Escape to the Chateau (2016–2019): Season 2, Episode 3 - Christmas at the Chateau - full transcript

(light music)

- [Narrator] Like many brits,

engineer Dick
Strawbridge and his wife,

designer, Angel had dreams
of living in France.

(speaking in foreign language)

But where most
people might settle

for a modest little bolthole,

the couple feel under the spell

of a fairytale chateau.

- Oh, wow.
- Oh, look at that.

- [Angel] Well, I think we
should put in an offer in now.



(laughing)

- This is truly beautiful.

- [Narrator] What's more,
they could afford it.

A chateau with it's
45 rooms, 12 acres,

seven outbuildings
and even a moat

came with an
irresistible price tag

of just 280 thousand pounds.

- Thank you, very much indeed.

- Congratulations, hey.

- [Narrator] Then
reality set in.

- Turn, turn, turn, turn.

Wow.

- [Narrator] What they bought
was a derelict monument

to a forgotten era of
grand country house living.



- Look at the sewerage, look
at the electrics in here.

You look at the lead paint.

200 plus pages of reasons
not to buy a house.

- [Narrator] They
only had a fraction

of the money they
needed to do it up.

Reviving the chateau
has taken more courage

and more graft than they
ever thought possible.

Nearly two years on they're
still just halfway through,

their ambitious project to date.

- That's a long way up.

- [Narrator] And it's got

to be finished in
time for Christmas.

(upbeat cheery music)

Even in rural towns like
Nouvelle in Pays de la Loire,

they like to put on
a show at Christmas.

(fireworks cracking)

(crowd cheering)

For Dick and Angel,
it's a chance

to see how the French
celebrate the festive season.

- Boom!

- The thing is,
Christmas is coming

and we're not ready for it yet.

But it's getting closer.
- Yeah, yeah.

And it's snowing.

- We're gonna have
a lovely Christmas.

- It's the first day
we've had off in ages.

- We would've, it's Christmas.

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] Back at the
Chateau de la Motte-Husson,

they want to celebrate
Christmas in their own way.

For most people, that might
involve ordering a turkey

and extra sherry.

For the Strawbridges,
it means turning one

of their pepper pot turrets
into a magical tower

of curiosities by completely
renovating and redecorating it.

Starting with installing a lift.

They need to blow through
three floors of oak flooring,

joists and 19th
century insulation

to create a hole
from top to bottom.

- I will say this is sort of
like, extreme DIY in some ways.

- [Narrator] It needs
to be so precise

that measurements cannot be
out by a single millimeter.

- What we have to do
is get this joist in.

As soon as we get this
joist in and solid,

I think I'll be happier.

'Cause the idea of cutting
these bits of wood out,

this is not taken lightly.

It's a serious job.

And it's making my (beeping)
itch at the minute,

I gotta tell ya.

- [Narrator] On top of that,

it has to be completed
in just over three weeks.

Dicks mother is coming
before Christmas

and it's not reasonable
to expect any guest

to climb the 73 stairs to the
newly completed bedroom suite

on the second floor.

- Our tasks are to get
everything prepared

and get finished in time
for the lift to be put in

and for us to get to some
semblance of normality.

Because the week
the lift arrives,

that weekend after
that, my family arrives.

So, no pressure at all.

- [Narrator] The lift is
not just for the family.

The pneumatically powered tube
will also be the centerpiece

of a tower of curiosities.

Displaying murals and artifacts,

found in the
Chateau and grounds.

- I think it's
ridiculous, in all honesty

to have sort of one,
two, three, four floors

with a lift in your house.

But, it makes so much sense,

because it just opens
up everything above us

and for the family, for guests,

for business, for everything.

But I'm gonna have to find a way

of stopping the children
playing with it.

Anybody seen Arthur and Dorothy?

No.

I think they've been
sucked up the tube.

Willy Wonka's taken them away.

(laughing)

- [Narrator] All
the renovation work

is creating a huge surplus
of wood at the Chateau.

But Angel has found a crafty way

to turn it into
Christmas presents.

- I've been trying to find
a process of printing.

And I found this way of
printing on kind of wax paper.

Love this picture.

Arthur on the helta-skelta.

- [Narrator] Ingeniously, Angel

is printing onto the waxy
backing of old labels.

- There you go.

So I ain't doing
anything clever.

Which is the sort of
craft that I love.

(chuckling)

Where people will say, "Oh,
doesn't that look amazing!"

And you feel like
you've cheated.

Okay, so this is the bit,
you really cannot smudge it.

It's totally wet.

There we go.

Because the ink is wet
and because the wood

is really porous,
it's just taking it.

It's staining the
wood, essentially.

