All language subtitles for Escape to the Chateau DIY S05E08.540p.HDTV.x264-GTi.English

I'm Dick Strawbridge and,
along with my wife Angel,
and our two children...

Welcome aboard, matey!

..we're now five years...
Woo!

..into restoring this
once-abandoned chateau.

It's 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.

Yeah!

We'll meet some old friends...

Smile!
I am.

..and new faces...

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

..and reveal more about our own
chateau life.

It is so much better in real life.

There'll be highs...
Yeah!

..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 put in for us.

..as well as businesses...

Wahoo!

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

Cheers everybody!

Today, these new chateau owners
splash out on insulation...

Looks like he over-ordered
but, we'll see.

..just when they need,
a spending freeze.

That explains the price.

It seemed expensive.

One couple search
for their dream chateau.

I'm blown away with just how
impressive it is, from the outside.

I just want to get inside.
I'm excited now.

And, in southwest France...

Look at the bottom of that.

He has 40 big, huge pieces of art,
to bring up here,

in the next two hours.

..a gallery opening,
draws high emotions.

If she's stressed,
it means we're up against the clock.

Stressed? I'm annoyed!
You're annoyed?

Ah!

Take it from me,
it's seriously hard work

making a new chateau
business a success...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

..But whatever your idea is,
it pays to be creative.

Like here, at 18th century Chateau
de Lomenie, a former winery

sat in 15 acres of land, it was
bought for £412,000

in 2017 by London artist Johnny and
his partner Ashley,

a TV producer from New York.

The best thing about owning
a chateau, I think, is just,

every day, waking up

and just seeing the beauty.

It's living the dream,
the French lifestyle dream.

Located near Bordeaux, so far these
two have financed renovations,

by Ashley regularly working abroad.

I split my time
between a hotel room,

because I have to work away
all the time, and Lomenie.

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

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

So the chateau can start making that
all-important income,

this summer they've transformed
their orangery

into an antiques emporium.

Next, Johnny plans to create
a gallery in an outbuilding,

where he can sell his art, run
creative workshops,

and put on events.

The space, is the reason they fell
for the chateau in the first place.

Oh, but wait till you see this room.
Oh, wow! Oh, wow!

It's fabulous!

Woo! Yes, I mean this is just
a dream for an artist.

Nearly two years on,
Johnny is finally in a position to

make that dream a reality.

As supposed to just four walls to
hang art piece, we want

to create these, themed rooms that
people would actually walk through.

So we're going to have the
abandoned chateau room.

We're going to have the
abandoned opera house,
an apothecary room.

We want clients to walk here
and go "Oh, my God.
I did not expect that."

The gallery launch,
is in just six weeks.

But, with the space currently
home to nothing

but decades of cobwebs, the amount
of work ahead is daunting.

Do you want to do the beams
and I'll do the windows?
Yeah, sure.

Especially for arachnophobe Ashley.

I absolutely despise spiders.

And there are hundreds of them.

And they're prehistoric,
they're massive.

Massive, massive spiders.

Must be all the French flies
they eat!

Mm.

Woo!
Those cobwebs are massive.

Oh, my God.

I love projects like this, because,
it's really going to breathe some,
life back into the old girl.

At the moment it's just got two
people and the dog.

Oh, my God!

Oh, that was the biggest
spider I've ever seen.

I'm so sorry.
Oh, beat it.

Do you want a ladder, Ash?

Oh, God.

So it's all good fun so far,

well, for Johnny, at least,

but there's a serious side
to this too.

The life of an artist,
is usually quite a poor lifestyle.

You know, because you're...

..you spend three months and you
build up to your exhibition,

so you're not earning all the money.

You finally showcase in some
swanky commercial space.

And then when you do sell, the
gallery takes 30 to 40%.

So, having this space means that
that all the money that we sell,

art and antiques, goes straight
back, into our pocket,
onto the chateau.

For Ashley to stop working abroad,
it's crucial the gallery is
a success.

They've only just started,
but it's looking good.

I'm very happy with it.

You can already see,
I mean, granted, it's nowhere,

near close to finished,

but you can already see
the difference.

To achieve Johnny's vision,
they've got their work cut out

getting the gallery ready
for opening, in six weeks' time.

Hi, baby dog!

Over 150,000 Brits call France home

and every year a lucky few
start their own chateau stories.

Finding the right place,
though, can be far from easy.

