Original subtitles

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

Great! DICK AND ANGEL LAUGH

We've lived in this magnificent chateau in France

for the last four years.

One, two, three! Whoo, look at that!

We are renovating it as our home...

Right, so canapes.

..and our business.

Two, three, up!

And it seems we're not the only Brits who've followed their dream

and have bought a chateau to call home.

Absolutely stunning! It's beautiful.

So Angel and I are back, guiding a new batch of adventurous owners...

I know it's going to look lovely.

That's bordering on ridiculous.

And catching up with some old friends...

Hey!

..as they battle to rescue their homes...

Stick it in the hole...

and let's just see how far we can go.

..and try to make them pay their way.

Well, this has all gone wrong, cos five was originally there!

Pardon.

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

It's a balance, and finding that balance is really, really hard.

There will be highs...

That's it, that's it! Yes!

..and lows.

Oh, these stairs will be the death of me, I think.

SHE SCREAMS But however hard the going gets...

Whoa! ..for these plucky Brits,

nothing beats life in their very own castle.

ALL CHEERING

Today...

Can we just empty this fridge, first?

A couple prepare to host their first ever pop-up dinner.

Oh! That is a proper disaster.

These two find that best-laid plans don't always pay off.

For me, it's disappointing - it's now putting us back even more.

Bonjour!

And one couple try to sell their chateau...

Ta-da!

..as a wedding venture.

If she can't see it, I'm just going to have to force her to see it!

This is the beautiful 19th-century Chateau la Grande Maison,

complete with 47 rooms, three acres of land and a fishing river.

It's owned by musicians Ben and Billie,

who moved here seven years ago to start a new life and business.

Every time we fill it with people, it's like the whole place comes back

to life... Yeah. And we think that's amazing.

Because the house really is reaching all the potential,

and all the ideas that we had are actually now happening.

Just 70 miles from Nantes, the chateau's south wing

has recently been renovated into a new event space.

They have even installed a recording studio.

It's well over 100 decibels.

With that finished, Ben and Billie have turned their attention

to their next project - a pop-up restaurant for 14 guests,

each paying �66 a head.

It's important that the restaurant night goes well.

Overall because we want people to know what we're about here,

and that it's quality - something quality, something inspiring,

something creative and also a way to pay the bills,

social interaction with everyone...

So, it's an important part of us evolving the business

into something new, really.

Not quite Versailles, but...

It's a mini Versailles!

They're theming the evening around a former resident of the chateau,

a botanist called Olivier Jules Richard.

I didn't think I'd be doing this when I woke up this morning.

No, I know.

And so today, they're using foliage to dress the orangery -

an idea Billie got from my Angel.

Ivy is really beautiful, but it's such a curse

if you have a load on a building.

We actually took loads off the orangery, didn't we?

So it's quite ironic that it's all going back in!

The irony!

They're putting together a frame made from ivy

of the plastic variety.

It's creating a look.

Creating a look is creating a look, so not necessarily...

..how you do it, as long as you get the result.

THEY LAUGH

Shall we just hang it...? Are you sure that's straight? Yeah.

Ta-da!

And I think it's a good idea to add some real ivy, as well.

When I get the ivy for the light fittings,

I'll get a bit to drape round here, as well.

But what I'm going to do, slightly different look to Angel's,

but put a nice little flower set-up on each light,

and then drape the ivy underneath. Beautiful, yeah.

These are actually...

WHISPERING: ..artificial! No!

Yes! Don't tell anyone. No.

I think that's really beautiful. Yeah?

And then cover that with the ivy, yeah? Yeah.

There is still the rest of the chateau to dress,

and it might take a bit more than ivy to make an impression.

Chateau de Lucheux boasts over 80 rooms

with parts of it dating back to the 1100s.

Situated approximately 60 miles from Dunkirk,

British interior designer Nicole and Belgian architect Stephan have taken

on the challenge to convert part of it into 18 holiday homes.

I think we just feel really lucky that we found out about this place

and we have this opportunity.

