent gardener,

and he doesn't know yet how much work will await for him,

but I really intend to make him work.

Dad, have you noticed the state of the shutters?

JOHN: Yeah.

There you are, John, that's your job.

Shall we go in? Let's.

Come on, then. OK, side door cos there is no lock

on the front door.

Anna hasn't been inside since her last viewing,

seven months ago.

Going to the chateau. You ready?

Is this it, then? SHE LAUGHS

Yeah.

ANNA GASPS

Oh, my goodness.

OK, there's a lot to do.

LAUGHTER

This is the kitchen.

Good space.

I fell in love with the windows, and that...

Like, there's so much light in here.

The plan is to open as a B&B in ten months' time

and use this kitchen to cater.

It's one of six ground-floor rooms,

including a breakfast room and salon.

They all need a lot of work.

Where is it? Can you show me?

Where do we have to go? Upstairs.

Upstairs?

Two floors up, the attic space will become the family apartment.

Which one's your room, Lily? Which one do you want?

That. Is it this one?

Yeah? Oh, this is...

That's a princess bed. Oh, wow, that's a real princess bed!

Definitely a princess bed. LAUGHTER

Yeah. Watch your feet. There we are.

So, Ella, I think you're going to have the other room, then.

Then it's into what will be the master bedroom.

Actually, it doesn't look too bad in here, does it?

No, this... The paintwork and everything is OK.

..this looks the best. Yeah.

That's why it's going to be our room.

JOHN: This is your room?

Yeah, that's our room. Yeah, it's nice, isn't it? OK, yeah.

I think we'll have the bed here,

with the chimney and then the windows.

JENNY: Oh, it'll be lovely.

Where does that go through? That's the bathroom.

That's the bathroom. Yep.

JOHN: There's a big mirror there.

SHE LAUGHS Cosy.

Yeah, but, I...we've seen that there is...

Oh! ..quite a big space there.

So I think what we're going to do is knock that out. Extend it.

Yep.

Anna and Philipp certainly have a vision for the attic.

As well as creating four bedrooms,

they also have their sights set on the tallest corner of the house.

This is the attic space,

but we're going to turn it into our living space.

Yeah, eventually. So, we'll start with that part to begin with.

And then, once we've got the money, at some point,

so that'll be stage two of the project.

JOHN: OK. No, it looks lovely.

It's not only the attic that requires work.

To bring in an income, they plan to open as a B&B

by next spring -

a tall order when the whole first floor needs renovating.

This is the electrical installation.

Ah.

Up to the newest French standard. THEY LAUGH

Despite no practical experience,

Philipp has decided to work on the electrics himself.

I've spent the last two months basically researching

on how to...how to do up an electrical system.

I went online and studied electrical installation.

What could possibly go wrong?

There's a fair bit, matey.

It has a lot of potential.

It looks to be a massive undertaking,

and a lot of time and a lot of money.

But maybe I'm just a little bit older and more sceptical.

I can't wait to get started. Yeah.

Well, good luck. It's a gigantic project.

We're very proud. We're very proud of Anna,

but we're also very proud of Philipp, as well,

because it is very much a joint project for them.

It's not an easy option, is it?

It isn't an easy option, and...

But it's very much about their lifestyle...

Mm. ..and their family life.

Good luck to them. So, no, we're very hopeful

that it's going to have a really good outcome. Mm.

Shall we have some champagne?

Yeah, it's probably the last bottle we can afford anyway, so...

LAUGHTER For a long time.

Thank you.

Nana? If you drink champagne, you get tipsy.

LAUGHTER I think it's OK for today.

Cheers, my love. Cheers, Dad.

Cheers, Dad. Thank you for coming.

And thank you so much for coming. Yeah. Thank you.

And thank you for all the months that you will spend here, too.

LAUGHTER

Yes, I think you two are going to need all the help you can get

with this undertaking.

Just under 100 miles away, at our place...

What does a monkey say? HE ROARS

LAUGHTER

..we've spent the last five years making sure that our children,

Arthur and Dorothy, have a magical upbringing,

chateau-style.

I want Dick to build a helter-skelter.

I'm going to tell him, and he's going to go, "What?"

DRILL WHIRS

It's important for us not to forget the children while busy renovating.

And sometimes, that has meant making time for the little DIY jobs.

A real dinosaur just biting his leg off.

A dinosaur bit his leg off? Yeah.

