Escape to the Chateau (2016–2019): Season 1, Episode 1 - Finding the Chateau - full transcript

(light music)

- [Narrator] Every
year, 10,000 Brits

cross the channel to start
a new life in France.

(speaking in French)

Dick Strawbridge and
his partner Angel

are planning to join them.

- [Dick] Merci.

- [Narrator] But
while some might dream

of a place by the Med,
a Parisian apartment,

or perhaps a small
country cottage,

Dick and Angel are
dreaming bigger.



(inspiring music)

Much bigger.

- This is truly beautiful.

(inspiring music)

- [Narrator] This
is the story of

one family's
extraordinary adventure

turning an abandoned French
chateau into a dream home

(cheering)

in time for the ultimate
fairytale wedding.

(bright music)

Over the next year, designer
Angel and engineer Dick

will discover the
chateau's secrets-

- I've never been in here.

- These are all Victorian
clothes, tons of them.



- [Narrator] Try to
live like the locals--

(laughing)

- The last time I studied
French was 39 years ago.

- [Narrator] And
work day and night to

restore its rooms to
their 19th century glory.

- This place is amazing.

It's so incredibly important
to bring it back to life.

(inspiring music)

- [Narrator] The size
of the task is enormous.

(clunking)

This is DIY, craft,
and construction-

- That's a singing Frenchman
on our roof, he's whistling.

(inspiring music)

- [Narrator] On the
grandest of scales.

(inspiring music)

(upbeat string music)

Dick and Angel are searching

for the perfect
French lifestyle.

- Garden tomatoes.

Good, we can make a nice
summer soup with some of that.

- [Narrator] They
yearn for a simple life

in the French countryside.

- They look like they've made
their own bread over there.

(upbeat string music)

The whole idea of going
to live in France,

it just allows you to have
all the things you dream of.

Decent wine, decent food, a
really nice place to live.

- Merci!

Au revoir.

Standard of life,
family life, fairytale.

Living the dream. (laughs)

We are, we're actually in
search of living the dream.

- [Narrator] Dick and Angel

imagined buying a
small country cottage.

But with French property prices
much cheaper than England,

they discovered their
300,000 pound budget

could buy them
something much grander.

(gentle music)

There are over 40,000
chateaus in France,

tower-topped fairytale mansions

dating from the ninth
to the 19th century.

Mysterious and romantic,

these icons of
French architecture

are synonymous with the
country's noble past,

and its bloody revolution.

They dominate the
French landscape,

from the Loire to the Alps,
the Dordogne to Brittany.

And although many cost millions,

if you're prepared
to put the work in,

some can be picked up for
as little as 150,000 pounds.

- We were just thinking,
"Well, hold on.

For the price of
a one bedroom flat

in the East End of London,

we can actually have a
chateau and 10 acres.

We can't believe our luck.

(whimsical music)

- [Narrator] For
the past four years,

Dick and Angel have been
searching for a chateau

from Callais to the Pyrenees.

- There we go.

- [Narrator] Former army
colonel and engineer, Dick

wants a chateau to do up.

- We've got the castle loo.

It's a brick and mortar, yeah?

- [Narrator] And,
as he's a keen chef,

enough land to
grow his own crops.

- [Dick] I'm not sure
about these palm trees.

Angela likes them.

- [Narrator] Angel adores
the glamor of the past.

- This is the stuff
that just gets me going.

(laughs)

- [Narrator] She wants
a fairytale castle

where she can run a business,
hosting vintage weddings.

- I don't like fancy
things, I like old things.

That's why I'm with Dick.

(laughs)

- [Narrator] They're prepared
to put their life savings

into buying a chateau.

And bringing it back to life.

- [Dick] What do
you think of this?

- [Angel] I think it
might be a bit overpriced.

- [Narrator] But they
just can't seem to agree

on the right one.

- We sort of like have
this fantasy, don't we,

of this perfect kitchen.

And this doesn't do it-

- But, you know if
we think about it,

this doesn't start
off being perfect-

- Dick's incredibly alpha male.

And I boss him around.

(laughs)

It isn't the French kitchen
that we had in our minds.

- But, it's almost like,
could this be the pantry?

- She's a very successful
business woman,

she likes getting her own way.

I'm a retired army colonel.

(laughs)

It's a little bit
of this, you know.