Their first job is how to create an apartment in the gatehouse,

and Nicole has lots of ideas.

There it is, this is where we are.

Yeah. OK, and that's where we're going to be.

This is our first apartment to be decorated, OK? Mm-hmm.

So, I'm really excited about it.

So far, they've boarded a fireplace and opened out some of the rooms...

As you know, I want to have this doorway made larger

between the living room and the kitchen. Yeah.

Now, it's all about bringing back some of that character.

What I want to do is try and...

..create a feeling of a chateau without getting over-the-top.

Today, they're hoping to uncover a fireplace Stephan thinks is hidden

behind the wall in one of the turret rooms.

We have this indication on the floor.

So, I've been checking over here...

Some loose stone.

They really wanted to block it up, didn't they?

Ah!

It definitely looks like an old fireplace in there.

I think we've found...

Here, it's definitely a...

Here, what's inside?

Strange.

I suppose it's a chimney.

To clear the rest of the brickwork,

Stephan's going in with a little bit more power.

Do you have any light, Nicole?

On my phone, yeah. Yeah?

Oh, whoa. Oh, yikes.

Huge. What's huge?

Well, it does continue all the way up, so that's great news.

It's functional, it's working, it's connected.

So, we can now put a nice fireplace over here,

so this gatehouse will have two fireplaces - one main fireplace

and a smaller one over here, which will be perfect.

This is going to look amazing, I'm sure.

Another feature Stephan wants to uncover is an arrow slit

he thinks is also behind the wall.

We're missing a window from where the light's

shooting towards the gate.

And I can see it clearly on the outside,

I just don't see it on the inside.

Can we not... Should we just forget that window?

It's not like it's a window to give more light.

It will give a lot of light - it will be like this.

This. Oh, OK...

It will be a bit like this.

And it should be there.

I'm going to go outside and look where it is, exactly.

Quickly, and then... Alright.

It's just a tiny little window!

Yeah, but it is an arrow slit.

Stephan is measuring the position from the outside

to work out exactly where it is.

But he needs to get the measurements spot-on.

So, you see it up there.

I think on the outside, it's about two and a half steps from...

That's certainly a novel way of measuring the tower!

Nicole, can you come out?

Oh, no - it's, like, maybe four arms.

Four arms? Yeah.

So, we'll have to see on the inside.

So, I should be doing, like,

one, two, two and a half.

So, it's...

...exactly here.

I think Stephan needs to invest in a tape measure.

Or at least something a little bit more precise.

HE LAUGHS

We found more bricks behind those bricks.

So...

..are you going to try and expose more stone, or not?

No.

I should be able to pinpoint it somehow, huh?

How can I pinpoint it?

When plan A fails, there's always a plan B.

I'll go outside and I'll drill a hole from the outside all the way

to the inside. Yeah.

Then I'll see where it sticks out and then I know exactly where it is.

Good thinking, that's the way to do it.

It's going to be a bit tricky cos we have to climb the walls

of the castle first.

I think that's the best way to get around the problem.

I'm sure this will work, Stephan, as taking chunks out of the wall

might prove an expensive way forward.

Coming up...

Oh, no - my bay trees have fallen over, this is not part of the plan.

It's a race against the clock for two chateau owners.

So, today, we've got to try and make this look like a...

..wedding chapel.

Stephan climbs to new heights in the name of renovation.

It's going to be a big surprise.

A moment of truth.

And it's the day of Ben and Billie's pop-up event.

We're starting to run a bit short of time.

We've got Mike arriving any minute...

But they're far from ready...

Anyway, don't let him in here yet, cos I haven't finished.

This is the 19th-century Chateau de Dohem.

It has six bedrooms, a pool, a gym and even a sauna.

It sits in the north of France, just 40 minutes' drive from Calais.

It's run as a holiday rental by former company director Wendy

and builder husband Marcus.

The chateau was bought for �600,000 in 2010.

It started off as a second home,

for family and friends to come and visit.