It's quite simple and clever.

Ag, he's just a gorgeous boy.

I'm such a bias mum, I love it.

(laughing)

You could print that
onto toilet paper

and I'd be like, "Oh,
he's just so gorgeous."

(laughing)

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] Back
in the tower, Dick

and Steve have finished
knocking through the lift shaft.

- Well, we've just laid
the whole lot across.

- [Narrator] All 14,
terrifying meters of it.

(chuckling)

- (beeping) hell, Steve.

- [Steve] I know, wow.

- Look what you've
done to my house!

- [Narrator] Dick
might be joking now,

but in just a few days
time he'll have to deal

with a serious visit
from a lift inspector.

Who's coming to check whether
he's measurements are precise.

All he can do is wait and hope.

(pleasant music)

For Dick and Angel,
moving to rural France,

met the chance to
fulfill their dream

of living off the land.

As the frost sets in,

the land has yielded
nearly all it can.

But the Chateaus menagerie
of animals is still thriving.

(pigs snorting)

There's the three,
not so little piggies.

(chicken crowing)

A brood of chickens.

And a new addition of
a rafter of turkeys.

Bought in readiness
for a festive feast.

This bucolic dream is
something Dick and Angel

have always wanted to share
with others and now they can.

Two guests are due.

They're coming for one of
the food lovers weekends,

Dick and Angel have
started hosting.

Where couples come to
experience Chateau life,

the local food and Dick
and Angels hospitality.

It's a fledgling
part of the business.

But the weekends are a
chance to bring in some money

and for Dick to clean up and
show off his culinary skills.

So while Angel makes the
house look beautiful,

Dicks down in the kitchen,

preparing dinner
for their guests.

- I'm doing a very,
very rich mushroom soup.

We'll have some potato puree.

We'll have a raw egg
yolk on some truffle oil.

- [Narrator] And for
the main, smoked duck

with orange and garlic.

- This is a hot smoker,
it goes with a name.

So I'm gonna turn this on.

The bits of wood gets very hot,

they go all smokey.

The smoke goes into the
air, the ducks in there,

the duck gets all smokey.

Da-da!

(pleasant music)

I love that.

- [Narrator] Dick's not yet
been able to embrace cooking

with mushrooms from
the Chateaus grounds,

or fish from the moat.

But bringing to life
food from the local area

is intrinsic to these weekends.

- To make them work,
what we have to do

is we have to
really spoil people

and give them an experience
they're not gonna get elsewhere.

But it's got to be
tied to this place.

And so the duck, there's an
awful lot of duck around here

and the idea of oak smoking
it, we have plenty of oak,

we have oranges in our orangery.

So that dish is very
important to us.

Come back to the starter.

We know there's mushrooms here.

People love the mushrooms,
they go an collect their own.

And by giving them something

that's got slightly different
flavors of this area,

but done in a way
that's special,

just allows us to
showcase our lifestyle.

(pleasant music)

That is mushroomy mushroomness.

- We're nearly there.

Got to do a few things
in the honeymoon suite.

And actually get
the house heated up.

I mean, we're in December
and it's freezing.

My hands are like ice.

And Dick doesn't like
to have the heating on,

when we don't have to.

He's like, "More jumpers."

I mean, I get that, it's much
more sensible, more jumpers.

But it's not as glamorous and
I do have to tell him that.

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] The
guests have arrived.

And it's time for the
part of the weekend Dick

and Angel enjoy
the most, hosting.

- Hi, welcome.
- Wow.

- [Dick] Is it
what you expected?

(laughing)

- [Narrator] Tonight, the
couple will enjoy eight courses

and plenty of wine.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

- [Narrator] And Dick and
Angels own personal service.

(bell ringing)

- Service!

Nothing actually
happens when I do that,

but I quite like it.

(laughing)

- Dick hasn't quite
told me what it is.

- [Dick] What?

(laughing)

- But I know that it is egg
yolk with potato and mushrooms.

Bon appetite.

- [Dick] Got truffle
oil on it as well.

- Oh, yeah.

- [Guest] Thank you very much.

Oh, the truffle is delicious.

- Working together
is so important.

You know, a family that works
together, stays together.

- That's not true.

They say, never
work with family.

- I know, I agree
with that completely.

She's so bossy.

Right, I'm getting this
out now by the way.

- Chateau's 100%,
what do you say?

- Yeah, it's been superb so far

and their hosting
skills are flawless.

Yeah, it's been fantastic.

- Smells amazing.

- [Dick] Service.

- [Narrator] Today is
the moment of truth

for the lifts measurements.

The meter-wide holes
created on each floor,

have to align exactly.