(church bell rings)

(whimsical music plays)

- [Narrator] So far,

they've been back and
forth to France six times.

And they're still searching.

Today they're driving to the
town of Martigne-sur-Mayenne,

about 180 miles
southwest of Paris.

With them are their
children, two year old Arthur

and six month old Dorothy.

As well as Angel's mom,
Jenny and dad, Steve.

This is a family adventure.

- [Dick] Fromageries
to the left.

- [Jenny] Right.

- [Dick] Was it fromagerie?

- Geez

- [Narrator] The chateau
they're about to see

is new to the market.

At 250,000 pounds, it's
within their budget.

- [Dick] This could be
the entrance way here.

- [Angel] Yes!

Wow!

- Look at that!

Well, I think you should
put an offer in now.

(Angel laughs)

(uplifting music)

- First impressions are
ridiculously positive.

Angela wants to make an offer,

and we haven't even
seen anything yet.

This is truly beautiful.

- [Narrator] The
Chateau-de-la-Motte Husson

was built in the 1860s

as a grand gesture of love
from a lord to his lady.

It's built on the foundations
of a 15th century fort

and comes complete
with its own moat.

- [Dick] I love it.

- I love it, I love it more.

- But, having said that, we
haven't looked inside yet.

Common sense.

Let's just think for
a little bit here.

We have to look first.

That's a walled garden.

(whimsical music plays)

- [Narrator] The chateau
has 12 acres of land,

hundreds of trees,
7 out-buildings,

and a space for farming
animals and growing crops.

- See all the wires
going up the side?

That's where's been
plants in the past,

growing against the walls.

It's years and years of work.

To turn it into
something phenomenal.

- [Angel] Oh my God, oh my God.

- [Dick] Right this
is the orangery.

- [Angel] Bigger than my house.

- [Narrator] Outside,
is impressive,

but they've yet to see
what's behind the front door.

The man with a key is a
state agent, Francois.

- [Francois] Come on, come on,
come on, Grandma, Grand-dad,

- This is nice.

- This is not too shabby.

(uplifting music)

- [Narrator] The chateau
is on five floors

and has an astonishing 45 rooms.

Each floor is 160 square meters.

Within it's four walls,

you could fit nine
new British homes.

- We've only just
put it on the market,

and we see that we
have many visits

that are going to happen,

so I would be surprised
if it stayed long

on the market.

- It's been owned
by the same family

since it was built
150 years ago.

- [Angel] Wow.

- One quarter has been
changed quite recently

because of a storm, and
the rest is original.

- [Narrator] The
grand entrance hall

would once have welcomed guests

to lavish banquets and parties.

- [Angel] No way.

It's a dumbwaiter.

Darling, we're in business.

- [Dick] Be careful,
darling on the stairs.

- [Narrator] The servants
would have prepared

the food downstairs in the
sous-sol, the basement.

- [Francois] With the bell?

(rings)

- [Angel] Service.

- [Narrator] This was once
a kitchen with six rooms

for different types
of food preparation.

Next door is the wine cellar
with space for 5000 bottles.

- [Dick] But also, we love it.

Because we live in a kitchen.

That's for the servants
to actually tell us

what's happening, look.

- I need you in the dining room.

(Angel laughs)

- [Narrator] The
chateau's faded interiors

boast a mix of styles
from across the ages.

Telling the story of each
generation that's lived here.

- [Dick] Obviously, it's tired.

There's more to bring in.

But this is-

- It's pretty incredible.

(whimsical music)

- [Narrator] The 45 room chateau
and it's extensive grounds

are listed at 250,000 pounds.

That's 345,000 euros.

It's the top end
of their budget,

but after less than an hour,

they're falling under its spell.

- I'm trying to be sensible,
this is a huge house.

It's got the orangery, it's
got the walled gardens,

it's got all these
things going for it.

But we're talking a lot of money

to get it back to
where it should be.

It is so doable, and
it is so beautiful.

It's almost too good?

This is included,
the walled garden

and those buildings
are included.

- Part of it, I'll show you.

- Part of it?

Okay.

- [Narrator] A developer
has already put an offer in

for the walled garden.

He wants to build two new homes,

right in the middle
of the grounds.

- He has a potential
purchaser for half,

for one of these houses,
for 50,000 euros.

- [Dick] What do you think?

- [Angel] We need to have
the walled garden in it.