But the reality is that the running costs of a chateau are huge...

It's had to evolve into a business, hasn't it?

Yes, I mean, we couldn't afford to keep it otherwise, could we? No.

To make ends meet, the couple already host hen parties...

ALL SCREAM

..but now want to turn the chateau into a wedding venue,

and today they're hoping to secure their first booking.

I actually have a young couple who have heard about us

and they're coming to look as a potential venue for their wedding

and that will be my first couple, I'm so excited!

Yeah, showing them around a derelict barn.

"This is where you're going to get married!" You have to have vision! Yes!

So far, Wendy and Marcus have forked out �12,000

to renovate what will be the wedding barn,

but they still have a fair bit of work to go.

We reckon about another 10,000 to actually finish it.

But, yes, there's a lot at stake.

I mean, we've put all of our time and passion and money

into the project and we really don't want to even...

..consider the fact it might fail.

A potential bride and groom, Lauren and Charlie, are due to visit today.

"Come into my parlour", said the spider to the fly.

So Wendy's decorating the courtyard

to try and make a good first impression.

We've got birds - look how pretty they look!

SHE GASPS

I made those for our wedding.

Forgotten all about them.

How cute.

Today is a massive deal because, obviously,

this could be my first proper wedding - our first wedding.

So, I just want to try to make it

look a little bit more wedding-y out there,

because it doesn't look wedding-y at all at the moment.

On the other side of the chateau, Marcus is busy trying

to spruce the barn up.

So, today, we've got to try and make this look like a...

..wedding chapel.

Which requires moving one pile of rubble...

..to another one.

Wendy HATES it, absolutely hates it!

Wants me to cover it with hessian or something,

just to get rid of it cos it's an eyesore.

But I'm not throwing it all away.

Cor - there's some good bricks here, as well...

..somebody's thrown away - I'll have them out.

With two hours until their guests arrive,

it's going to be a rush to get everything done in time.

Oh, no - my bay trees have fallen over, this is not part of the plan.

Marcus, I need to somehow weight those trees down,

or else I can't really use them.

I mean, obviously I'll have nice pots when we're doing this properly,

but, for now, they're just not standing still.

All your stuff's come out of them.

I'm going to get some nice heavy pots for them to stand in,

which would be the idea, but for now...

What can you do?

Good to see you've found a use for some of those bricks, Marcus.

Obviously, it'll look better at night.

Right, I've found a whole basket of flowers,

as luck would have it.

It's amazing what you can find in my cellar, you know, when you look.

Lending a helping hand is Wendy's step-daughter.

That's it - got it? Yep.

Ten-year-old Lottie.

The barn's actually nowhere near ready

for Charlie and Lauren to look at, at all.

Not in any way, shape, or form.

That being said, I think somebody with a little bit of imagination

would actually be able to see how beautiful it could actually look.

So, I'm hoping that Lauren is going to think,

"Wow this could be an amazing space!"

Cos that's how I see it - I see it as an amazing space,

because I can envisage how things could look,

but not everybody can do that, and I do understand that, so...

If she can't see it, I'm just going to have to force her to see it!

At Chateau de Lucheux, work is continuing

on the gatehouse apartment.

Stephan is trying to find the exact location of the arrow slit

to make it a window feature.

After failing inside, he's trying from outside.

More or less straightforward, but of course it's a castle,

so the scale is a bit different, that's all.

To reach the slit, Stephan is using scaffolding.

A lot could happen - I mean, well, in the worst scenario,

just the entire comes tumbling down.

Let's hope not, Stephan.

A little more...

For security, Stephan's securing the scaffolding

to the bars of the turret's windows.

Good, nice.

And anything else he can find.

We're going to have one more rope on that window from the inside,

attaching the scaffold boarding on this height.

And we're going to have a second rope, maybe,

from that window over there - it would be perfect.

Like, this the thing cannot move any more.

Now the scaffold is secure, it's time to get cracking.

OK.

He's already taken a gamble on where he thought the window was

from the inside.

