Original subtitles

I'm Dick Strawbridge, 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...

..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, 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've put in for us.

..as well as businesses...

Woohoo!

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

Cheers, everybody!

Today...

Just a whisker more, just a centimetre more.

..these owners start work on a new garden...

I've got to get all my plants round here, I've got to get them planted,

I've got the bassin to do, so the pressure's on for me.

..which turns out to be an arduous exercise.

Ah, gardening aerobics. Here you go.

As this chateau marks a grand anniversary...

There we are! Have to have it all...nice and straight.

..there's a case of confetti cannon confusion.

Does the top come off? Do you take the top off?

Do we take the top off as well?

You don't take the top off, do you? No, you don't.

And one couple put their new events space to the test.

Is that good enough, do you think? It's up to you.

You are the creative director. Oh, God! Don't say that.

But will it scrub up as well as they do?

Everything seems to be under control,

so what could possibly go wrong? Ow!

Sorry. I could burn myself!

Making the move across the Channel

and getting a chateau business off the ground

is a serious challenge.

But despite the ups and downs,

it can also be incredibly fulfilling.

Take the enchanting Chateau de Bourneau.

Built in the 1400s and abandoned during the French Revolution,

it was re-modelled in the 19th century.

It boasts 50 rooms...

..40 acres...

..and two new owners,

former anaesthetist Erin

and her French fiance, engineer JB.

I think the little girl princess in me

has always wanted to live in a beautiful house.

When we have visitors, friends, and we see the look on their face,

we are like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, it is true.

"It is a beautiful place and we are so lucky to be here."

Sitting in the Pays de la Loire, Erin and JB's grand plan is

to create guest accommodation and run an events business.

This is obviously going to be a challenge.

Despite an income from four holiday lets, money's tight,

so they've decided to focus on events to get cash flowing in ASAP.

Yeah, it looks nice. It does look good, it looks really good.

They've been converting their abandoned orangery into what

they hope will make the perfect event space.

I think there is something very romantic about a ruined,

forgotten building, and I envisage it with fairy lights

and candles, and I just thought,

"Yes, this could be a really beautiful space for events."

Whereas JB thought, "Ooh, this would be a lovely garage."

THEY LAUGH

I'm not giving up!

Before they launch the orangery for paid events,

they want to give it a test run

and are planning a Midsummer Night's Dream party

for eight friends from the UK in two weeks' time.

The pressure's on a little bit

because the quicker we get it finished,

the quicker we can host events

and bring in more money to do up the chateau.

With a lot of work ahead to get the empty orangery ready,

there's no time to lose...

What's happening?

..and I'm glad to see Erin's got her priorities right.

You know I had this idea of having a bar... Mm-hm. ..inside here?

Wait, just... Yeah, no, no, no, no. ..sceptical... I'm listening. Sceptical face!

Erin's bagged these second-hand 19th-century French dressers

for around £100 - a bit of a steal.

My plan is to have the main dresser, back to the wall,

and have whiskey and gin bottles, that sort of thing, to display -

and the glassware - all in that dresser. OK.

And then I found this other piece,

which...it's not actually part of the set,

but I think it kind of goes quite nicely.

So I think that dresser is going to end up being the bar in front.

I've got a navy-blue paint,

which...what I want to do is use that to

paint the inside of the bit where they used to hang up plates.

Oh, OK. Yeah, yeah. And then use that same paint

just to accent the bar in front,

so it's sort of links the two pieces of furniture. That's my plan.

Erin is our creative director in this project.

She's got a much better vision than I do, when it comes to style.

What I love about this paint is that you don't have to prime anything,

so it just takes a little less time as well, getting that paint on.

It is a bit bright, isn't it?

It actually dries a lot darker.

I trust her.

The next day, and a lot of paint later,

Erin's creative vision is starting to take shape.

I'm just trying to pick out a little bit of the detail of these old carvings.

We'll see if JB approves, cos I'm not sure he was totally

set on my idea of painting this blue, so we'll see what he thinks!

Hello. Bonjour.