Meet Ian and his wife Kate,
who, after years of running a

pharmacy business in Australia,

have decided to make the move to
France.

For me, France reminds me very much
of Scotland, my birthplace and home.

And, just better weather.

So I'm really looking
forward to that.

I know all about the pull
of this country.

I also understand how difficult it
is

to find your perfect property here.

We've been looking for a chateau
for six years. Yes.

Yeah, a long time.

We've probably
viewed about 25 chateaux.

I think now's the time though.
Indeed.

The upside of having viewed so many,
is that Ian and Kate

know exactly what they're
looking for.

My must-haves in the chateau
are probably grand rooms.

Character is very important to me.

For me, I do like a larger,
property.

I look at the larger property
as more opportunity for business.

I would look to,
utilise events and weddings,

a gites business,
chambre d'hotes, so that...

He's always thinking business.
I want it to feel like home.

And if it had a moat,
that would be great.

Having already sold their house
and a stake in their business

in Australia, they've raised
£1.3 million for the move.

Their hearts,
are set on the Loire Valley,

where they've holidayed many
times over the years.

The first chateau they're viewing

is around 30 miles from the town
of Tours.

The beautiful 19th century Chateau
de la Poterie

is set in an
incredible 49 acres,

complete with its own river.

Adorned with ornate stonework, the
chateau boasts nine bedrooms

across the main house and two large
gites.

Wow! Just stop and have a little
look at that, darling.

Have you seen the extra view
of the gates down there? Beautiful.

There's an alleyway through those
beautifully mature trees, as well.
Oh, yeah.

See, I like that as an entrance.
Yeah, coming in.

Maybe swinging round?
Yeah, yeah.

This place is on the market
for £1.4 million,

£100,000 over budget.

But, as an up and running events
and holiday let business,

Kate and Ian could start making
an income straight away.

Showing them around,
is estate agent Bertrand.

Hello, Kate. Bonjour. How are you?
Very well.

Thank you for bringing us
to such a beautiful property.

It's a pleasure. It's stunning.
It's, very classic.

I just want to get inside.
I'm excited now!

Wow! Beautiful.

Yeah, love the staircase.
Yeah, yeah.

I like it. It's good.

Good entrance.

Good first impressions,
now on to the heart of the home.

And there we have the kitchen.
Ah! OK.

Very impressive.

I love the size of this kitchen,
but I would have to

strip it back and start again,

purely because
it's too modern for me.

Are there any old images? Photo?
Of ce chateau?

Part of the challenge for me
with a chateau is to

appreciate the beautiful
features from the centuries before.

Yeah.
And bring back some of those.

Like, the old, I'm old,
I like old.

Old is good.
We definitely like old.

You could see how the other
generations of our family could be
in here. Exactly.

It's not just size of this room
that's impressed them.

The view is amazing.
It looks perfect.

Usually I'd say, "Look at the state
of the windows, not the view."

but, as this chateau's been
extensively modernised,
I'll let you off, Kate.

You have a river? Yeah.

So this is this river that runs
through the property?

Yeah. This river? Ah! Wow! Yeah.

Oh, that's great.
Fantastic.

Next, on to the salon.

It's very lovely, again.

I love the trim. Yeah.
The cornice.

Really nice. It's beautiful.

I have to say that the beige is
possibly not me.

It's only decoration.

Yes, if you look at, just
look at the detailing on here. Yeah.

And, you know, just all around, it's
been protected

and not removed.

So, it's all just decoration.

Which excites me. That's good.
Yeah.

Well, the ground floor seems to
be on the right track,

but, after six years of searching,

will the rest of the chateau
be able to deliver?

Coming up, this new chateau owner,
hits the tiles...

I've done about 50 trips
down to the stables.

..in a race against time,
to be open for the spring.

He just needs to have a
bit of a rest,

cos it's a marathon,
it's not a sprint.

And at Chateau de Lomenie, Johnny's
gallery vision starts to take shape.

Already I can see with paint on it,
it's going to look great.

In northern France,
is the stately Chateau Granville.

Boasting 16 rooms,
and set in 15 acres of parkland,

its brand-new owners are Anna,
a former fashion designer,

her Italian husband Philipp,

a film-maker, and their two
young daughters, Lily and Ella.

It is quite crazy but
it's also really exciting,

cos it's going to be an
amazing opportunity to,

change our lives, and
it's...it is a dream to do this.