I have no idea of telling what's going to go wrong.

It's going to be a big surprise.

A moment of truth.

One more level...

..and, then, we're there.

If all goes to plan,

when Stephan drills through the concrete blocking the arrow slit...

I wish I had a cherry picker!

..it'll come through in, or near, the new hole.

Standing by to check, is Miraldo, one of the chateau's volunteers.

Fingers crossed the drill comes through somewhere convenient.

No?

IN FRENCH:

Hmm.

All right, nothing to do about it.

It's not great news,

and it means Stephan won't get his arrow-slit window.

So, we ended up breaking open this wall,

taking off all of these plasters, breaking up all of this...

That's a waste of time, eh? Just an awful waste of time.

Putting scaffold boarding, having the people doing that,

and bringing the scaffold boarding here, and da-da, da-da, da-da...

So, it's just a lot of time that we just spent for nothing at all.

Time to fix the damage because there's plenty more jobs

in the chateau that need attention.

BEN: 20 bottles, I think that should...

That should keep people busy.

At La Grande Maison, Ben and Billie are racing to finish

the prep for their first-ever dining event.

Can we just empty this fridge first? Oh, yeah.

Cos when Mike arrives, he's going to have cool bags

and things with him... OK, I'll do that.

No!

Chef Mike's arrival is imminent - and they still have the orangery,

pressoir, and kitchen to prepare.

We're hoping that he'll want to do it again... Yeah, we want him to be inspired.

..if it goes well. An important part of us evolving the business

into something new, really.

They've chosen a botanical theme for the dinner.

So, Billie is using a mix of faux and real foliage

to dress the orangery.

Anyway, once they've had a drink in the winepress,

they might not be looking so hard, anyway.

Angel advised picking the ivy on the day, or close to it.

That way, it looks really fresh and alive and vibrant.

Next door, Ben's using vintage tools to decorate the winery,

which will be used for the drinks reception.

We're starting to run a bit short of time,

got Mike arriving any minute...

Ben? Yeah?

They also need to finish a welcome display made

from the pressed flowers Billie prepared weeks ago.

Do you know, some of them are just still a little bit soggy.

That's superb. That's all right!

Right, let's see what's on the next layer - I'm excited, now.

Oh, look! That's a nice one. That's a nice one.

I mean, we don't need them all to work - that's good.

I think I can hear a van...

That can mean only one thing.

Anyway, don't let him in here yet cos I haven't finished.

Ben and Billie are out of time.

Fingers crossed Chef Mike likes what he finds.

Coming up... Bonjour!

Wendy and Marcus hope their tour de force

is enough to impress a potential bride and groom.

Ignore the big pile of plasterboard and insulation.

And the fact there's no plasterboard on the walls yet.

Nicole checks out Stephan's progress on the gatehouse apartment.

OK.

That's, oh...!

And I show you what to do with your left-over summer fruits.

You have that with ice cream,

you get your granny pickled!

This is our home, the 19th-century Chateau de la Motte Husson.

One of best things about having a big garden is being able to

grow some amazing produce...

Arthur, get your basket, baby.

Oh, you plonker!

Come on, Tin Man!

Come on.

..especially soft fruits...

Only pick red ones.

And I have a plan for our glut of this year's ripe strawberries.

Mm!

First soft fruits of the year.

The idea is we have things maturing

and being ready to eat at different times of the year,

which is a good idea, and a rumtopf just makes the most of that.

A rumtopf is a German way of making a boozy pudding liqueur.

This is my rumtopf,

and this rumtopf is actually a sauerkraut fermenting jar.

If you don't have one of these,

a large preserve jar works just as well.

It's a pot where you put your soft fruits, one at a time,

as they're ready,

as they are at their most yummiest.

You add in sugar and a nice rum,

then, when you put the last one in - last one is probably going to be

late raspberries, around October time.

Six weeks later - Christmas, it's all nicely matured

and you have a syrupy,

rummy, sugary mix,

with all your year's worth of fruits in it.