Oh, it's looking nice. Oh, do you like it? Yeah!

That's a relief! And now he's here, Erin can put JB to good use.

Ooh!

Are you there? Yep.

So there's that little lug, there. Yep.

OK... All right?

That's in place. Yeah. Cool.

Isn't that nice?

I really like the bar.

Erin has done a good job to find a matching style of furniture.

Bit of colour makes it also a bit more modern.

Good, that's what I wanted to hear!

So far, so good, but with the orangery still nothing

but an empty shell, you've got a lot to do

before the night of the party.

Nearly 300 miles south

is the spectacular Chateau du Puits es Pratx.

Set in seven acres of land, it has 39 rooms and is run as

a hotel and wedding venue by Londoners Tim and Sasha,

their daughter, Lily, and her boyfriend, Luke.

We've got six kids between us, and to have just one of them

wanting to work with us is a privilege, absolute privilege.

They look fabulous, sweetheart.

Luke is incredible, and we're very lucky that he's come along.

There we go.

Located in the Occitanie countryside,

they've spent the down season upgrading the hotel spa.

We're done! We're ready. We're ready.

I think it looks magical.

Now, with this year's wedding season approaching,

they want to finish it off by turning the area

outside the spa into a wellness garden.

Our plan for the wellness garden is to provide guests with

somewhere quiet and peaceful so they can get away from the crowd.

It's like a secret garden.

It's really important that we get finished tomorrow -

we've got wedding guests arriving, and the spa and wellness garden

is something that we're trying to attract

as an extra to everybody's wedding.

Tim and Sasha intend to utilise the chateau's original bathing pool,

known as a bassin,

which has sat empty for the 15 years they've been here.

The pool is the original pool, built at some point in the 1800s.

It's quite special, and we wanted to celebrate that in a way

with something worthwhile.

We finally decided we were going

to buy an ornamental olive tree and plant it.

The olive tree is going to go in the middle as a centrepiece.

I've been growing irises, which we'll put around.

And then, around the edge of that, I'm going to put herbs.

It's a big space to fill.

Then you'd better get cracking!

And out front, Luke is already taking delivery of

the 11 tonnes of gravel that'll be used as drainage in the bassin,

though Tim's spotted a potential hitch.

My only concern right now is that their crane isn't long enough

to stretch over the pool,

which could be interesting.

And sure enough...

So they can't go any further than that.

The weight is not letting them take it further,

so we're going to have to shovel the gravel in ourselves... OK.

..from that point onwards. I'll delegate.

Very wise, Tim. And as the rest is hoisted over the wall,

the delivery crew set to work

getting the gravel in the old-fashioned way.

A little while later,

it's time for Sasha to check out those delegation skills.

That's good. Look at that. That's cool. Wow!

But there's a snag with the next stage of the garden.

It's transpired that the shop that sold us the topsoil, that the guys

have got a van load full of, is only one third of what we actually need.

But because the shop is closed today,

we can only put that first third in

and the other two thirds will be picked up tomorrow. What's today?

Today's Thursday, so we can't... And they're closed?

We live in France, come on.

Oh, dear! Looks like you're going to need to move heaven

and lots of earth to get the garden finished tomorrow.

Coming up, this chateau owner is taking no prisoners...

There's lots of dungeons, and this would have been

one of the small holding cells within the castle.

..as she makes a start on a new wine cellar.

The castle will fall down now!

Erin and JB get busy in the orangery...

What do you think? I can do that all day.

..but party planning proves not to be a bed of roses.

We've had an enormous leak,

so that means we only have one bathroom for ten people.

# La-da-da-da-da! # Come on, you guys.

And Sasha gets down in the garden.

Come and join the dance.

This is the magnificent 12th century Chateau du Masgelier.

With 13 bedrooms and 12 acres of land,

this splendid pile belongs to Fiona.

A property renovator back in the UK,

she now lives here with her 11-year-old son Louis.

What's it like living in a chateau?

It's a privilege, of course it is a privilege.

But it's really hard work.