(pleasant music)

- Good to see ya.
- Nice to meet you.

- [Narrator] And Jesus
from the lift company,

has arrived all
the way from Madrid

to make this crucial site visit.

Checking whether Dick and Steve
have got it exactly right.

- [Dick] I think we've done
everything we have to do.

Do you want to see alignment?

- Yeah, yeah.

- How do you do it?

- Do you have a--
- Plumb line?

Steve?

- Yes?

- [Dick] Drop down
the plumb line.

- [Steve] Okay.

- [Dick] This is
the big test, fella.

Hope you're suitably nervous.

- I'm very nervous.

- [Dick] Okay.

- [Narrator] They have
to millimeter perfect,

before Jesus will give
their lift the green light.

- Let it go the other side.

- Over this side as well.

He doesn't trust us.

- It's okay.

- Yes, he said, it's good.

He said, it's good.

- It's good enough.

- It's good enough?

It's very, very good.
- Easy there.

- Never mind good enough.

Steve, I think we
passed that test.

- Yeah, you're approved.

- Just shows how
easy it is, don't it?

- Getting a nice
warm feeling Jesus.

- [Narrator] But Dicks
victory is short lived.

- When we started the vacuum,

when the elevator starts
going up and down,

then the static,
if there is polar

or anything like this with
dust, will be to the elevator.

- Okay, that's very important,
that's very important.

Okay, so it has to be clean?

- Yeah.
- My house is dusty.

- Well, the part
of the elevator.

- [Dick] You didn't
tell me that.

- [Jesus] I do now.

- [Dick] This is our top floor.

- [Narrator] Far
from ending there,

the list of problems
just keeps growing.

- It's very important,
a telephone line above.

- Sorry?

- The phone line.

- Who do you phone when
you're in the elevator?

Your mummy?

- No, it's emergencies, yeah.

- It's for emergencies, okay.

- [Narrator] And the
bad news isn't over yet.

- You measure it

and tell me what height
you think the ceiling is.

- Yeah, 265.
- 265.

Well you wanted it
270, didn't you?

- Yeah.

- I didn't know how
important that 30 mills was.

- [Jesus] Yeah, it is.

- [Dick] That's a nuisance.

- [Narrator] After
creating a 14 meter drop,

Dick has fallen short
by just 5 centimeters.

He's only choice now is

to knock through yet another
floor into the turret above.

- [Dick] Let's go
and have a look.

- [Narrator] It's
days more work.

(chuckling)

And a job he'd hoped
he'd never have to do.

As the roof is full
of 150 years worth

of bird droppings and filth.

So now Dick has to make
the place pristine,

run 14 meters of telephone
wire through the house

and knock through the
ceiling into the turret.

It might just be the biggest
test of his mettle, yet.

- All I can think of,
when I look at this

is not satisfaction that
we've got the holes lined up

is all the work to be done.

Because, he just wants it clean.

That means all the plaster
has to be finished,

all the paintings
got to be finished.

We've got to...

Oh, don't even think about it.

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] Until they
sold it to Dick and Angel,

the Baglion family owned
the estate for 400 years.

Each generation left
behind a treasure trove

of fascinating mementos.

For nearly two years,
Angel has been curator

and archivist of
her very own museum.

- These are beautiful.

I mean, from apart from dust,

they look in amazing condition.

If they come up nicely,
they'll be worth something.

I'd quite like to
get them back in use.

Dick's always wanted to
learn to dance with me.

I hope we have to get
something to play these.

- [Narrator] While Angel is
in search of hidden treasures

for her tower of curiosities
in the Chateaus vast attic,

elsewhere in the eaves,
Dick is bracing himself

for the dirtiest job of all.

Bursting through
the final ceiling,

into the cone of the turret.

He has just over two
weeks to create a hole,

make the tower spotlessly
clean and decorate.

And all before the lift
arrives in time for Christmas.

- When I start
clearing up in here,

it's gonna be very obvious
why I've got a face mask on,

why I'm stopping my
hair getting all dirty

because there's probably years
of pigeon (beeping) there.

So it's nicely ripened,
nicely matured.

So, I'm protecting myself.

Like, you see, it's
a fashion look.

It's the sort of height
of French fashion.

(pleasant music)

Running a Chateau's
very glamorous.

- [Narrator] Angel is
a cleaning enthusiast

but the amount of dust the
renovations continually creates

is taking it's toll.

- This year we've
got a new problem,

because we're living
on a building site,

plus we are running a business.

And it's an angle that
we didn't have last year.

You know, sometimes
we have a turnaround

of Steve leaving, like
with dust everywhere

to clients come in at
midday the following day.