It reminds you of all the yumminess throughout the year

and if you have that with ice cream, you get your granny pickled!

I love rumtopf.

It's a Strawbridge family favourite,

but definitely an adult pudding only.

Sorry, kids!

No!

Because this served with double cream

is amazing around Christmas, or just serve with ice cream.

No instant gratification in a rumtopf.

You make it and you've got to wait.

It just goes to show, with a bit of planning,

you can make those special occasions a little more jolly.

I'm going to weigh these and pop them in.

That's exactly one and a half kilos of strawberries.

It's very simple, it's half sugar to fruit.

In we go.

Oops.

Then the sugar's in.

Sorry, that is just...

Have to be covered in rum.

You go to the supermarket, and there's probably 50 different rums.

I just get a nice dark one that's a bit potent.

The trick is to cover the fruit with the rum.

Now...

But then, we wait.

Ah! There we go.

We've got a chateau,

so we've got enough space to have all the things we want to have.

That's all you need to do.

As more of our garden fruits ripen, I add them in, top up with rum and

sugar, and when Christmas arrives, we enjoy it with family and friends.

It's delicious.

At Chateau de Dohem in northern France, Wendy and Marcus have been

getting ready for a visit from their first potential wedding booking.

They've worked flat-out to make the chateau look like a vintage

country-style venue, something they know bride-and-groom Lauren

and Charlie are looking for,

but there are still parts of the chateau not quite ready.

Hello!

Bonjour!

Bienvenue! Welcome!

You're Charlie? Yes. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Bonjour! Hello, bonjour!

Nice to finally meet you! Lovely to meet you.

As you come through the gate, first impression? It's incredible.

Yeah, amazing! It's absolutely amazing.

Yeah, really, really nice.

As they say in France, "On y va!" On y va.

Do you speak any French? No.

SHE LAUGHS

First stop, the bridal suite.

Oh, my gosh...

Yeah, and you've got your en suite.

Oh, and a bar! Yeah!

MARCUS: This is our lovely lime green pool.

Wow!

I've not had time to tend the pool,

but normally, that would be a beautiful crystal blue.

Right, onwards, onwards. Yes.

I think they got away with that...

Wow!

And this, we only created this year.

This is my favourite room!

I think it's going very well.

They seem very keen, they seem to really like the place,

and now they're about to see the courtyard, so...

Hopefully, fingers crossed.

Step into the courtyard.

Oh, it's gorgeous - I love that up there.

It's lovely.

I mean, I was just trying to give you a little suggestion

of how the courtyard could be...

I know you said you've got lots of ideas yourself,

so our involvement would be only what you want from us.

That's exactly what we're looking for, a blank canvas that we're

able to come in and just create the space and the wedding of our dreams.

Yes. And already, looking around,

I think that the space is pretty perfect for what we're looking for.

I love the courtyard

and our dream is definitely to have a nice summer wedding.

There are lots of positive sounds coming from Lauren and Charlie.

Now it's time to show them the unfinished wedding barn.

Ta-dah!

Incredible!

WENDY SINGS THE WEDDING MARCH

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

and the fact there's no plasterboard on the walls, yet, but...

..it's happening. Yeah!

Once the plaster boarding starts,

it will just happen really fast.

You could walk down the aisle here...

A couple of steps are going in here...

You could get married up there. ..and then you two could...

Please be my guest.

That's it, I'll come down.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

It's like a stage, isn't it?

Yeah, it's a stage!

This is so cool.

Do you know what I absolutely adore, as well? Those doors, coming in...

That really makes it feel very weddingy.

It's still quite a blank canvas, there's still a lot to do.

If it goes to plan and they execute what they're saying they're going

to execute, it's a perfect venue.

Mm. For the venue to be right for us, I think, obviously, the wedding

barn needs to be fully kitted out,

and everything needs to be complete in there...

We've shortlisted about three or four venues in France

and it's definitely top of the list so far!

Well done, Wendy and Marcus, I would say that's pretty promising.