Sometimes I think that this whole
chateau project is a huge

excuse for...for all the
things I love to do.

I love tools, I love renovating.

It's a huge place to have
a lot of boy toys.

Close to the Normandy coast, the
couple have sunk their life savings

and taken out a huge loan,
to afford the £900,000 chateau,

with the aim of opening,
as a B&B in the spring.

But a recent inspection

revealed costly work
they hadn't bargained for.

SPEAKS IN FRENCH

I am, not as much intimidated
by the amount of work,

than by the fact that we don't have
enough money, to do that renovation.

We have to run that business
to have some money coming in.

Otherwise, the whole project
doesn't work and we have to sell.

Before Philipp makes
a start on the B&B rooms,

he wants to create an apartment
for the family in the attic.

They're currently bunking in rooms

that have yet to
be done on the first floor.

Today, he's tackling the floor

in what would be one
of their daughter's bedrooms.

In many places of the chateau,
we have this type of tiles

and they are terracotta tiles.

But unfortunately, many of them
are in really bad condition.

The chateau was occupied during
Second World War by German soldiers

that resulted in most of
these tiles being broken.

I'm going to try to rescue as many
tiles as possible

because I want to use them
in another room maybe later.

There are 80 square
metres of tiles up here,

and prising them up one by
one is a time-consuming job.

Philipp's leaving the ones he can
re-use immediately in the attic,

and storing the rest in
their stables.

Which means a lot of
stairs to negotiate.

I've done about 15 trips
down to the stables.

Now it's the mortar underneath.

That's going to be another...

..I guess, 20-30 trips to
the garden this time.

It's a huge job for one person.

But weeks later, all the tiles
are up, and the attic cleared.

Philipp's doing an amazing
job, so I'm really happy.

They are making progress.

but Anna's worried all the work
might be taking its toll.

I think, like, last week,
he seemed really tired.

And he wouldn't admit it,
but I could see he was exhausted.

And it's really physical
so, he just needs to

take maybe one day off a week,
and have a bit of a rest,

cos it's a marathon,
it's not a sprint.

Even so, Philip's efforts
are medalworthy.

Yeah, here are... All these tiles,
they are the healthy ones.

OK.

These ones here, they're all in good
condition. In good condition?

Oh, and I absolutely want to use
that one with a dark...

Oh, wow. You see this one?

Yeah. That's crazy.

That one's probably one
of the builder's dogs, who left...

I love it. ..these marks.

It's great.
It's also, you know...?

Yeah, we'll definitely
have these up. Yeah.

So I think,
keep the tiles where we can.

So for example, in the bathroom
and maybe in the entrance hallway.

And then the back bedrooms,
we'll just put nice wooden floor.

To keep some of the characteristic
of the house, you know,

to keep some of the details.

That's one more job chalked off.

But if Anna and Philipp are to have
any chance of hitting their

target of opening in the spring,
they have to keep plugging away.

Over 300 miles south,
at Chateau de Lomenie,

it's just four weeks into the launch
of Johnny and Ashley's art gallery.

Before I paint it, I just need to
put up a little bit of, like,

wallpaper here and there.

He's been working at
dividing the gallery space

into what will eventually
be his individually-themed areas.

I've gone ahead and put
up stud walls

to create a pocket here, a room,

which is going to run all
the way along here.

So this is going to be
abandoned chateau room.

But I must say, doing it
on your own is pretty tricky.

Johnny's currently
flying solo, as Ashley,

who's work trips abroad fund the
renovations, is away in the arctic.

When Ashley's here,
she's really good.

She, like, pushes me.

That's what I need.

The tricky thing with this,
is that, you know,

the invites have been sent out.

The chef of the
catering's been booked.

The wine's been booked.

So it's too late to cancel
anything now.

It's all on Johnny
to transform the space

into something that
meets his artistic vision.

So, before I actually put
the base coat on,

what I've done previously with art
is I've used just wallpaper
randomly.

Just pockets here.

Torn, and tatty.

Laminate it here,
but leave a little flap.

And it gives the impression of
generations of wallpaper over years.

I must say, this is the
first time I've heard of a chateau

getting a make-under.

I've never ever wanted, just,
you know, white wall gallery space.

It's boring and we view this
gallery space as a living,

breathing piece of art.

Paper glued, Johnny can start
sticking it to the stud wall.

Already I can see with paint on it,

and with a nice distressed look,
it's going to look great.