- What is the best
they will take for that

if we put an offer in now
and push very quickly.

- We're cash buyers.

- We're only just cash buyers-

- I know.

Not having the walled garden
is just a no go for us.

We need the stables.

- [Francois] You
need the whole place.

- Yeah, I think for it
to work for us, we do.

So keep it in mind
that we want to buy it

and that we're cash buyers,

what will he take
for the entirety?

- If you say I offer 390
today for the whole lot,

then I stop the visits,
I'll give you an option,

and we sign a compromise,
in the next two weeks.

- Dick?

(laughs)

If we offer 390,
they'll stop the visits,

and we'll get going.

- [Francois] Thank
you very much-

- [Dick] You're welcome.

- Congratulations, eh?

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] After
years of searching,

their dream chateau is
finally within their grasp.

- She's found the one she wants.

We're in trouble.

- [Narrator] But to secure
the house and walled garden,

they'll have to spend 280 of
their 300,000 pound budget.

Leaving next to
nothing for renovation.

- Look at the sewage, look
at the electrics in here

if you actually look
at the lead paint,

it basically says, don't buy me.

(melancholy music)

For forty years, the
Chateau-de-la-Motte
has stood empty.

It's 45 rooms and
12 acres of land

in the heart of the
French countryside,

abandoned and neglected.

But all that is about to change.

(uplifting music)

- Do you want me to wrap this?

- Do you want it in the kitchen,

or is that going to
go somewhere else.

- That's what I'm saying.

- [Narrator] 400 miles away
in Essex, Dick Strawbridge

and his partner, Angel,

are packing up their
rented, two bed flat.

- [Dick] Do you
know what that is?

- [Angel] It's to um-

- [Dick] It's a tongue press.

- [Narrator] And getting
ready for the biggest move

of their lives.

- We have paid the deposit,
and in two weeks time,

just under, we
will own a chateau.

(laughs)

- [Narrator] All that
stands between them

and getting the keys,
is signing the contract

and handing over the money.

- [Dick] Every hour is spent
trying to work out details

of the move.

We want electricity, we want
water, we want the telephone,

we want broadband.

We've got a list of things
we want and need to do,

but we're not allowed
to do any of that

until we actually
own the property.

(somber music)

- [Narrator] The purchase
price is 280,000 pounds.

Which leaves them just
20 grand for repairs.

And they're going
to need every penny.

- [Dick] Right, okay-

- [Narrator] They've
got an ambitious plan.

Get enough work done to
move their family in,

just three weeks after
they get the keys.

(speaks off microphone}

- Money spent on a flat,
that we don't want to be in

because we've got our chateau
is money that's wasted.

So, by the end of January,

we have to have
moved out of here.

This is our dining room,
sitting room, kitchen,

and it's about a third of the-

(baby sounds)

We're cozy here.

We're all set up, and we're
going into January in a chateau

without water, electricity
or sewage or heating.

They're pretty fundamental.

(speaks off microphone)

My head is spinning, we've
got so much to organize.

And I got a family
to look after.

And the main time of
getting everything done

is when the kids are in bed.

I think Dick's head
is a little bit sore.

Mom and Dad are gonna be
living in the grand salon

to start with.

- You have to have
the heating in place

before they can move in to that.

That puts real pressure on-

This wall's coming down.

We have to put new wall up
there to make it the right size.

- Before we move in?

- Yeah!

- It's gotta be warm enough,

the kids are gonna
have a bath at night.

We have to have so
many things so right.

That's as far as we need to go.

- [Angel] This works.

- It's still quite a lot.

It's starting to get
a little bit scary.

With all these things going on

if you try and carry
them out in your head,

it'll explode.

(exciting music)

- [Narrator] Dick and
Angel are moving to France.

They're just hours away
from owning a chateau.

They're driving
through the night

to the village of
Martine-sur-Mayenne.

They're about to spend
their life savings

on a property that has a
survey listing 450 faults.

- We have to actually be
functioning when we get in here.

Um, the whole of this document
says do not buy this chateau.

It says it's all our
risk, if anything happens-

- Yeah

- Yeah, so-

Dorothy, it's not to scare me
sweetheart, never mind you.

It is, it's really
quite worrying.

- He's gonna say
it's sold as seen.

- You're all right aren't you.

- Yeah.

- Even though we've got 200
pages of reasons not to buy it.