Right, so home time...

Yeah, thank you so much.

You've seen it all, hope you've loved it.

It's been incredible. Yeah, we have.

Thank you so, so much.

Beautiful space, thank you.

With Lauren and Charlie, I think it really falls down to us

to get the work done.

I think that's the thing - selling a vision is one thing...

But then, you've got to actually...

You've got to get the practical in and you've got to do it.

You've got to... You!

"You?" No, we! We!

It's a good first showing.

It's now just a waiting game on whether they will book.

Back at La Grande Maison,

chef Mike has arrived to get set up for Ben and Billie's pop-up dinner.

Right, let's get you in.

I've tried to clear all of the stuff that...

I always have loads of things out here.

Is your kitchen chaotic? I've always got so much stuff out.

Every kitchen's chaotic.

While Mike sets up...

..Billie cracks on.

These are nice. Mimosa tree.

I'm running out of room now.

She's using pressed flowers to create a display around the picture

of the chateau's botanist,

and using another sheet of glass to hold the flowers.

I really hope this just holds everything.

I really can't be bothered to glue everything on individually.

GLASS SMASHES

Oh, that is a proper disaster!

The bad news is that pressing the glass together down on the stalk,

I cracked the corner. Oh, dear.

Don't shake it, cos I don't want everything to fall out.

No.

So, carry it gently!

It's the first thing tonight's diners will see

when they have welcome drinks in the pressoir...

Carefully...

..so it has to create a good impression.

Yeah, that will look great on there.

Oh!

The flowers look OK, it's just... That's gone droopy.

I'm going to have to stick it.

But if we open the glass up again, it's just then going to, erm...

The crack's a problem, isn't it? Hmm...

I've just got to ease the glass out and not make the crack any worse.

Ah... And what's the time?

With so much still to do in the orangery,

Billie leaves Ben to sort the display.

If it doesn't work, it's all right.

We'll just have to forget it.

OK. Let's put it back together again.

Oop... Don't like the noise.

Oop! Don't like that noise either.

So, Angel was saying heights - different heights.

So I've got lovely, old books here.

I managed to find a teapot

that was almost exactly like the one Angel had...

I'll stack that up here, I think.

To add to the botanical theme,

Billie's gathered twigs covered in lichen, as well as tiny clumps.

I've had to wait for them to fall down from the tree,

so if it's been windy,

I've been going out there to see what I can find on the ground.

This is the menu,

which is in miniature,

so you have to have the magnifying glass to read it.

"Yeah, uh-huh, ooh! Sounds good."

Right, don't fall down, don't fall down...

Final touches done, it's time to reveal tonight's wining

and dining spaces to chef Mike, starting with the pressoir.

It's come a long way since he last saw it three months ago.

Do come in, Mike. Bit different from the last time you were here.

Oh, wow.

Oh, wow, wow, wow.

Yay! Wahey, we got a wow!

We were going for a wow. Fantastic.

We were really hoping for a wow, Mike.

That's a good wow, that. Yes, great.

It was a ruin! It was! It was, wasn't it?

It's also a thumbs-up for the transformation in the orangery.

It's a really nice space now,

especially the way they've decorated with the botanical themes.

That's great - love it!

Ben and Billie have impressed the chef.

Now there's just the 14 guests to win over.

At Chateau de Lucheux, Nicole has come to see where Stephan has

got to with the apartment renovations.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the apartment,

to see what changes have taken place.

Hopefully there's been some progress!

You know, for me, that's the really interesting bit,

so I want to get going on that.

When Nicole first saw the apartment reception room, her plan was

to make the two doorways bigger,

allowing more sunlight to spill in.

It presents a real challenge.

I want to maximise height as much as possible and open up

so that the kitchen area becomes more part of the living area.

But there have been a few problems making Nicole's vision a reality...

You see the problems?

She was expecting wider doorways,

but all Stephan has managed to do

is pull away some wallpaper and plaster.

OK...

Ohhh!