While the paper dries,
he's moving next door.

This space here is going
to be the apothecary shop.

So, I've spent the last
couple of days

making and cutting this panelling.

It's had two coats of black,
so today, I'm going to be

just using some gold paint to
bring some accents into it.

I do have an affinity with gold.

Just a few finishing touches.

We want it to be like people
stepping back in time.

And I must say, I really
love this, I really do.

It's been a productive morning.

Time to give the boss
a progress report.

Hey, babe.

Hi.

Have you got time?

Yeah, I do. Yeah, OK.

Do you want to see
the apothecary shop?

Oh, wow. That's amazing.

Ashley's impressed.

But as she's not due back until four
days before the gallery launch,

Johnny has a mountain to
climb on his own

to get this space ready.

Bye, sweet.

I'll speak to you soon.

Bye. Bye, babe.

Back in the Loire Valley,

Ian and Kate are viewing the
gorgeous 19th century

Chateau de la Poterie.

They've been impressed with
what they've seen so far.

As they want to offer guest
accommodation,

they're checking out the bedrooms,
starting on the first floor.

This is a good size room.

It's got, original floors. Yeah.

I think the guests can stay here,
they've got their own en suite.

You can rent all the chateau.

With a different gite around.

With the other buildings.

I didn't realise,
that's really good.

And they have good occupancy?

They have a lot of people come here?

Yeah. Do you know the rental?
And they get good money for it?

Yeah.

We are in the heart of Loire Valley,
and the Loire chateaux,

so we've got a lot of tourists.

That's what we want.
That's a tremendous asset.

That's a real big box tick,
that one, yeah.

Yeah, so you can leave outbuildings
and rent the chateau,

or live in the chateau and...

I want to live in the chateau.

I'd like to say the
outbuildings, but no.

I'm with you, Kate.

It seems like the business
stacks up here.

But what about their possible
accommodation?

The master bedroom. Fantastic.

This would work very well as a
main bedroom, it really would.

Yeah. I love it
cos I love the view.

The whole property has
got a good feel about it.

Yeah. I like it.

Well, Ian and Kate are making all
the right noises about this place.

After six years of searching,
could it be the one?

Thank you very much, Bertrand.

That was lovely. Thank you.
A pleasure to meet you.

Thanks again, have a lovely evening.
Thank you very much.

I absolutely loved it.

It's exactly the style that
we've been looking for, for so long.

And it's very romantic, it's
got a river running through it.

The chateau was at the higher
end of our budget.

However, it really requires
a minimal investment to actually

get to a stage we
can actually trade as a business.

Yeah. I've just got a really good
feel about it.

I can see myself living there,
you know, for years to come.

And I can see my
grandchildren running around.

Absolutely.

I love it.

Quite emotional. Yeah, it is.

This has set the bench pretty high.

Coming up.

The minimum distance in between
these is written in
the instructions.

Philipp's making it
up as he goes along.

But I am too lazy to
look into the instructions.

I don't have them,
I would need to Google for them.

And in southwest France,
Ashley's back.

It's probably a week's
worth of work that we need to

get done in 15 hours.

It's a little scary.

But has Johnny painted
himself into a corner?

I've not reached that stage where
I look at the work that's been

done and feel, like, confident it's
going to be ready for tomorrow.

In all honesty, yeah,
I'm really worried and

still so much to do,
isn't there, Ryan?

Yeah.

Yeah.

In Normandy, it's a big day
for Anna and Philip.

The insulation for the apartment
is being delivered.

And with autumn
temperatures dropping

and the schedule slipping,
it's not before time.

It looks like we
over-ordered, but we'll see.

That explains the price
we paid for that product.

It seemed expensive, though.

You can never have
too much insulation.

With money tight, Philip and Anna

have employed two
work away volunteers to help.

Given free board
in return for labour,

it means their entire
budget goes on renovations.

We're in a bit of a rush,

because we don't want it
to get wet, and it's raining.

And then, Philip's gonna start
putting the insulation up.

Until this came, we couldn't
finish off the apartment,

so we were a bit delayed.

With the insulation unloaded,

Philip's keen to
get it installed ASAP,

but he's learning as he goes.

So we are all doing this
for the first time, besides,

it's a bit of a trial and error.

Took me, really, two or
three months to figure out

what the best way of
insulating would be.

I'm looking forward to do that now,
and to see how it works out

and to see if it's
a straightforward process

or if it needs an
expert to be called in.