Located in the rural Limousin area,

Fiona has spent the last six years restoring the chateau

with the aim of bringing it back to its former glory.

I specifically wanted to buy a medieval chateau.

They don't come up very often, the medieval castles,

and most of them are really in complete disrepair,

you know, like, the outer walls and no roof or floors.

So, I was very lucky.

The chateau's illustrious history is important to Fiona, and this

year, she's planning to throw the old girl

a birthday party to remember.

Chateau Masgelier will be eight hundred and...45 years old.

845 years, she's still standing, she's still here, I think

she deserves a bit of a whoop-whoop-whoop!

The party is in three days' time,

when the local mayor will unveil a plaque to mark the occasion.

And as part of her bigger plan to renovate the chateau,

today, she's converting a little historical

treasure into something that should come in handy on the big day.

There's lots of escape tunnels, lots of dungeons, and this would

have been one of the small holding cells within the castle.

And then doing research,

it transpires that it was last used as a wine cellar in the 1920s,

1930s, so I think it would be lovely to recreate that again.

When Angel and I moved into our place, we discovered our wine

cellar came complete with racks of dusty old bottles.

The local brew here is called Calva.

It's like an apple brandy.

I can see these bottles, cleaned out, filled with Calva,

cork in the top, dipped in red wax and set back on the shelf.

I'll gradually work my way through.

It was one of my favourite discoveries of those first

few months in our new home.

I'd buy the chateau for this place.

Cool and about the right humidity, I reckon Fiona's wine will be

much happier down in this dungeon than some of the previous occupants.

What I want to try and do is not make it too new,

keep it very rustic as possible.

First job, fitting the wooden wine racks,

but it may not be as straightforward as it sounds.

Thing is, I've got to drill through the granite, which is

not the easiest thing to do.

Granite is one of the hardest rocks, great for construction,

but it requires the proper tools

and appropriate safety equipment to work with.

Glasses over my glasses.

Fiona's up for it.

If you were just to try and drill into this, probably the drill will

slip, so it's always best to try and cut in a little bit of a groove.

Precise.

Castle will fall down now.

By chiselling into the rock,

Fiona will give her masonry bit more purchase.

Make sure the drill's done up properly,

don't want that flying off.

For drilling all the holes, she needs a decent hammer drill.

I really want it to go in properly, because the last thing

I want to do is have all of the wine fall off the wall.

Can you imagine all of the bottles crashing to the floor?

Look at that - that will be nice and secure.

That's the wine sorted - now for the strong, metal champagne rack.

What I want to do is, because, obviously,

the bottles are incredibly heavy, I want to make sure I'm using

real big-boy wall plugs.

I've already drilled the granite.

I've got the drinks in for the party.

All of the invitations have gone out.

The Mairie is going to come to present the commemorative

wall plaque, which I'm very excited about.

Fingers crossed it will arrive tomorrow.

Let's hope so - commemorating the chateau without

the commemorative plaque would be a tad awkward.

I'm very pleased, these look very, very nice

and I can consider it as another room done.

Whoa, whoa, what about the wine?

Right.

I look forward to seeing it fully stocked in time for the party.

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

Is anybody coming to help?

..Tim and Sasha have a busy day ahead.

We've got clients arriving from two o'clock in the afternoon,

so, I've got to get all of my plants round here,

I've got to get them into position, I've got to get them planted,

I've got the bassin to do, so the pressure's on for me.

Right, back for some more.

But, hey, rock and roll.

Un, deux, trois.

First, Tim and Sasha want to make sure the wellness garden

centrepiece is, well, centred.

We just want it moved just a little tiny bit more.

Just a whisker more.

A centimetre more.

Parfait, superbe.

Thank you.

I know we're fussy, but it's worth it.

It's like Mount Vesuvius.

With the topsoil, which has finally been delivered

and added to the bassin, Sasha now needs to get the garden

finished before the guests arrive this afternoon.

The gardeners have gone to lunch, we are behind schedule

and Tim has now disappeared.

This is going to be fun.

Before she can plant anything, Sasha decides to add special crystals to

help the soil retain water through the long French summer to come.