Humphrey the T-Rex was Arthur's most treasured possession,

and after a run-in with a door, he ended up with a missing foot.

We've got a choice. We can put him a wooden leg on,

cos we want him to stand up, don't we?

Arthur doesn't look convinced.

But I'm just thinking - why don't we give him a robot leg

that's maybe a metal leg, like that? Yeah.

Or, that's an old piece of Meccano,

it's an old bridge.

Maybe we can use some of the bits of metal.

Daddy, I like it, but I don't want it to fall apart.

I've done up a chateau, Arthur - trust me.

It won't fall apart!

So, and I can use this, then I'm going to use a bit of that.

Then I'm going to put the same size, just like that.

And then, it can make a leg.

Right, OK.

See this hole here?

If we put a screw in there, it could be peg leg.

DRILL WHIRS

Now, look at his foot.

See, he's standing up. I know.

We could give him a foot if you want to give him a foot.

If I give him... Shall I give him a piece of wood for a foot? No.

Oh, well, what...? How...? Ah!

How about...that for a foot?

That looks pretty good, doesn't it?

DRILL WHIRS

He's just like Captain Hook!

It is a bit like Captain Hook, isn't it? Yeah.

Look at that.

So, we've got a repaired dinosaur. Yeah.

One repaired dinosaur. Yeah!

Well done. Well done. He's fixed!

Another victory. Hurrah! Hurrah!

Well done, big boy.

Well, no two chateau days are ever the same,

and clearly, no DIY job is too small.

260 miles south is the elegant 18th-century Chateau de Lomenie,

a former winery sitting in 15 acres of land

and boasting 21 rooms.

It was snapped up for £412,000 18 months ago

by London artist Johnny and his American partner Ashley,

who works in TV.

As soon as we walked in here, we just...we knew.

There were just so many different things that we could do

with the space that, I mean, it was love at first sight.

HE LAUGHS Wasn't it? Yeah, it's true.

I feel I am living the absolute dream.

I've got my babe next to me,

I've got the chateau that we live in,

I've got the animals that I care and love for,

and I can work where I live.

I can't ask for anything more than that.

Located 40 miles south-east of Bordeaux,

they spent last summer creating an al-fresco dining room

in the carriage house.

I adore this room so much.

It's a beautiful place.

And they started renovating the library,

but everything came to a halt as Ashley had to go away for work.

This year, I've managed my work schedule

so that, even though money's coming in from work,

I don't have to be gone as often.

And so, this is the year to finish everything.

I'm going to be here all summer,

so there's really kind of nothing stopping us.

And the goal is to have the chateau make some money,

so that I don't have to always be gone.

Now the couple are determined to run the chateau as a business

to ensure Ashley can stop working abroad.

They plan to turn an outbuilding into an art gallery for Johnny,

and the orangery into an antiques emporium for Ashley.

My plan for the antique, uh, shop -

it's going to be a place where people can come,

they can have a cup of tea, a cup of coffee,

and they can sit on chairs that are for sale.

They can drink from little teacups that are for sale.

So, essentially, everything's for sale.

What we'd love to do is to have the gallery

and the antique emporium decorated, up and running,

bringing clients in, by mid-July,

at the latest.

LAUGHTER Come on, Abernathy.

Johnny's self-imposed three-month deadline is a big challenge.

So today, they're making a start on the emporium project.

Yeah, I want to do this one. OK.

They've collected hundreds of antiques

that have sat idle in an outbuilding.

First to go in the orangery are the tables and chairs.

Oh, here's another one.

It's really cute, that one. Yeah.

Dainty, huh?

Yeah, I think these would be good.

So, it doesn't matter if they're an eclectic mix, right?

No, I want an eclectic mix. You're not looking for a set? Sure.

Treasures, Ashley. Treasures? Yes!

Treasures.

Despite having no windows, and left open to the elements,

Johnny and Ashley are confident the orangery

is the right setting for the emporium.

It's going to look wonderful,

but at the moment, it's looking really bizarre.

I know. I quite like that. It's like an empty attic.

This is what... But I can... I have a vision for it.

No, I know, sweet. I know, but what I'm saying is

it's like someone's died and just walked away, you know? Yes, OK.

Just looking forward, there's quite a lot of work. Yeah, I know.

Particularly for you, cos you want to do the chairs, right? Yes.

Yes. Stuff like this.