I hope not. I hope I will
be able to do it myself.

He's already fired up
his laser level

and fixed galvanises steel railings
to the wall in preparation.

This is a system that allows you
to clip it into the wall,

and then you press
the insulation on top of it.

But what Philip doesn't
know is how far apart

the plastic pegs need to be.

The minimum distance
in between these

is written in the instructions.

But I'm too lazy to look
into the instructions.

I don't have to. I would
need to Google for that,

so I'm just improvising.

Guessing probably
isn't the best option.

To be effective, the insulation
has to fit perfectly,

and you really need
a dust mask for this.

We calculated, if
we heat the whole chateau,

it will be about a £1,000 a month.

With the insulation, it could
come down at least to half of it.

How's it going? All right.

It's not as fast as I hoped, but...

You're covered in insulation.

Wow, looks good. Yeah.

It's gonna be lovely and warm
up here, so that's nice.

I'm really excited to, just, you
know, get a liveable space again,

where we have a proper shower,
a proper bath.

And so I can't wait
to finish this space.

Let's hope you can get
the family in before winter.

Back in southwest France, Chateau de
Lomenie is a hive of activity.

SAW WHIRS

It's the day before
Johnny's grand gallery opening.

And not only is Ashley
back from her work trip,

but the cavalry have also arrived

in the shape of Johnny's sister,
Emma, and her husband, Ryan.

SHE GIGGLES
It was meant to be a holiday.

But you like your big
brother, don't you, sis?

I do, Johnny. I love it.

The man himself, though,
is feeling the strain.

You need any staples
for that, darling?

The lead up to this point
has been stressful

cos, you know, we're
still a long ways to go.

And I must say, it's nice to have my
brother-in-law and my sister here.

While Johnny has made progress
with the gallery's themed areas,

Ashley's wondering if he's
bitten off more than he can chew.

It definitely is going
to be down to the wire.

We have people coming, obviously,
tomorrow, at five o'clock.

And as you can see...

SHE CHUCKLES
..we're nowhere near ready.

The apothecary shop
needs to be finished,

which means
plasterboard on the inside.

The whole thing has to be painted,
the windows have to be put in,

it has to be dressed.

The abandoned chateau room
needs to be dressed.

The stage, we're still
working on curtains and drapes.

What else? Everything.
SHE LAUGHS

Everything still needs to happen.

So Johnny is really,
really stressed right now

because this is his baby.
He wants everything to be perfect,

perfect, perfect.

Screw it up to here.

It's probably a week's worth of work

that we need to get
done in 15 hours.

It's a little scary.

With so much to do
and so little time,

the only chance they have
is to divide and conquer.

Smoother than a baby's
bottom, aren't they?

As Ryan sets to work finishing
off the apothecary walls

and Emma paints its windows,
Ashley is making her stage debut.

So this is supposed to be
an abandoned French opera house.

So, I want to have these
beautiful silk red drapes,

starting at the very top
and kind of billowing down.

The beam is in the way.

Luckily, Johnny is on hand to help.

See this one, sweet?
Are you gonna pin it to that?

Cos when you pinched it,
I could see through it.

Give me that gun.

If you can, can you pinch it again?

As if you're closing
that gap to the beam.

That looks good, darling. Yeah? OK.

Tell her it looks lovely, Ryan.

It looks lovely, Ash.

Thank you, Ryan.
HE LAUGHS

Ashley never stops astounding me.

It took her three days to get home,
three days and six flights.

I picked her up from the airport,

and we went antique
shopping to dress this.

And that's what I love
about her, you know?

You know, she hits the floor
running, smile, big eyes.

Straight away, energy level,
straight back up.

I'm plugged in, I'm recharged.

Well, you need to be,

because in the apothecary,
there's a problem with the windows.

Johnny, we need to trim these.

They're out. You're sure they're not
for that mount? Positive.

You're sure? It's a bigger gap.
All right, sorry, sis.

Who measured that?

The stud's slightly out. Yeah.

So we just need to trim a little bit
off of this bit. All right.

Tell you, I'm getting nervous now.

With the day getting on,

every little delay is ramping up
the pressure on Johnny.

It's scary thinking
about the volume of work.

I've not reached that stage

where I look at the work
that's been done, and feel, like,

confident that it's gonna
be ready for tomorrow.

In all honesty, yeah,
I-I'm really worried.