This is not going to be dignified, but, hey.

And she's perfected her own unique method.

So, I might as well start stamping, mightn't I?

I'd like to think that I wasn't heavy enough to make

a difference, but I think I am.

Gardening aerobics, here you go.

Da-da-dah.

What happens after this is, I fill up with the rest of the topsoil,

and we'll be planting the irises right the way round here.

Sort that out later.

Come on, you guys.

I can't do this all myself.

You're doing fine.

And you've not got the right shoes, either.

You look very funny. I know I look very funny.

This is going to be very embarrassing.

I've got a stomper, stumper...thing.

Just get in.

Come and join the dance.

This is compact enough, isn't it?

Dah-di-dah, di-dah.

Just one last layer of soil

and the wellness garden will finally be ready to plant.

But the garden as a whole has got a long way to go.

And with those guests arriving in a few hours,

they'd better get a move on.

Back at Erin and JB's,

it's the day before their test event in the orangerie -

a Midsummer Night's Dream-themed party for eight friends from the UK.

We've had a few little hiccups.

Erm, so, the first massive one is, our guests were supposed to be

staying inside the chateau, and we've had an enormous leak,

so that means we only have one bathroom for ten people.

So, I've got to break the news to everyone that unfortunately,

they can't stay in the chateau.

Really luckily, our manor house has no holiday bookings this

weekend, thank goodness, so everyone is staying inside the manor house.

Hopefully, everyone will be happy with that.

Because of this unexpected, planned, change of sleeping arrangements,

I've had to now make up all the beds in the manor house, so I did

that this morning, which has put us significantly behind schedule.

We still have the orangerie to fully decorate, we've got to find

a table to move in there, all the chairs have got to go in there.

Lots of things.

Better make a start, then.

And first up are the decorations.

So... What is the task?

You know how we have tonnes

and tonnes of this wisteria from my cousin's wedding?

What I think might be quite nice is to make a sort of flower wall, so

literally just hang it simply, so it drapes, just in the central portion.

Otherwise, you've just got this totally bare wall.

If tomorrow's party goes well,

Erin and JB will be able to use it as a template for future paid

events, but, on their shoestring budget, they need to be resourceful.

Is that holding?

Ah, c'est bon.

And using donated decorations is a good place to start.

Do you want another one in the middle?

Oh, I see, to make it sort of a double.

It's up to you, you are the creative director.

Oh, God, don't say that!

I can do that all day.

What do you think? I don't know, it was just a suggestion.

You know what? Let's just leave it like that, it saves banging another

nail into the wall, doesn't it?

Another good way to decorate on the cheap is to forage

from your own garden, especially if it happens to be 40-odd acres.

The theme is A Midsummer Night's Dream,

and I just really like the idea of sort of windy ivy, I think

it's really romantic and kind of understated.

And I have these lovely candelabras which I think actually,

if I wound these round, they could look quite lovely and romantic,

so that's my plan.

And also, it's a good task

because this ivy is destroying our moat wall.

So, it needs to be kept at bay, so actually, it's a

double-win job here.

And she's also after another, more exotic plant.

This is the bamboo forest.

Quite a lot of it, as you can see.

I think it started off as a baby patch of it and it's just...

There we go.

Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world, making

it an excellent renewable resource.

There we go.

Ugh.

Right - now, the fun bit begins.

So, my idea is to have almost like entrance posts,

so, adding to the wisteria, as well, so you've got a bit more greenery.

Like you're entering a sort of Midsummer Night's Dream wonderland,

that's my idea.

This building has been so sad and neglected for such a long time, I

think it's lovely to make it look a little bit cosy for once, actually.

Great.

I'm really pleased.

Simple.

And all that hard work has earned a reward.

Cocktail o'clock?

For JB, at any rate.

Erin has created a bespoke cocktail for the party,

and she needs a guinea pig to test it on.

I made a lot of sloe gin... Mm-hm. ..last year, with sloes

we actually picked from the estate.

So, I'm going to use it as a gin base,

and then topped up with local bubbly.