- [Narrator] They're
meeting with the vendors

and a local notaire to
sign the Act Duvont.

Now, for Dick and Angel,
there's no going back.

(bright music)

- Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn.

It's so stiff.

Wow!

- [Angel] (whispers) We are in.

- Coming to life.

Look at how beautiful that is.

Everything is gorgeous.

- [Narrator] Finally,
the chateau is there's.

(uplifting music)

- All right, we've gotta go.

- Let's get to work.

- [Narrator] Owning
a fairytale chateau,

sounds like a dream.

But the French are turning
their backs on them

because they can cost more
to renovate then to buy.

- [Dick] There's been
an electrical fire here.

- [Narrator] Dick and
Angel's chateau is crumbling,

freezing cold, and there
are thousands of dead flies.

- [Dick] Asbestos,
asbestos, asbestos.

- [Narrator] But they can't
say they weren't warned.

- 200 plus pages of
reasons not to buy a house.

Look at the sewage, look
at the electrics in here,

if you actually look
at the lead paint.

If you look at every
single aspect in here,

it basically says don't buy me.

- [Narrator] Engineer
Dick is convinced

he's got what it takes to take
on a project of this size.

But Angel has other priorities.

- When I walk into a room,

I know that Dick's thinking,

okay well the radiator's
gonna go there,

and the plumbing's going there,

and I'm thinking, oh, there's
gonna be a giraffe there,

maybe a stuffed fox there.

I'm thinking that everything
is around shelves,

and we just sit
here with our books.

- [Dick] Right, how high?

- [Angel] To the ceiling.

And we have a ladder.

- Right, okay, this may
not happen in phase one.

- [Angel] We're gonna
need a plug here

for Christmas tree lights.

- Yeah, I'm so not worried
about Christmas trees

at this stage.

Right.

I understand Angela's vision,

and she's the one who's gonna
make this place beautiful,

but we gotta get the
dog work done first.

- I'm going to just
stand by the door

and visualize which
way it should be.

- And I'm just gonna
do as I'm told.

- [Narrator] The castle
was rebuilt in 1864

on the site of an ancient fort.

It took six years to construct,

requiring hundreds of workers.

- Have to learn how the
chateau wants to be used.

- [Narrator] To install
central heating,

new electrics and plumbing,
Dick will have to hire experts.

But being an engineer,

he plans to do much of the
renovation work himself.

The first problem is
right on his doorstep.

(Dick laughs)

- There's a nine foot
drop (laughs) to nothing.

- [Narrator] Beneath
the doorstep,

Dick's discovering
building techniques

that go back to the
ancient Egyptians.

- Under here, it's the
most amazing construction

because we've got insulation

which is mud and straw.

- [Narrator] The
organic insulation

is found between every
floor of the chateau.

Packed together between
the solid oak beams,

they dampen noise,
and keep the heat in.

But beneath the doorstep at
least, the beams and the cobs

are crumbling away.

- All of the support
for this is rotten,

so what I have to do is
to put something solid

onto this beam, push up,

and then support
this whole area.

Cause that means,

you can step in the front
door step, coming in.

(sawing sound)

It's a lot easier
with power tools.

No electricity!

- [Narrator] To make a base,
Dick is screwing this plywood

into the only solid
part of the beam.

But to pack this gap,
is going foraging.

(classical music)

The chateau's seven
out-buildings,

once would have provided
the seigneur du manoir,

the lord of the manor,
everything he needed.

From stables for his horses,
to storerooms for his grain.

Dick's starting his
search in the old laundry.

- I've never been in here.

That's a big thing
for washing in.

Oh yes!

Wow!

See this dingly-dangly bit?

Whenever the wheelbarrow is
full, it takes the weight.

I love it!

This, this is the piggery.

It's all fallen down,

all the slates have been
sort of trashed, here.

I can use this for packing out,

under the tiles
of the front door.

Renovating the chateau isn't
just about making it habitable.

Angel has a passion for vintage,

and is desperate to
restore it's faded glamor.

- What comes first?

What do you do first?

I wouldn't want to
have it all pretty

just like straight away.

From it's oak and
chestnut parquet flooring,

to it's wallpaper, hand-painted
by Parisian artists.

Everything is a
spectacle of opulence.

- This place is amazing.

Like full of so much detail.

One of the first things,

see, little lion's heads.