As you can see, we've not been able to progress with the doorways,

cos it's... Making them bigger is essentially your design scheme,

and it is, because it will make the space... Essential.

Stephan has uncovered two concrete lintels.

This wall is load bearing.

I spoke to the engineers who came over last week and he suggests that

we put supports - that we support this beam, we support the next beam,

but we also have to support the vault underneath, so it's going...

So you have to support from down all the way up?

All the way up.

Because there's a wall on top of it and there's a roof on top of it.

There will need to be some serious work done before any doors can be

widened, which means more delays and more money.

See, that's... We need to rethink this room.

If I take a gamble and it goes wrong and it all falls down,

I mean - this is not an option.

We cannot go that way.

If it affects the design scheme, we have to work around it,

I have no choice.

For me, it's disappointing, it's now putting us back,

even more, on the timeline of when we can hope to get this finished.

It's life, it's life at the chateau,

and if you do renovation of a chateau

it's going to be ups and downs,

and this is one of those moments where you have to take a turn.

Despite the setbacks,

Nicole and Stephan have made a great start this year.

They've explored and uncovered new parts of the chateau...

Amazing! 14...

..and something.

..begun work on renovating the gatehouse...

It's gone! It's fun.

..and opened their gates for a successful heritage event...

So, it's all worked out perfectly.

Close to 1,000 visitors in one day.

Oui!

But the delays have meant the renovation schedule has slipped.

Nicole has now moved on to a new project.

Basically, what had happened is that the work on the interior

didn't happen as quickly as we'd anticipated that it would, and

I had another project that I'd promised clients I would move on to.

Now we're working on separate projects, it will be really

interesting to see how Lucheux turns out,

but, you know,

I've moved on now, and I wish him all the best.

I think it's just going to be a bit different doing it without her

and I do hope that, er...

..I'll find, er...

..another person who is also...

..as good as she is.

Stephan is continuing work on the chateaux

and he hopes to put the gatehouse apartment on the market really soon.

We'll be stuck here for a few more years.

Going to have so much fun in the next time to come.

Going to really enjoy it, absolutely.

Looking forward to it - every minute of it!

We wish you the very best, Stephan and Nicole.

Coming up...

Ben and Billie's pop-up event is under the microscope...

That's how you'll find out what the menu is for the evening.

Go all the way back to the wall, please, Wendy.

And Wendy and Marcus size up some potential wedding services...

Fine for the minibuses,

but definitely not for the big ones.

Marcus, knock that wall down!

You've got some more building to do!

At Chateau de Dohem,

Wendy and Marcus have another busy day ahead of them.

Whilst they wait for a reply from their potential bride and groom,

they need to sort the wedding services.

So, I don't know how many I can manage at a time.

So, with the help of cousin Lyle, Wendy is setting up

for the arrival of transport services, photographers,

marquee installers and a celebrant to talk about future partnerships.

Yeah! That's what you need manpower for, isn't it?!

Right, I need some scissors and I'm going to start revealing the chairs.

Work on the barn has progressed,

but it's still a long way off being finished.

We really need all hands on deck today,

to make the barn look more like an intimate venue.

It's really important that the people who come

are sharing my vision, which is that this can work.

And this will be northern France's most beautiful,

intimate, luxury wedding venue.

Bang on time, the wedding suppliers have arrived.

Hello, hello!

And no time like the present, it's straight around the back

to see if the courtyard could fit a marquee.

If you go all the way back to the wall.

Yeah, so you've got 28 foot...

Things seem to be going well...

She's told me that basically we can fit the marquee for 50 people

in the courtyard, which, for me, is actually

my ideal, preferred solution.

But there are problems when it comes to the transport company.

Fine for the minibuses, but definitely not for the big ones.

If only we could get it to here, but...

Yeah, if only we could get it to here...

Marcus, knock that wall down!

You've got some more building to do!

Let's hope there's no more hiccups

when showing the celebrant the unfinished wedding barn.

Right, so...

Oh, wow! That's lovely...