So, it's a bit crazy.

But, we are gluttons for it.

And we probably wouldn't
have it any other way.

So, you know, it's
not a sob story,

we chose to live in a beautiful
Chateau, God (beeping) it.

(laughing)

Dust as well.

- [Narrator] But with need
for the Chateaus tower

to be completely dust free
before the lifts arrival,

this isn't a problem that can
be swept under the carpet.

And right now, it seems
to be getting worse.

- Hello, fella.

(laughing)

Are you there?

(coughing)

(wood cracking)

That's not a good noise, when
you're this high in the air.

(laughing)

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] Angel is taking

one last look around
the Chateau for objects

to go into her tower
of curiosities.

- What did I do
with the hat box?

- [Narrator] She's enlisted Dick

to join her on
the treasure hunt.

- [Angel] What are these
bar things, I love those.

- [Dick] I think
they're for peeing in.

- [Angel] What's that,
what's that, hold on.

That's lovely,
these are the things

that are like
priceless, aren't they?

I mean, how cute is that?

- [Dick] Count and
Countess Baglion.

- Chateau de la Motte.

I really have no idea
why I like old things.

But I have always liked them.

(sneezing)

You know, when I
watch old movies,

I just wish I was in that era.

I mean, maybe I was,
I know it's weird.

Dick's will never get it, but
he was it, so that's good.

(chuckling)

- [Dick] These are gonna go on
this power stuff aren't they?

- [Angel] Are they?

- The skull came from the
first walking around hunting.

- With Jack Baglion, who
we bought the house from,

so that's great,
found on the ground.

You see, I need to get
packs of all this written up

so we--
- Really?

- Yeah we do.

This is the tower of curiosity.

It's the history and the
story attached to each of them

that makes it special.

- [Narrator]
Continuing her search,

Angel heads back
up to the attic.

- I think dead birds
is a step too far.

Even I do like
really weird things.

Having this tower,
is quite exciting

because I'm looking in the attic

with new eyes, if you like.

That's something that could be
cleaned up and put somewhere.

- Hmm.

- [Angel] Like I like
this light as well.

- [Dick] That's horrible.

- That's not horrible,

the shape of this
is really beautiful.

That's a beautiful shape.

That is lovely.

It is.
- Dear God, it's disgusting.

You can't even see
the shape of it,

'cause it got things
growing on it.

- You are turning into
a right old grumpy man.

Have you seen that before?
- Nope.

- [Angel] And a key.

- You have to admit yourself.

- [Angel] Oh, don't make me.

Okay.

- Having said, she's not
gonna touch anything,

the bags too much temptation.

- It's very lovely.

Okay, we needed a basket.

That was silly of us, wasn't it?

- [Dick] Yes, it
very silly of us.

- [Narrator] Curios
sorted, it's feeding time

for the new members
of the bird menagerie.

(turkeys clucking)

(pleasant music)

- [Angel] Right,
careful in here, please.

- [Narrator] The
turkeys are growing fast

but they have a little way to go

before they reach their
optimum weight for Christmas.

- Ready?
- Go on then.

- Good throw.

- [Angel] Go on you do it.

There we go.

Oh, brilliant.

Arthur, which one do you
want for Christmas lunch?

- Well, I think a big one.

(laughing)

- I would've said that
as well, definitely.

- [Angel] I'll let daddy know.

Let's go and have some dinner.
- All done.

- But no, mum, I
wanna dig a hole.

- You wanna dig a hole, great.

- [Narrator] At the Chateau,
it's back to work for Angel

who's dealing with
a constant struggle

of keeping cash flowing
through the business.

- We're now getting wedding
bookings for 2018 and 2019,

which is great.

But even though most people
think that we're lying,

we're not made of money at all.

We work and we get money in

and that week it goes out.

(laughing)

But the deposits that are
coming in from the weddings

at the moment,
obviously set aside

and I sort of did
cross my fingers

and just hope they
all come through.

There's still a
couple that haven't.

But I've got a good
woman's intuition.

Dick's not gonna have to go

and sell his body in the
streets, which was plan B.

(laughing)

(pleasant cheery music)

- Mr. Frosty's been everywhere.

- I know.

- [Narrator]
Christmas is coming,

time as the carol
says, to deck the halls

with bows of holly.

- [Angel] Oh, mom, it's so
beautiful out here this morning,

isn't it?

Amazing.

- [Narrator] Well, actually

with any sort of Christmas
greenery Angel can find,

in the Chateaus 12 acre grounds.

- This one's just right for
you to put in the basket,

darling, for Grandma.

- [Angel] Oh, thank you,
helper, thank you, baby.

- Big bunches here.