- Cast in iron, 86
handcrafted lion heads

adorn the double
revolution staircase.

The lion motif is also at the
heart of the family crest.

But in the attic are
more personal reminders

of the chateau's
150 year history.

- Where do you start?

Oh!

These are all Victorian
clothes, there's tons of them.

That has somebody's initial on.

How lovely.

This room is something like
your grandad would have,

where he doesn't wanna
chuck anything away.

- Do you know what, I've
bought magazines like this.

It cost me a fortune.

Oh my god, it's a
whole collection of
1950's Marie-Claires.

It's so incredibly important

to pull as much out of
the chateau that we can,

cause it brings it back to life.

We're gonna clean all these
up, and get them in use.

Until the next time.

- [Narrator] After three hours,

Dick is nearly finished
fixing the doorstep.

- I know the wood
underneath it is sound,

so all I wanna do is get
these on top of it now,

in a way that'll last.

- [Narrator] These handmade
cement and marble tiles,

originate from Catalonia,

and were the height of
fashion in the 19th century.

A grand way to
welcome your guests.

(Dick laughs)

- Done.

- [Narrator] The two towers
that flank the chateau

are known as pepper shakers.

In the one next to
the dining room,

they make a useful discovery.

- This is good!

This is practically a bathroom.

That's gonna need
a good, good scrub.

Then we can actually-

- Oh!

(Dick laughs)

- That's very, very unpleasant.

(gagging sounds)

- [Narrator] The only water here

comes from a tap
in the basement.

- I do this very slowly
because I don't want the water

to fill up all the
pipes in the house,

in case it's leaking
on the first floor.

Lovely, little loo.

- [Narrator] According
to the survey,

the toilet empties
somewhere into the moat.

(Angela whispers)
Where's it gone to?

- (whispers) It's
gone from here.

I half expect to look out
and see fish jumping up.

- [Narrator] The moat
is almost the same size

as six Olympic-size
swimming pools.

Finding a small waste
pipe, won't be easy.

- Drain Tracing Dye.

It traces where the drain goes.

I have no idea how
deep this goes.

Angela, just keep flushing it.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, that
gets deep very quickly.

Note to self, don't
step backwards.

- Nothing's happening?

- Nothing at all, darling.

I should be seeing a red bloom,

where our flushing water's
come out here somewhere.

There is no red dye, there.

Hello gorgeous.

No, nothing at all.

I'm sure if it was my
chateau, and I built it,

I'd probably have the pipe
going quite a long way out.

In the summer when it's warm,

I'll be in there in
my swimming cozzie.

Searching for the pipe
where the poop goes.

Make yourself comfy, back we go.

- [Narrator] With a handful
of tasks ticked off the list,

soon the major work will begin.

(hammering)

Installing a heating
system on a grand scale.

Just as winter really
starts to bite.

(whimsical music)

Dick Strawbridge and his family

have bought a derelict 19th
century French chateau,

in the depths of winter.

It's so cold, even their
moat has frozen over.

It's minus four outside.

Not very warm inside.

(baby laughs)

- [Narrator] The family are
renting a cottage down the road.

In eight days time,

when their possessions
arrive from England,

they're due to move
into the chateau.

There's no heating,
or hot water.

But at least
something's working.

- I have now got one socket
in the whole chateau,

but whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

We have electricity.

- [Narrator] Originally,

the 45 room chateau was
heated by 16 fireplaces.

Keeping them stoked and lit

was a full time job for
one of the servants.

- Water coming out here.

- [Narrator] Buying an
off the peg heating system

was not an option for Dick.

So he's designed his own.

Using just two of
the fireplaces,

and a stove in the basement,
water will be heated

and sent up to a thermal
store in the attic.

- It all comes down
through the thermal store.

For baths, for showers, for
sinks, for the kitchens.

And as well as that, the
heat and the thermal store

provides the hot water to
run around our radiators.

- [Narrator] Costing
1,800 pounds,

this is the most expensive
part of the project so far.

- The difficult thing here
is the scale of the job.

The chateau is huge, you can
put four houses inside it.

- [Narrator] Well
it begins tomorrow

when heating engineers
arrive from England.

But despite the
subzero temperatures,

Dick has another job
he's determined to do.

The chateau's 59 windows and
its 10 foot high front door

are made from oak
from its own forest.

They've been
lovingly handcrafted.