And there's still so much
to do, isn't there, Ryan? Yeah.

Yeah.

Nearly 300 miles north,

Ian and Kate have come to
the east end of the Loire Valley

to view their next chateau.

Oh, wow.

How nice is this?
I love a courtyard.

SHE GASPS

Today, they're visiting the
beautiful Chateau de la Motte,

a 30-minute drive from Orleans.

This time, they've brought along
daughter Jade, husband Ryan,

and their children, as well as
Ryan's parents, Roy and Linda,

for a second opinion.

Hi. Bonjour, Freddie.

Meeting them all
is estate agent Frederic.

This is all of our family.
Yes. Bonjour.

Bonjour. My daughter, Jade.
Bonjour. Bonjour. Hi.

Bonjour. Ryan. Bonjour.

I reckon this place
might just have the mix

of homeliness and
business potential,

these two are looking for.

With 19 rooms, several
outbuildings ripe for conversion,

and even a moat for Ian, all set in
a whopping 37 acres of parkland,

it's on the market
for £1.2 million,

£100,000 under their budget.

Wow. This is beautiful.
Beautiful.

La periode de construction,

du classicisme francais.

Yes, very excited to see.

It's looks very well-kept,
but needs a little bit of work,

which we're very keen to
be involved to do, yeah.

We're not scared for the renovation.

Can we go inside and have
a little look? Yes, yes, yes.

First impressions are good.

Now to see the inside.

My word. Oh, wow.

Oh, this is the floor I love.
It's a beautiful floor.

Wow! And the fireplace.

Yeah. How pretty.

This is a lovely room. Yes.

Oh, beautiful.

Typical 17th century. Yes.

And just the authentic... Yes.

It's...everything's as it should be.

It just needs to be refreshed.

Fantastic. The panelling, this is
exactly what we're looking for.

Yeah. I can decorate the way I like.
It's really just, decoration, yeah.

The character is still here.

It's like a good size too.

It's grand, but it's not
over the top. Yes. Exactly.

It seems the whole
family is impressed,

and the good news
continues next door.

Another beautiful room.
You have the dining room. Yes.

I'm really keen to bring back
the integrity of how it was.

Because it is such a classic, you
know, and you want to respect that.

Yeah, you don't want to ruin it.

We've very much about
the soul of the property,

the spirit of the property.

And as much as we want to have a
business, we still want it to...

Has to be a family home.

There is a lot of place
to make chambre d'hotes.

That's exciting. Yes.
Perfect. It's good.

Ian and Kate are impressed
with the original features.

So what do they think
of the modern kitchen?

Oh, dear...the floor.

SHE LAUGHS

That's OK, it's some people's taste.

Not mine.

Ah, well, that's an easy fix.

I've always wanted to have a
really big kitchen, though. Yeah.

With a nice big sort of
farmhouse table in the middle,

which we've already got at home.

And I love these.
Yeah. These look...

So authentic.

Yeah!

And you can get under it, just.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

OK, as long as my hair's flattened.
THEY LAUGH

I'm good, I'm good. Or you're
not wearing your high heels.

I'm not wearing my heels, no.
That's only weekends.

With the downstairs
winning them over,

it's time for a look
at the bedrooms.

OK, yeah.

Original floors...

It's just all original.
..fireplaces.

Good size too. It is.

And there's an en-suite
as well, which is good.

Yeah, no, that's great.

And good size rooms,

so if we want to do chambre
d'hotes... Yeah. ..it'd be perfect.

Crucially, it seems Ian
and Kate can see potential,

both as a home and a business.

So now to do some digging.

How long has the chateau
been on the market?

Since, two months, three months.

Three months, OK. Yes.

Now we begin to have some
propositions. Yes. Yes.

So probably have to act fairly fast.

Yeah. I would imagine, when
it's so beautiful. Yeah.

Thank you. Thank you, thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you.

Bon journee. Thank you.
A tres bientot. Thank you.

Au revoir.

We're really impressed with
the chateau and the gardens.

Probably exceeded my expectations.

Definitely exceeded my expectations.

It's very nice. Yeah.

Very excited. I don't want
to look too excited,

because I want to be able to
negotiate. Yeah. Then, you know...

There's just such a variety
of things we could do.

I think tonight we need to go home

and have a chat about
the chateau. Yes, yeah.

Definitely, because obviously,
there's other people interested.

Yeah. And I don't want to miss out.