Should probably take a seat. Yes!

Ta-dah.

My idea is it's a Borneau Bellini, so something different for here.

Great colour.

Is it going to pass the French judgment?

What do you think? Borneau Bellini?

Borneau Bellini has been approved.

It's approved? Yep. Oh, good. Cheers.

Cheers.

Cin-cin, you two, but go easy,

there's still a lot to do in the orangerie to be ready for tomorrow.

Coming up....

Oh, wow.

..Fiona gets a delivery.

It's even better than I even imagined.

And it seems bigger than I imagined as well.

But that's good. Big is good.

Erin and JB put their guests to work...

Where were you guys when we moved the gates, honestly?

..and break some bad news.

Slight technical hitch and I hope you're not too disappointed,

but we've had a massive plumbing leak in the chateau.

And in the south of France...

I've never planted an iris in my life.

I barely know what they look like.

..Tim's in trouble.

What? No! You said to split them.

No, you split the whole pot.

I told you not to go away. Honestly!

I disappear for one minute.

In Central France, at Chateau du Masgelier...

There we go, look at that.

..it's just three days

until Fiona hosts a party to mark the chateau's birthday.

845 years - that is a really,

really long time for this castle to be standing here.

Big medieval defence, built by the Knights Templar.

She was stormed during the French Revolution,

the Nazis stormed the castle as well,

cos a lot of the OSE, French Resistance was based here.

If these walls could talk.

Despite its many military skirmishes,

the chateau is still going strong,

something Fiona plans to celebrate.

Right.

Look at that - doesn't that look super?

Even though it's a practical room, you know me,

I couldn't just sort of stick a couple of crates on the floor here.

I just want a little bit of designer touches.

The new wine cellar looks the business, though it's a little

early for the contents to help calm Fiona's pre-party nerves.

I honestly don't know how many people are coming to the event.

I really don't.

And all of the French people, they don't reply.

They just kind of rock up on the day, they just all rock up.

So, you know, I can't be caught short.

I don't think there's much danger of that!

Oh, God, I've got so much.

The main thing is the racks haven't fallen off the wall.

The girl can put up a damn good shelf, can't she?

OK, there we go.

I am so pleased with it. I think it looks fabulous.

And so you should be.

Just how I imagined it to be.

It's the day before the party.

Fiona's invited the local mayor to unveil a plaque she's had

especially commissioned to celebrate the chateau's history,

and it's just arrived.

Obviously, everything is centred

really around the commemorative plaque,

so I'm very excited to see how it's turned out, from the design.

It's even bigger than I thought it would be.

SHE GASPS

Wow.

Oh, wow!

It's even better than I even imagined.

And it seems bigger than I imagined as well, but that's good.

Big is good. Big is good.

Over the years, Fiona's spent hours researching the chateau

and the plaque features symbols relating to her discoveries.

It's 845 years of epic French history.

That's all in French.

Obviously, 1174, when she was first built in stone.

The fleur-de-lis, which is King Louis XIV,

who owned the chateau, the Knights Templar.

Oh, wow, look, the eagle has come out fantastic.

And to serve and defend and to protect. Because, to me,

that's what she was built for.

I think everyone at the unveiling are going to be really blown away.

Now to figure out where to mount it.

What my thoughts were was to actually place it somewhere here,

on the King's Tower,

and then the mayor will be able to get easy access to unveil it.

That'll be absolutely perfect, yeah.

I'm liking that a lot.

It looks like there's going to be plenty to celebrate tomorrow.

I expect lots of oohs and aahs.

Good job the new wine cellar is fully stocked.

At Tim and Sasha's in the south of France...

This is a plant called the Red Dwarf.

..the new wellness garden is ready for planting.

Well, almost.

There's a lot to do, and I'm not going to worry about it.

Much.

I've been looking after gardens and flowers for forever.

I love it. It gets me out, it keeps me fit.

Tim and Luke have been tasked with the final prep,

but with guests due to arrive this afternoon...

..Sasha's concerned about the amount of work left to be done.

