All language subtitles for Escape to the Chateau DIY S02E25.HDTV.540p.x264-GTi.English

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