That's the thing - you can easily get distracted, right?

Want to start looking, pulling. Oh, yeah.

OK. We'll do all that after. OK.

Ah, Le Boudoir. Le Boudoir?

Yeah. OK.

The sign comes from an old lingerie shop, uh, in Paris,

called Le Boudoir.

And so I definitely want to hang this on one of the walls,

because I just love this sign.

Oh, oh! Oh!

HE SIGHS

Everything in the emporium is meant to be for sale,

but Johnny's having second thoughts.

To part with that would be quite difficult for me,

cos I just love it, cos it's unique,

because of the curve and the writing, the signage.

But for the right price, I would sell. For the right pri...

Yeah, that's the thing - for the right price.

The chateau is not cheap to run. No, no.

So, at some point, we have to make money.

I know, Catch-22. Yeah.

Seems like Ashley has the head for business,

and Johnny's the dreamer.

Imagine someone sitting here. Yeah, having their little coffee.

There's music playing, and they're just, like,

beholding the artwork, etc.

How awesome is that? I know.

And they say, "You know what? I love that. Let's buy that, too."

And I'm like, "No."

And Ashley's like, "Yes." THEY LAUGH

We're not going to sell anything, are we?

THEY LAUGH

Well, that wasn't the business plan, Johnny.

We've brought most of the big pieces in.

Uh, now we need to do a lot of restoration work,

fix everything up, re-upholster, paint everything.

And then, it's that point...

..we have to build... SHE LAUGHS

..build some tables, bring some armoires in.

Gosh.

Actually, we're not quite done. No.

As you're talking, I'm like... There's still...there's still...

"Are we in the same room?" THEY LAUGH

You're certainly a long way from being done

if you're planning to open the emporium in three months' time.

Coming up...

Last night, contraction lasted about 35 to 40 minutes,

and then they stopped.

Phew! Relief.

..a heavily pregnant wedding host refuses to rest on her due date.

I'm a little worried about Anna at this stage

because this is typical Anna.

What would you like, my sweet?

And at Anna and Philipp's...

..the dry rot is setting in.

In an old vineyard in South West France,

is the palatial 15th century Chateau Lagorce.

Once the residence of some of the region's top wine producers,

this 22 bedroom palace, with a pool and its own chapel,

is home to Brit Edward...

Finished.

..his Kosovan wife Anna and their son Charles.

Edward's parents bought the chateau 16 years ago

and now Anna and Edward run it as a wedding venue.

We feel very proud to... and privileged to live here.

We've done a lot of work at the place as a family,

and we've got our own piece of history now.

Something gets added on, something gets changed,

and it's better and better all the time.

Located in Haux, just outside Bordeaux,

when we met them last time, Anna was heavily pregnant.

So Edward took over her job, running the first wedding of the season.

We can't ruin the wedding meal by eating outside in the rain

and it quite clearly will be in the rain.

Now, a couple of months later, it's their 20th wedding of the summer.

Whilst Edward may have learnt the ropes,

there's another added pressure to contend with.

Anna is due tomorrow, and we also have a really big

wedding on tomorrow, so it's going to be an interesting day.

Tomorrow, I hope to deliver two successful events.

First the wedding, and after, hospital and the baby.

Yeah.

And in that order ideally.

Wow, Anna, that is commitment.

A new dawn and it's the wedding day for Bristol couple,

Natalie and Chris.

Preparations are in full swing.

Shall we tip the confetti into it so it looks pretty? Yeah.

Smells really, really lush.

The day might only be getting started,

but Anna and Edward have already had an eventful night.

Last night, we...we thought we were ready to go to hospital.

Contraction lasted about 35 to 40 minutes

and they were quiet close, and we were like, pretty much,

"OK, ready, we're going to go", and then they stopped.

Phew. Relief.

Despite Anna's restless night,

she's determined to keep everything on course.

Edward knows me too well that even if he says I have to,

I have to go and sit down, I won't do it, I have to get things like

I want them to be, and then I'll be able to...to rest and to continue.

I'm trying my best to help her out with the wedding,

but there's really nothing I can do about the contractions,

just keep my eye on her, make sure that she sits down a little

bit as well, and has something to drink.

But, apart from that, I do feel a little bit useless on that front.

But one job Edward can do, is look after the bridal party.

Hey, girls somebody said you were thirsty.

ALL CHEER There we go.

Bubble time.