It's been a promising couple
of days for Ian and Kate.

After six long years,

they could be on the verge
of a new life in France.

Coming up...

What is this here for?

This is nothing. Nothing?

..Anna reaches breaking
the end of her tether...

I don't feel frustrated.

I'm just a bit impatient,
let's say. Yeah.

..and on the day of the
grand gallery opening...

Some people like to work
right up to the wire,

and then some people
like to be organised

and have it all done ahead of time.

..Ashley gives Johnny
the brush off...

You still love me, though,
don't you darling?

I'm wavering.
SHE LAUGHS

In Normandy, it's now
one month past the date

Philip hoped to have the
family apartment finished.

And Anna is getting
increasingly desperate.

It's getting a lot colder.

All of a sudden, autumn's come,

and the chateau is not
being heated right now.

So it's kind of getting
more and more urgent

that we get this finished

and that we can move
up here and be warm.

Because we've got two little
ones and, you know, at night,

I'm, like, putting them in,
like, ten layers of clothes

to keep them warm,
and socks, and me too,

I mean, I'm wearing socks, jumper.

I went to bed with a jumper on the
other night, cos it was so cold.

Jumpers do tend to be
a part of chateau life.

Up in the apartment,
it's slow going.

With the insulation now in,
Philip's boarded out,

ready for plastering.

But he's hit a snag.

I have to do a repair today because

by putting on the plasterboard,
I made a slight mistake.

The problem we have is

if I press here and then the
whole... You can see it's wonky.

And to finish plasterboards,
you put the tape on all the gaps,

and the tape is strong, and it
keeps the... It closes the gap,

and then you can paint
over it and plaster over it.

If the board moves, the tape
will crease, cracking the plaster.

So, it is a bit annoying to have to
do it again and to take it off,

because I was very
happy once I put it on.

When you're doing everything
yourself and learning as you go,

little setbacks like this
build up your experience.

Now, that should solve the problem.

As much as I would love to say
these are all beginner's mistakes,

I think it's in my nature
to make that kind of mistake.

I think I'm just not really
good with these things,

with plasterboards, everything
that needs precise measurement

and a lot of patience.

And it's just not me.

Well, then, it's a
good job you've got Anna

to keep you on the
straight and narrow.

Hey. Hey. What are you doing?

Oh, nothing.

What's going on?

Well, I made a little
mistake. Oh. Yeah.

What did you do?

Um, nothing, nothing really bad.

It's just, I... One of the
plasterboards wasn't properly

fixed here. Yeah.

So I had to take it off
and reinforce it. OK.

But it's good that you're here. OK.

Cos you can help me with
putting back the plasterboard.

Anna, the perfectionist designer,

is just the steady
hand that Philip needs.

OK. You really have to be...
Precise. Yeah.

Good. Ah, this is so much fun.

It is.

It is the fun part, though.
Yeah. You did all the hard work.

I did the hard work, you
did the fun screwing part.

Yep. That's...not fair.

DRILL WHIRS

HE YAWNS

Plasterboard sorted,

sharp-eyed Anna's site
visit isn't over yet.

What is this here, Philip?

This is nothing. Nothing? OK.

SHE LAUGHS
Don't laugh, don't laugh.

No, I'm not laughing.
You've done a great job.

I think so.

I mean, I don't feel
frustrated. Yeah.

I'm just a bit impatient, let's say.

Because I just really want
to get this finished,

and be able to move up here
and have our own space.

But there's still quite a lot
to do, isn't there, in here?

So now, how many weeks
do you reckon? A month.

Another month. Yeah.

WHISPERS: That's really optimistic.

Yeah, I think that's
optimistic too. I'm not sure.

It's a month. Yeah.

Keep smiling, you two,

you're another step closer
to having your own space.

And it really will be
worth it in the end.

At Johnny and Ashley's, it's the day
of their grand gallery opening.

It should be a joyous day, right?

But still so much to do.

So it just takes the edge off,
you start feeling that pinch.

Johnny's idea of dividing
the gallery into themed areas

has proved a massive challenge.

So, last night, we painted
walls, we hung chandeliers.

I think I carried, I don't know,

100 pieces of plasterboard,
up and down the stairs.

I can barely move right now.

But after working into
the wee hours,

with the help of Johnny's
sister, Emma, and husband, Ryan,

it's almost ready.

If I think of my deadline,
I get really anxious.