And most are covered
with toxic lead paint,

which needs to be removed,

by hand.

- It's a big old door.

- [Narrator] Dick begins
by covering the door

with paint stripper.

- This is not some
mad, cuckery experiment

or anything like that.

I'm going to cover it with
clean film, so it stays on

just doesn't dry out because
dry lead paint is the problem.

My first time doing this, so
it's no surprise I'm learning.

I don't think I
can really afford

to start scrubbing that
off for another two hours.

Which basically means
seven o'clock in the dark.

I'll get my scouring pan on it.

I'm gonna enjoy the sunset.

What's coming off
here is all the lead,

and it's all wet, it's
going into my bucket.

I've gotta say,
it's a bit chilly.

That's what happens when you
buy a chateau in January.

- [Narrator] It's
gone, midnight.

Dick decides to spend his first
night alone, in the chateau.

- This is really
quite deluxe camping.

You know, camping in a chateau.

Somewhere here, I've
got a pair of slippers.

We've done all of
this sort of being out

and being roughy-toughy.

I like my home comforts.

The dining room
windows have no glass.

(wind blowing)

And tonight is forecast
to be especially cold.

- Wow, wow!

(camera clicks)

This is beautiful.

This is all very beautiful.

(laughs)

And I'm making the most of
it because it is lovely.

Lee and Kyle are driving
down through the snow

to get here to work.

Let's hope they get here.

- I thought we'd get
him all geared up.

- [Narrator] Father and
son team, Lee and Kyle,

have plumbed hundreds
of homes back in London,

but they've never done
one on this scale.

- You need mates when you
do this sort of thing,

and mates who are
plumbers, electricians

understand what's going on.

- [Narrator] With only
seven days until the family

are due to move in, they've
got their work cut out.

- Effectively, you're
re-piping this house

from top to bottom.

I think they're crazy
because it's very real,

the deadlines are all met.

- [Narrator] An astonishing
600 meters of coil pipe

will carry hot and cold
water around the chateau.

Running from the attic
to the wood burners

on the first floor, and
a stove in the basement

that Dick was given for free.

- This is an aerated gas boiler.

It generates hot water, so if
the thermal store gets cold,

this'll kick in and the
gas will actually give us

a boiler, working
to heat our water.

This is the start.

We're getting close
with the heat.

- [Narrator] Towering
over the chateau

are its six chimneys.

For a 19th century
French aristocrat,

tall chimneys were
a sign of wealth.

These bare the signature of
the family that built them.

(Dick laughs)

Engineer Pascal has
come to line them

with this steel tubing.

- Le trois chimney,
la cuisine et-

- [Narrator] He is the first
French worker Dick has hired.

(Pascal speaks French)

- Okay.

Merci, monsieur.

The last time I studied
French was 39 years ago.

Dans le salon et dans la-

I remember some of
the French words,

but there's a lot of them I

just can't remember
anything at all.

So I tend do a bit of
Franglais speaking,

which is French
with English in it.

Nous avons un grand store,

c'est un thermal
store en Anglais.

Mais c'est un chaud eau-

- [Pascal] A chaud f'eau.

- A chaud f'au

(laughs)

- Okay, we're gonna
have a chaud f'eau.

- [Narrator] Pascal must
feed the steel tubing

up three of Dick's chimneys.

Each one is 85 feet high,
and up to six feet wide.

- No problem.

- No problem.

- No problem.

Tu parle Anglais?

Ah merde!

(Pascal laughs)

Duh, English stupide.

I just assumed there's gonna be

some sort of a cherry
picker, a lift going up there

or lots of scaffolding.

(Pascal speaks French)

- Oui.

(Pascal speaks French)

(Pascal laughs)

- What?

- (laughs) Oui!

- Pascal's going on the roof.

It is a bit scary

because I don't think
anyone's been up on that roof

for a very long time.

See he's going out the window,

he's got his special harness on,

he's gonna attach
himself, and if he falls,

it stops him hitting the ground.

He says he knows
what he's doing.

I think that's what he said.

He is French.

He just stands on a
roof quite happily.

(laughs)

- Has he got a har-

- He's harnessed on,
see that rope there?

There's a rope there
he's holding onto.

That's him tied up.

He's actually
dropping a rope down,

and his friend Sylvain,
he's down there,

and he's feeding up the chimney,

that's why he's lifting up.

- [Angel] Right.