We can't drink champagne from wine glasses, I'm so sorry girls

but that is not happening.

I'll go grab some wine glasses, don't worry.

Champagne... Champagne. Champagne.

While Edward gets the right glasses...

..outside, Groom Chris is having a photo opportunity with his two sons...

I'm feeling excited, yeah buzzing, buzzing.

It's been a long time coming.

..while bride Natalie has her make-up done.

You can't eat, you won't get in your dress.

I know.

LAUGHTER

I'm feeling really good actually, not nervous, feeling good.

Amazingly, Anna is still busy making sure everything is on schedule.

2.45.

2.45. Right.

They'll be here just before three anyway. OK.

So they're being picked up 2.45?

2.45, they're being picked up.

It's all go, but for Edward, there's always time to check on Anna.

How you feeling more than anything?

Er, I've been getting, few contractions.

You need to take it slow, yeah?

Once we get this sorted, have a sit down for a little while.

OK? I will.

Upstairs, the bride is blissfully unaware of the contractions

drama behind the scenes.

When I arrived I had a shock when I seen Anna was pregnant,

and she said,

"don't panic, but I'm due today or tomorrow".

I didn't panic cos she...

I know that she would have had everything perfect in place.

I haven't had much chance to take a rest yet,

but I'm hoping, like, once the ceremony starts, I'll be able to.

I hope so, too.

What would you like, my sweet?

But with the wedding just about to start,

determined Anna is still at her post.

We're going down in literally five minutes and no glasses down there.

I'm a little worried about Anna at this stage,

because, this is typical Anna.

It's busy, you know, and Anna just jumps in on everything

and starts doing everything for everybody.

Erm, she needs to just stop a little bit, so we'll try

and get her to slow down.

We're just double... You all right? I'm good. I'm sorry. Si tu peux?

Can we ask everyone in the next five minutes to

move from this area down to where the ceremony is going to be held?

As the wedding party makes its way onto the lawn for the ceremony,

Anna finally gets a chance to sit down.

Two seconds, I'm getting a contraction.

Almost 30 miles away, there's not so much pressure on Johnny and Ashley.

Today, they've come to their local haberdashers to buy material

to up-cycle some of their antiques for the emporium.

I'm looking for linen. Linen?

Linen, yeah.

Love this one.

That's really nice.

Of course I go for the most expensive one.

At 23 euros a metre, that's around £20,

just make sure you don't waste any.

So things like this would be too, erm, too delicate right?

Erm, let's see. Oh, yes.

Yeah. Definitely.

I think I'm going to get some of this,

the other one, and I just want to...see what else they have.

Come on, babe.

Come here, baby.

There we go.

What's it for, the chairs, sweetheart? Hmm?

For the chairs? Yeah.

Possibly.

Do you need four metres? That's really wide?

I know, but I'm going to...

Cos one chair's going to be about here, right?

By the time you tack under.

I think you can get three chairs out of the width.

Times that by four metres, that's huge.

That's enough to reupholster a coach, babe.

I'm not sure that I'm going to use this for the chairs, I just like it.

OK. I'll use it for something.

Like what?

Like what?

Cos she's going to cull it down to two metres,

so you're going to be restricted. Yeah, I know.

Are you thinking table runner, I mean?

I'm not sure, we'll see.

It's always a good idea to do your measurements first.

Hopefully, you've got enough material this time.

I think I won't know until I put it next to the chairs.

I have some similar fabrics already that are like this.

So I think what I'm going to do, when I get back,

is I'm going to take all the fabrics out,

put them up and see which ones I like.

The natural one is just sort of a back-up,

just in case these are too busy.

Yeah.

Back at the Chateau, it's time for novice upholsterer Ashley to

get to work on the first chair.

So I chose the simplest ones because it's my first time upholstering,

and it looks really simple.

I mean, we'll see once I get started,

but it really doesn't look like it's going to be too hard.

And I think it'll be a good test run for all the other ones that

I have to do.

My goal is really to turn a ten-euro chair into a 125-euro chair.

So, even taking into account materials and labour,

that should be a nice profit.

Just be careful with the tacks, that we collect them.

We can re-use them.

Underneath, are the remains of a previous makeover.

I love this fabric.

Would you consider leaving it like this? Nope.

Not changing my mind. I have a plan.

No, no, I was just talking out loud.

Maybe just keep those thoughts to yourself, Johnny.

That's going to need a stir, too.