And that's when the
panic stations set in.

Sound the alarm, then!

With less than two hours until
their art-loving guests arrive,

Johnny's only now turning his
attention to getting his artwork in.

I'm taking off the
art from the chateau,

which we knew was a temporary thing,

you know, it's going
into the galleries.

Ashley's not too happy.

There's a few of her
favourites getting pinched.

But it needs to all go up.

It all needs to be
for sale, of course.

Oh, look at the bottom of that.

She won't like that, but...

..I'll take that off.

Ugh, spiders.

But it seems this time, spiders
are the least of Ashley's worries.

You know he has, probably,
I don't know, 40 pieces,

big, huge pieces of art,
to bring up here...

..in the next two hours.

And place them. And he's
doing it one at a time.

It's...it's unbelievable.

Can we just go up to this step next?

So I just...

..I can't watch him.
It makes me crazy.

I'll move it this way, bruv.

SHE SIGHS

Now, how relevant is that?

"Time devours all things."

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

That's great, mate. Thank you.

Some people like to work
right up to the wire,

that's just kind of
what makes them tick.

And then some people
like to be organised

and have it done ahead of time.

She'll never get stressed, Ashley.

She's so calm and level-headed,

if she's stressed, it means
we're up against the clock.

I not stressed, I'm annoyed.
SHE CHUCKLES

You're annoyed.

You still love me, though,
don't you, darling?

I'm wavering.
SHE LAUGHS

Come on, you two, no time to argue,

your guests are due any minute!

Just one final push.

Oh, it looks good there.
Does it? Yeah.

I'm not sure against the gold. Yeah.
But it needs to go up.

Let's bring the rest up, and
then you can hang stuff. OK?

Someone has to say no.

Oh, my goodness.

I think I'm about to
just go take a shower,

and get ready.

And it is what it is at this point.

And...it's too much.

Too much.

It's been six hard weeks of toil,

but by the skin of their teeth,

Johnny and Ashley
have just about done it.

The run-down space they fell
in love with two years ago,

has finally and gloriously
been transformed into a gallery,

complete with opera stage,
abandoned chateau, and apothecary.

It's a work of art in itself.

Hey, mate. How are you?
You all right?

Aw! Nice to see you.

HE LAUGHS
Nice to meet you.

It's very romantic in here.

I love all the natural
stone and the gold. Mm-hm.

It's just really beautiful.

It's not just Johnny and Ashley
who can take the credit.

I'm just gonna have
a good drink. Yeah!

That's about it, and
enjoy the evening.

Knackered, but a nice cold
beer is well-deserved.

Now for the formal stuff.

Thank you so much for coming.
This is a big night for us.

You know, we bought this place
exactly two years ago, today.

So it's our two year anniversary.

Basically, what made us fall in love
with this place was this space,

and this is sort
of our vision for it.

And so, you know, tonight's
the night that it's here.

SHE CHUCKLES

Johnny would love to say a few
words, but he has disappeared.

THEY LAUGH
Where is he?

Mr Darko?

Oh, oh!

THEY CHEER

That's playing to the gallery.

Come and join us.
SHE LAUGHS

On behalf of myself and Ashley,

we'd like to officially
welcome you to the grand opening

of the Alchimie Art Gallery
here at Chateau de Lomenie.

That's when you clap.

THEY CHEER

Vive la France.
God bless France!

Thank you so much.
THEY CHEER

It's the moment that
we've been working towards.

So that means more future
events to bring people through.

And if we can function as an art
gallery, and sell art and antiques,

that's why we bought
into this lifestyle.

You know, for so many years,
it's just been cobwebs and silence.

And so now, all of a sudden, you
know, there's music and people,

and I love it. Yeah.
Big, big day today.

Very happy.

A celebration on so many levels.

Excellent work, you two.

It's taken two years,
but with both your gallery,

and antiques emporium
now open for business,

a bright future for the
chateau is in the frame.

Next time, Anna and Philip's
marathon restoration project

keeps on running...

You reckon that's OK, Philip? Yeah.

Feels like this bit is really out.

Yeah, it happened to me
in my early years as well.

..Ian and Kate continue
their six year search...

It has the look of a room, Francois,
that would have a secret door.

We do have one. That's awesome!

..and three generations
of new chateau owners...

Mummy! Bonjour.

..attempt to win over
the local community.

It seems to be going all right.

Get them all a little bit tipsy.

It's nice.

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