- That's the singing of
the Frenchman on my roof.

He's whistling.

- I think it's great.

- He's the Roger Whittaker
of the French world.

(inspiring music)

- [Narrator] In just two days,

Dick and Angel hope
to move their family

into this 19th century chateau.

In the middle of winter,

they're racing to
install a heating system.

And the last part
has just turned up.

- The radiators have arrived.

What color did you
think they were?

Okay, white, I thought they
were black, but they're white.

Okay, just making sure
we've got the right ones.

- [Narrator] The first
batch of radiators

will heat just five of
the chateau's 45 rooms.

But that will be
enough for the family

to leave their rented
cottage and move in.

Their possessions are already
on route from England.

The chateau walls are
built from solid stone,

some from the fort
that once stood here.

In places, they're
over three feet thick.

So far, Dick has avoided
running pipes through them.

- This system means, all the
pipes can go up and over.

Done for a very good reason.

These walls are thick.

Going through the walls is
going to be a major nightmare.

See, that's what
we need isn't it?

Come on.

(man laughs)

- [Narrator] To
install the radiators,

Dick's brought in
some serious kit.

I came to France, and I bought
the biggest drill they had

in the equipment store.

Nobody can hold this drill,
it's far too powerful.

If this works, it'll
make our life easy.

If it doesn't work,

Kyle will be working very
hard at closing these walls.

(drilling)

What do you think?

- [Narrator] The cavity
is filled with rubble.

Loose rocks and stone,
tightly packed together.

On every attempt,
they jam the drill.

- Well should we continue
trying with this bit longer?

(drilling)

I'm gonna call a stop on this.

And the reason I'm
gonna call a stop on it

is because I've got too much
to do in too little time.

Cause best wall in the
world, the wall won.

- [Narrator] Dick's 1,500
pound state of the art drill

has bitten the dust.

- The clock's ticking,
the removals are coming.

There's no heat.

So all in all, yeah.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, Angel
has returned to the chateau.

She wants the place
to be spotless

for when the furniture
arrives tomorrow.

- I love a bit of
cleaning, I really do.

It's like the only job
that gives you instant

satisfaction.

- [Narrator] But she's having
to work around Lee and Kyle.

Who are now trying to chisel
through the walls by hand.

- [Man] We're trying
to just use the old way

of chiseling the outs.

We'll get there, but it'll
just take a lot longer.

- Do you wanna tidy up,
ready for things to come in.

They're trying to go through
a hole in the wall upstairs

because we got about three
holes to make them walls.

That's nearly impossible.

So, yeah.

- I know.

I just was gonna
do some cleaning.

- Yeah, but what
are you gonna clean,

that was the question.

That's why I'm asking you.

If they're gonna live in here.

- I'm just, you know, I
haven't been here loads,

obviously, looking
after the kids,

I'm just here helping
to do some cleaning,

ready for us.

- Ang is much more
isolated than I am.

Arthur and Dorothy
are a full time job,

and if you add
that to the amount

that she sees we have to get
done, you know, it's hard.

- [Narrator] For four years,

Dick and Angel have
dreamt of a perfect life,

in their own French chateau.

But they're about to move
into a building site.

Most of their savings
are now spent.

And they've barely
scratched the surface

of this enormous renovation.

- There are easier
ways of moving

and going somewhere new to live.

Changing country,
changing culture

and changing the way you
live, that's difficult.

We're actually doing
that into a ruin.

- [Man] I think he's an
absolute nut-job, he's crazy.

I mean, he should hold
back a little bit more.

But I understand they're
under time constraints,

so needs, must.

But moving in, I
wouldn't be doing it.

- We're working 18 hour days.

You know, we're not
messing around here.

Because there's so much
to get done to get us in,

to get us comfortable.

This is the hardest
time of year to work.

Short daylight hours.

That's really killing us

because when you're working in
the dark, it slows you down.

We'll get there, it's just,
you gotta stay positive.

That's not looking too bad.

- [Narrator] Next time, the
family move in to discover

they're not alone.

- [Angel] Absolutely petrified.

- [Narrator] City girl Angel
gets used to country life.

- [Angel] Do you think the
chicken knows it can't swim?

- Yes of course it does!

- Really?

- [Narrator] And as the
renovations continue,

Dick has a repair
job on an epic scale.

- 59 windows, this
is not even funny.

(upbeat music)