No, no, I'm going to use the brush it's fine.

Ah, no, please, just stir it. "Ah, no, please".

So, Ashley with projects, she loves to just dive in, you know,

with paint, that's been sitting, since date of manufacture.

It does need a stir otherwise you're not going to get consistent,

it's all going to be oil on top and then... It's OK.

WHISTLES Ellie, come on.

Johnny drives me crazy, because, he loves to comes and bother me,

oops, while I'm doing my projects.

And then he'll come and he'll inspect.

Looks like a good job to me, Ashley.

There, it's grey.

Yeah, I love the colour.

One chair painted, 11 more to go.

That's even before upholstering them.

Over 300 miles north, at Chateau Gonneville,

Anna and Philipp have enlisted the help of local architect Emmanuel,

to find out if there's any urgent work they'll need to do.

If they want to stick to their plan of opening as a B&B in ten

months' time, they need Emmanuel to help them prioritise the work.

This is the essential first step for our renovation work.

We need to...we need to apply for planning permission,

and only an architect can help us and can fill out all

the forms needed to, to get that planning permission.

If we don't get that planning, we can't start renovating.

And having sunk most of their money into buying the chateau,

they're hoping they don't come across any costly surprises.

No, it isn't.

Dry rot can easily spread through a building,

but these problems should all be in the survey you get before you buy.

Obviously though, the more work you can do yourself,

the more money you'll save.

I'm beginning to wonder if Anna

and Philipp have bitten off more than they can chew.

I'm a bit overwhelmed right now, to be honest.

I was like,

yeah, I was a bit in shock cos I...I feel like, yeah,

when we came to look at it, I really didn't see all of those problems.

Seems that we underestimated, quite a...quite a lot

the cost of re-doing the facade.

While Anna and Philipp may have underestimated

the amount of work needed, it doesn't have to all be done at once.

They need to prioritise getting the place ready for paying guests

and bringing in some money for renovations.

It was a lot to take in, especially when it's all in French,

and, and it's very, sort of, technical things.

I thought it was so difficult to get a loan that I thought,

once we have the loan, everything will be peachy and easy.

Maybe that was not...

I think this is going to be a marathon,

I don't think it's a sprint.

Yeah. I think, yeah it's going to be a test at every stage,

I have a feeling.

You're nearly right there, Anna.

It's a marathon sprint.

There's nothing like a chateau restoration project

to test your stamina.

Coming up...

You're allowed to kiss your wife.

CHEERING

..at Chateau Lagorce, there's a ceremony...

..and contractions.

OK, we're good to go.

Ashley comes unstuck...

Johnny, help.

..and at Chateau Gonneville,

Philipp has a smashing time.

I feel excited to give it a new life and a new purpose.

Over in south-west France, near Bordeaux, Anna

and Edward are hosting a wedding for 100 people.

But nine months pregnant Anna, is due to give birth today.

Two seconds I'm getting a contraction.

It's also a big moment for bride and groom, Natalie and Chris.

Chris, you can, you must, you are allowed to kiss your wife.

CROWD CHEERS

As the reception gets under way, Anna's still holding the fort,

despite regular contractions.

So when's the baby due? Not long? Days?

Er, you mean today? Not today. HE LAUGHS

No, I'm not joking. Today!

She does mean today,

and in fact the baby is looking set to make an appearance.

So I'm just, er, timing contractions.

OK, we're good to go.

Anna is in labour.

Well, now it's, like, three minutes after. Three minutes? Yeah.

Go get your stuff, we'll have to go. You go and get my stuff! Yeah.

With her contractions just three minutes apart and the hospital

a 45-minute drive away, you'd better get your skates on.

But there's still someone Anna wants to see.

I think, don't panic, but... You're going?

You have to call it Natalie. Take care.

See you later. See you later.

Drinks and canapes have gone well.

I've checked on the guests,

and my contractions are getting closer, so it's going to be...

I think it's time to stop talking and get moving. Go time.

I can't believe Anna's gone into labour,

I just hope they call it Natalie. Or Chris. Here you go.

More to the point, let's hope they get to the hospital in time.

Nearly 30 miles south east,

things are a little calmer at Johnny and Ashley's.

Hi, Abernathy.

With plans to open an antiques emporium in three months' time,

Ashley's still in the process of up-cycling the first of 12 chairs.

Now the paint has dried,

she's trying her hand at upholstering for the first time.