It's not going to be perfect. I can't see...

Of course it will be. Can we get the lights up, at least?

Oh, that's the very last thing, my darling.

Well, that's what I mean.

At the end of the day, we'll get the lights up. Of course, yes.

Everything has to be done a stage at a time.

Soil first, then plants,

then the statue, and then lights. In that order.

OK.

We've got two hours to get it done by. OK.

They need to get on with planting.

And right on cue is Lily with Sasha's precious home-grown irises.

Woo!

He's going to mark a circle around the olive tree

and then we'll dig a small trench and plant a circle of irises.

And I'm hoping that these, because they've been grown in compost,

are going to divide very easily.

Hoping. I will be back in a couple of minutes,

I have to check on some souris d'agneau.

Back in a minute.

While Sasha's in the kitchen checking on the lamb shank,

it's down to her garden gnomes to carry on where she left off.

So what are we doing with the irises?

Give me the low-down, Tim. I wish I knew.

Something about splitting them.

What could possibly go wrong?

I've never planted an iris in my life.

I barely know what they look like.

It looks like a piece of ginger,

but I think that's an iris.

So, one iris for you, sir.

When we said split, I'm hoping that will be obvious.

There, like that.

Look. OK. That actually...

Hang on. No. No?

What? No. You said to split them.

No, you split the whole pot.

I told you to come.

SHE SIGHS

I told you not to go away. Honestly.

You said split the irises.

No, the whole pot.

What do you mean, the whole pot?

I disappear for one minute, and he's pulling the flowers out.

It's in compost, so it's not diff...

Look, there you go.

Perfect. Woohoo!

Horticultural disaster averted, they can press on...

SHE EXHALES

..and add the garden's piece de resistance.

We have a very rude statue.

I think it would be an insult to the olive tree. Let's try. All right.

Oh, that's very good.

Sorry, move to one side, will you, please? Don't spoil my view.

It's a bit naff and a bit kitsch, but I don't care.

All that's left now is to plant some aromatic herbs.

And for Tim and Luke to add a bit of sparkle.

Well, the job is complete.

Just two days ago, the chateau's bassin was a bit of an eyesore.

Now, with the planting of the beautiful cloud olive tree,

surrounded by Sasha's irises, the pool has been

transformed into an idyllic wellness garden that will

give their guests a tranquil corner of the chateau to sit and relax.

Ah. Doesn't that look nice?

I think it's time for a drink. Yeah!

How long have we waited for this to be filled?

15 years? 15 years. Wow.

Thank you very much, Tim. Slainte. Well done, guys.

Cheers, beers and scallywags' ears.

If you say so.

When we wanted to create this garden, it wasn't

to financially boost our business.

It was more to enhance the property that we have

so that it would be enjoyable for many people.

We've got a beautiful wellness garden where people can relax

and just enjoy the surroundings.

Bravo, Tim and Sasha.

Cheers! Woohoo. Woo!

The wellness garden will be a fantastic addition to the chateau.

Nearly 300 miles north, it's the day of

Erin and JB's Midsummer Night's Dream party.

THEY LAUGH

So I reckon we should use this table for tonight. OK. I think

it will go with the bar look.

Most of their friends have already arrived.

A water leak in the chateau has forced them into

Erin and JB's gites for the weekend,

but that hasn't affected morale.

Backup has arrived.

Reinforcements are set straight to work.

OK.

Breathe in, everyone.

VOICEOVER: We have quite a long list of things to do

and our other friends are about to arrive in literally an hour.

So kind of need to get things going because Laura, one of my friends, is

actually an official events planner for a big corporate group, so we are

most nervous about what she thinks of our current party planning.

No pressure, then.

Two, one, go.

First order of business is to get a table JB has

refurbished for the party up to the orangery.

Where were you guys when we moved the gates? Honestly!

I suppose getting your guests to lug their own table

and chairs is one way for them to work up an appetite.

I think many hands make light work.

Cos that would have taken me ages.

Well done, team.

And the legs have stayed on.

So excellent workmanship, JB.