This, Karina, is where we're going to have our couples for you

to marry...

Oh, it's gorgeous! That's really nice.

There's a step up at the end, there.

But when you imagine you're going to need this much space,

as your aisle. Yep.

SHE HUMS THE WEDDING MARCH

She should be there! I should!

THEY LAUGH

I'll be waiting for you at the front!

Yes! So, what do you think?

Oh, I think it's lovely. Are you happy to be our celebrant?

Absolutely! I'm... ..yeah, yeah, thank you!

Thanks for asking me!

I know, it's brilliant! You're welcome.

Yeah, I can't wait!

It's great news.

By the end of the day, all suppliers are on board.

Today's been brilliant, hasn't it? Yeah.

Yeah, it's been good to have these people come over.

Really so positive. Yeah.

They're all very, very enthusiastic about the plans

and moving forward, so, yeah, it's good.

They might have everything in place,

but Charlie and Lauren's wedding booking sadly never materialised.

They have, however, taken ten new hen party bookings

for the coming months,

bringing them a step closer to a permanent move to France.

We've achieved what we wanted to, the wedding barn is moving forward.

I think Marcus and I both feel that all the hard work and effort

and money spent is totally worth it.

At La Grande Maison, it's the night of the botanical themed event,

and Ben and Billie's guests have all arrived.

Would anyone like a tipple of the gin?

It's taken months of work preparing the events wing,

and it's not gone unnoticed by their guests.

It's simple, but it's so effective.

It's beautiful, what you've done here. Thank you!

As the finishing touches to the starter are done,

the diners are seated in the orangery.

Oh, lovely!

Right, thank you, everyone, for coming!

For the opening of the orangery, we are celebrating

the botanist who created this beautiful room.

There are magnifying glasses around the table.

That's how you'll find out what the menu is for the evening.

THEY LAUGH

The menu's on your right. Bidoo!

THEY LAUGH

What are we having?

I believe we're having heirloom tomatoes with a roasted bell pepper

and basil terrine, basil oil and balsamic dressing.

So far, so good.

Next on the menu is the fish course, Loire Valley zander.

Looks amazing, doesn't it?

Yeah, it really does look amazing.

A lemon verbena pesto

and a lemon verbena butter sauce to go with it...

Fantastic!

THEY APPLAUD

Oh, it's been an amazing evening, it's been really good.

It's a lovely place for people to come along and be together,

eat together.

I'd definitely come along again, yeah.

The evening is a hit with diners, but as dessert's served...

So, we have autumn raspberries, white chocolate and pistachio.

Mmm!

..it's chef Mike's opinion that could make or break the event.

I'd love to come back, and it was a great event.

Cooking with a themed menu is always interesting

because you can sort of play around a little bit,

and do interesting things, yeah.

With happy diners excited to work with Ben and Billie again,

it's the perfect end to a perfect night.

To get here, it's been a long summer.

This has definitely not been swept since the 1860s.

They have refurbished the orangery...

Ta-dah!

..and they've even had time to build a recording studio.

I really feel like we're, you know, properly a venue now.

Mmm. That's what we were trying to achieve from the beginning.

Completing the orangery and the pressoir, it's, er,

we're ready for the next step, I think. Yeah, definitely.

Well, that's lucky, because off the back of tonight's success,

Ben and Billie have booked 12 more dinner evenings,

bringing them one step closer

to making their chateau more profitable.

Oh, something's burning!

Next week...

Stephanie! It's not, I just checked, it's fine.

..we follow another bunch of intrepid chateau owners.

Oh!

We have eight weeks to finish this.

And I...

..don't know if that's going to be done.

Oh, welcome!

Angel's on hand to help a new chateau owner

create a boutique B&B...

When you get your artwork finished, it's going to be amazing.

Have you got it? It's the other door.

..and a young family...

You know what? I actually think it looks good.

It looks fabulous!

..start their very own chateau dream.

I sold my ability to do this to Annabelle

and I'm determined to deliver!

Subtitle by Red Bee Media