So I'm going to put this, look, where there's no detail,

like that. How cute is that?

Oh, right, so that's quite a long fringe, right? Yeah.

Where there is detail...

..whoops, I'm going to use this. Ah, I see.

Ashley is using the covering from an old seat as a template to get

the most out of the new material.

Good luck. OK, here goes nothing.

Yeah, perfect. And the little lambs are right in the middle,

right where we want them.

The only thing I'm just thinking forward,

if we do it mega, mega tight, OK, then

when someone sits on it, is it going to pull it up a little bit? No.

It doesn't, does it? No, no, no, it needs to be.

So we don't need no slack on it? No.

Now for those tricky corners.

I'm sorry, before you put that in, sweet, don't you want to

try to fold it over? No, I was going to cut it.

The chair's ready for Ashley's piece de resistance,

the fringing around the seat.

Come on, Abernathy. Look.

As there's no electricity in the orangerie yet,

they've moved outside to work.

So I got all this from a brocante,

and it was just sitting in a box in a corner.

I can't remember, I think it was maybe, 30 euros for the whole lot.

What's happening is that it's drying really fast, the glue is.

I'm trying to be gentle and not get glue everywhere,

and actually get it to stick.

Johnny! Help.

I think I have to figure out a different way to stick this on,

because the glue, the glue does not seem to work.

I think I'm going to have to tack the bottom part on,

and then glue the top.

How's it going? Erm, not very well. Oh, what's up?

Well, the glue does not seem to, erm, it doesn't stick.

Well, I do have upholstery tacks here.

Yeah, that's I think what I need to do.

There. Ah.

My little pink fringy chair.

It's really cute. I like it. I kind of want it in my dressing room

because it's just, it's so sweet.

Remember you've got an emporium to fill, Ashley.

Oh, I love that.

For your first attempt, Ash, I think that's amazing.

So how many more to go? HE LAUGHS

Only 11.

But don't forget all the other items you have in storage.

You need to get a move on if you want your emporium to be

open in three months' time.

Over 300 miles away in Normandy, Philipp is

taking on the challenge of a lifetime.

He's about to start renovations before Anna and their girls move in,

in four weeks, and there's a tremendous amount to do.

The idea is to get the second floor ready, as our family apartment.

It will have a master bedroom, it will have two bathrooms, and it

will have three spare bedrooms for our two daughters and for guests.

First job, the master bedroom.

The room is a bit, it's a bit small, and has unnecessary spaces,

so we're going to open up the walls. Knocking down this wall will be,

like, the first, the first big thing.

I made a big mistake because all our tools are in storage

and for some reason I didn't think to keep the tools

when we moved out of our old house, and now I'm missing

half of my tools, so I don't have any electrical saw or anything.

Ooh. Bit of mistake there.

Luckily this is old stud wall, so just a hammer should do the trick.

We are in the older part of the house,

so it's 18th century at least.

And I'm pretty sure that this wall is here right from the beginning,

so, yeah, it's over 200 years, 250 years.

It could feel strange to destroy something that old,

but at the same time these buildings,

they, always evolved and people who come in, they made some changes

and I think as long as you respect the soul of a building.

I mean, you have to, you have to make it work for you

in order to preserve it. It's a house to live in.

I feel excited to give it a new life and a new purpose.

I understand your excitement.

But there's still another wall to take down, plumbing,

electrics, three more bedrooms, and two bathrooms to do.

And that's just your floor.

Apart from all our money and all our belongings, it's also

the dream and the excitement that this chateau means for us,

and it has to work, we want to make it work.

So there's a pressure.

Coming up - it's the final push for Anna and Edward.

She's dilated to four centimetres. She's just about to have her epidural.

And at Chateau Gonneville... Wow, Philipp.

That's amazing!

..the fruits of Phillip's labours are revealed.

Papa's a builder.

In South West France, Anna has

gone into labour. She and husband

Edward made the 45-minute dash

to the hospital in the middle of

hosting a wedding for 100 guests.

Er, Anna's, erm, been taken in.

It's four, she's dilated four centimetres. And she's just

about to have her epidural now, so I've got to move my car

and, er, get back in there to support Anna.

Just five hours after leaving the wedding,

Anna gave birth to their baby daughter.

So, after an emotional and exhausting 24 hours,

we want to present to you

the newest Chatelaine...

..Emma Scarlett.