Yeah, watch the step. Maybe come this way a little bit.

Yeah, that's nice.

Moving furniture is obviously thirsty work,

so it's time to hit the bar.

Is that going to fit? No.

Erin's painted dressers are already

in position in the corner of the orangery.

This is the first time we've tested out putting anything on the bar,

or using it at all, so this is really nice.

Seeing it getting dressed up

and actually looking what I wanted to achieve.

With the bar almost set, Erin has other matters to attend to.

Hello!

ERIN LAUGHS

Her events-organiser friend has just arrived.

Hi, Laura. Oh, my God. Hi.

How are you doing? Good to see you.

I actually can't believe it.

Do you like it? I mean, yeah!

It is gorgeous.

Fingers crossed she's happy not sleeping in the chateau.

Oh, my God, I can't wait to have a look around.

Slight technical hitch - I'm hoping you're not too disappointed,

but we've had a massive plumbing leak in the chateau,

so everyone is staying in the manor house.

OK. That's fine.

Right.

All going well so far.

Oh, this is so lovely.

Now all Erin and JB need to do is impress with the party.

Erin had told me about the orangery and organising this dinner

there and I guess I was a little apprehensive, just hearing about

it and seeing some photos, thinking that it was going to be very rustic.

Maybe not the kind of venue I'm used to working in.

Well, let's hope the orangery passes muster.

Coming up - as Fiona prepares for her big moment...

Bonjour, ladies and gentlemen. Would you like to gather round, please?

..a key member of the plaque-unveiling committee

goes missing.

I've lost Louie. Where is he? Louie?

ERIN: A lot of candles tonight, so let's get on it.

And will the final act of Erin

and JB's Shakespearean party merit applause?

Your friends should arrive any time now. We have, what is it,

50, 60 candles to light? So let's get on.

At Chateau du Masgelier, Fiona's big day has arrived.

Party day!

It's all coming together.

The band's arrived, and they're just doing a sound check at the moment.

It's getting all exciting.

With good reason.

The new wine cellar is fully stocked and the mayor will soon be arriving

to unveil Fiona's commemorative plaque.

OK, that looks beautiful

and I think it's in a really, really good position.

Now I'm going to just get a cover and then it makes it easy

for the mayor to just pull off.

Fiona's rustled up a simple curtain to cover the plaque

until the big moment.

So, I've gone for red so we've got a bit of red, white and blue.

No-one will even realise, pay attention, but there you go.

I need it to come off quite easily with the mayor.

That's good.

Whoops.

So, that works. That's good, isn't it?

Job done.

I have to have it all nice and straight.

As the band strikes up,

and after a quick change out of her work clothes,

Fiona and son Louie can greet their guests.

Hello, bonjour, hi.

From the steady stream of people arriving,

it looks as though some of the locals did get

their invites after all.

Hello, Mrs Lipstick. How are you?

Always red lips. I'm good, I'm really good. Hello!

This is Theresa. Fiona.

Fabulous turnout, and the wine cellar seems to be keeping

everyone well-watered.

The evening's going really fabulously.

We'll just fill everyone's glasses up

and the mayor is going to reveal the plaque.

I think what might be quite nice as well,

if my little Louie also reveals the plaque with the mayor as well,

as he's the little master of the house.

The man of the house. And he can take on the financial burden

after his mother's long gone.

To make sure the big reveal goes with a bang,

Fiona's got her hands on some confetti cannons.

Does the top come off?

Do you take the top off?

But they're causing some confusion.

Put one hand below the arrow area.

Get your glasses on.

That might be an idea!

I think you don't take the top off, do you?

No, you don't.

The cannons are passed out...

Hold it in the middle and turn.

..and the big moment is almost upon them.

Shall we do this, then?

I need my little boy. He's gone missing.

OK.

I've lost Louie.

Where is he?

Louie, we're going to reveal the plaque now.

So all you have to do is hold it and pull it

at the same time as the mayor. That's easy.

That is easy, yeah. OK, cool.

ON LOUDSPEAKER: Bonjour, ladies and gentlemen.