Back at the chateau, five days later, Anna, Edward,

and four-year-old son Charles

have been getting to know the newest member of the family.

We're feeling a bit tired, aren't we? We're feeling...

You more than me. You've not had sleep for, how many days now?

Um, is it four days? I've lost count. Five days. She's lost count.

Five, six days. But she's getting better, isn't she?

Yeah. And now, it feels complete, doesn't it?

Yeah. Our family's complete. And we're really lucky cos, you know,

for the foreseeable future, these two are going to be growing up

in a chateau, and we're going to get to watch them.

And they'll be best friends.

And looking to the future,

Anna and Edward are thinking about how

they may need to adapt chateau life a bit.

I'd like to employ another...

another wedding planner.

I think we're doing enough weddings a year now to, to be...

and we're well enough established to have another wedding planner

with us, you know, and just have family time.

It sounds like you two could have the best of both worlds, Edward.

We're hoping, like, eventually, everything will be...

will get slightly easier and then,

one day, I'll be able to...

Let go? Yeah, a bit more.

Let go a bit more.

Sounds lovely. But for now,

you've both got your hands full, looking after little ones

and keeping your business running.

Back in Normandy, two months since they got the keys,

Philipp's done what work he can.

Although there's a lot more to do,

now that Anna's left her job, she and the girls are moving in.

IN FRENCH:

Very excited to have all of our stuff here finally and, erm, yeah.

It's quite crazy, you can't believe it really.

Now I feel like I can finally be here with, you know,

all of us together and helping Philipp,

cos he's been working on his own, basically, solo renovating.

IN FRENCH:

It's a big day for us. I mean, for me, I've been here for almost

two months on my own, trying to get the place as ready as possible.

Yeah, so it's fun to be here all together.

It's a new chapter, it's a new chapter of the chateau history.

The second vanload of their possessions arrives from storage.

IN FRENCH:

OK... OK.

He's coming in, but then he's going to go park over there

cos the other van's in the way.

It's actually, it's a bit early

for us to move in with all our stuff but, you know,

keeping the stuff in the storage, it would just be another cost, so...

Yeah. ..we had to move in, so that saves us quite a lot of money.

You have the cushion. Ah... Ah...

Ah.

Heavy lifting done, the removal guys call it a day...

..just as Anna's dad arrives.

Perfect timing, John!

He's come ready to do a bit of gardening,

or whatever Philipp needs.

Not sure Philipp had THIS in mind!

So, you drove with four bags of horse manure from the UK

over to here? Yep. It's good, thank you!

They didn't stop me at customs. PHILIPP LAUGHS

Yes!

It's finally time for Philipp

to show everyone the progress

he's made in the family apartment.

This way.

So, last time you've been here,

it was a dusty building site... Wow!

..whereas today,

it's a dusty building site! But... But... But...

..there's no more floor. There's no more floor. Yeah. Looks better.

Looks much better, doesn't it?

And these rooms, erm, they're pretty much just waiting for

electrics and the flooring.

After buying some tools,

he's concentrated on the master bedroom, where he's knocked down

two walls and made space for an en-suite bathroom.

Wow, Philipp! Ha! That's amazing!

Look what Papa's done, Lily. That's good. Yeah.

What do you think? Good, good, good, good. Papa's a builder.

I'm so impressed. That is... Yeah. ..proper building work.

Yeah, it's really good. How did you do that? Ah, that's...

Have we put a spirit level on here? ..one of my many talents.

I mean, we're going to put a spirit level on this.

Are you going to check if it's good enough? Yeah.

Perfect. Yeah? Are you impressed, Dad? Yeah. Yeah.

Well done, my love. Yeah. It's a start.

It's been hard graft getting this far...

CORK POPS Woo!

..and now Philipp's mum's arrived,

it's certainly time to celebrate.

Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers, my love. Kiss?

Drink up, chaps. Remember,

you're opening as a B&B in eight months,

but enjoy this family time.

Next time...

I mean, you can't get more French than this.

..Johnny gets his tongue in a twist. Merci, madame...er, monsieur.

Pardon. Merci. THEY LAUGH

A landscaping project ten years

in the making begins

at Chateau Lagorce.

All of these little circles here are trees.

Once it's finished, it's going to look really nice.

And Anna and Philipp...

Now run! ..start re-plumbing their

whole chateau, from top to bottom.

No leak here. High five. Well done!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media