Would you like to gather around, please?

Time for the mayor to take centre stage.

And with that...

Do you want to hold the plaque?

Ready?

..Louie gets his big moment.

And with confetti filling the air...

Thank you so much.

..everyone seems to be just as delighted celebrating

the chateau's history as Fiona.

Tonight went fabulously.

I'm really, really pleased, a lovely turnout.

Revealed the plaque, that's fantastic.

Really glad that I took the additional time out

and created the new wine cellar,

and really looking forward to the next stage

and moving ahead with the chateau, carrying on with the restorations.

We're rooting for you too, Fiona!

The chateau is lucky to have you.

Back at Erin and JB's, it's also party time.

Before their soiree begins in the orangery,

there's just time for a few last finishing touches.

A lot of candles to light, so let's get on it.

Our friends should arrive any time now,

so we have, what is it, 50, 60 candles to...?

To light? So let's get on.

What could possibly go wrong?

Ow!

Sorry.

I could burn myself. HE LAUGHS

Um.

Oh, no, everything seems to be under control.

Oh, they're so nice, these twinkling lights, aren't they?

But I think it's just these little touches

which do take the time setting up, but it does make it look special

and I really want it to be a magical moment

for people who've come all the way to see us.

Good.

Isn't that lovely?

Looks amazing.

Just three months ago, Erin and JB's orangery was a dilapidated shell.

Now, with a new concrete floor, painted bar,

and beautifully decorated with greenery and candles,

it's become a magical event space fit for

a Shakespearean fairy queen.

Bonsoir, Madame.

You're looking beautiful.

Bonsoir, what a gorgeous dress! Come in.

You're looking fab. Wow.

This looks incredible.

Do you like it, Laura? I love it.

I think it looks amazing.

Do you? So even, honestly, with your events planner eye?

No, it looks amazing. It looks really, really good.

It looks really, really impressive.

Cool. I'll recruit you from London.

This is so nicely done.

Well, sante.

Cheers, sante.

Sante!

I had seen pictures, but it just doesn't do it justice.

It's so pretty, so romantic.

I think this is a great venue for someone to propose to,

do a drinks reception, I want to get engaged here.

It's just lovely. Really, really beautiful.

While everyone enjoys a Bourneau Bellini,

Erin and JB are keeping things running smoothly

in the makeshift kitchen they've set up outside.

First up, the entree.

The best option would be if we had a proper kitchen here.

Because, if it was raining, we would be in a little bit of a problem.

Hopefully the gin-cured salmon goes down well.

Oh, Oscar is coming to join us.

Wow. So this is Scottish salmon,

it's a sort of nod to our Scottish years

and to our Scottish friends.

Bon appetit.

Cheers.

Looks like someone else has his eyes on the fish course!

Excuse me, sir.

After a lot of hard work that's gone into putting the floor

into the orangery, doing up the bar, making the gate,

and all of the various little problems

that happened along the way, this is why it's worth it.

The orangery actually is going to be extremely important

to support us and it's also such a great venue

in that it's got the right feel, right tone, the right vibes

that we want for this place.

The launch of the orangery tops off a busy few months for Erin and JB.

They've begun renovation work on their south wing...

Not quite screaming chateau chic just yet.

..and put on their first ever paid event in the chateau itself.

Now the orangery is up and running,

hosting events is something they hope to do much more often.

I think having this space, now with a functioning floor,

with a proper entrance makes this a space that can host many events

and I think that's really a wonderful thing.

But also really very helpful for our business.

I couldn't agree more.

Our orangery is really important to our business.

I hope yours will start to generate the income you need

to crack on with your renovations.

Next time.

One couple has a bird-brained plan for their aviary...

Water comes in through the hole in the roof.

That's why I want you to fix it.

..but will it come back to bite them?

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

No.

Fiona starts a new renovation project.

Time is money.

Time is money, isn't it?

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

I reckon we're looking at 45 degrees.

..Sasha loses her cool.

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

SHE SIGHS

Subtitles by Red Bee Media