- They'll be great to
weave into a garland.

These are beautiful,
aren't they?

Okay, brilliant.

My mom's always done
garlands at Christmas time.

Mum used to always just
do beautiful things

around the fireplace
and actually,

it is just such a lovely
easy cost effective way

to make your house into a
bit of a winter wonderland.

Can I have a kiss
under the mistletoe?

- When we first came to France,

I thought they were birds nests.

They're just everywhere.

- [Angel] Oh, perfect,
Mum, that's just lovely.

- Is that enough?
- That's all.

Give us a kiss, Mum.

- Put it in the basket.
- Put it in the basket,

you're so bossy!

- [Narrator] There are no
country walks for Dick,

he's first big mistake was
miscalculating the height

of the lift shaft.

But now he must fix the
second oversight he made,

in planning its installation.

- We need to have a doorway

that's a meter wide to get
the sections in, all right.

The doors not a meter wide.

I've got rid of the plaster,

we're still this
much too narrow.

So what we wanna do, is
take out a row of stones.

But what I wanna
do is try and take

as few stones as possible.

Now, the stone to stone is 90,

so we've got another
four inches to take out.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Dick and Steve
must carve through two feet

of stone blocks and avoid
the damaging the top

because that's supporting
the weight above.

- First one to come out.

It's really good for
your pecks, apparently.

Don't wanna drop that on
a nice clean floor, do we?

Getting there.

Just wanted a
smaller lift, really.

(laughing)

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] In tandem,
the Strawbridges are having

to cope with getting ready

for the lifts arrival
and Christmas.

- I'm doing an alternative
to Christmas crackers.

I'm going to hollow
out the books

and they're gonna open it up

and there's gonna be a
little gift in there.

Crackers are great, but
they just go in the bin

and you kind of joke
and then they're done

and this sort of still gives
that element of surprise.

I'm just gonna go for it.

- [Narrator] The old books
come from a charity shop.

Now Angel's carving out space

for the Christmas
cracker presents.

- People are just gonna
come in and think,

"Well, there's a book
on my place setting.

"It's a bit random,
thanks for the book."

and then they're gonna open it

and hopefully it'll
bring lots of smiles.

- [Narrator] Up in the attic,

Dick is tackling
another unexpected job,

installing a telephone
line for the lift.

- And why, I didn't want
a telephone in the lift.

But apparently Jesus
said, "It's the law."

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] In most houses,
it's a few meters of cable.

In the Chateau, it's 40 meters.

- The sewerage, the electricity,

the hot and cold
water, the heating.

I'm having to follow them

to get from one part of
the Chateau to another.

- [Narrator] Dick is delving
into the Chateaus dingiest

and dirtiest places.

(flies buzzing)

But Angel's not escaped
the dirty jobs either.

- Oh, they're still moving.

Oh that's gross.

- [Narrator] In winter,

flies normally
hibernate in the walls,

but when houses
warm up, they emerge

as the most unwanted of guests.

- Behind every romantic
story is the reality.

(laughing)

A year and a half ago, I
would've been so grossed out

by this but Dick bought me these
gloves before we moved here

and I have to say,
they're my brave gloves.

'Cause I can do
anything with them.

Flies are not part of the dream.

- I didn't want a telephone.

There you go.

Da-da!

- [Narrator] With
work almost finished,

Angel can turn her attention
to the towers design.

And one of her most interesting
finds, the old records.

(upbeat happy music)

It's a perfect excuse for
a quick pre-Christmas trip

to one of Dick and Angels
favorite cities, Paris.

Just under two
hours away by train,

Paris is home to many
excentric little museums.

And one, the PHONO Museum,

may throw light on the records
they found in the attic.

They brought ten of
the records with them

to be examined by
curator Jalal Aro.

- Hello, Jalal, hi!
- Please to meet you.

- Let's have a look.

Here we have different period
and different type of record.

This one that say 1905,
1906 and this one,

the funny things
was those pattern.

They started from the
inside, from the center.

We call them center start.

- [Dick] And what
age is this one?

- This one from 1910.

- Hold on, both
over 100 years ago?

- Yes.

- We gonna get some dancing
going on in our Chateau,

you know.

It's been 100 years since--
- He can't dance.

- This sleeve, it's
from the Laval.

- That is where we live.
- Yeah.

- Okay, Les Dames
Partiot Dance--

- It's a waltz.

- A waltz?
- Yeah.

- This is music to
my ears to hear this.

- I'd be very interested to
hear what sort of waltz it is.

- That's to do, is to listen to.

- Can we?
- Of course.

- [Narrator] Possibly, for
the first time in a 100 years,

the music of Les Dames
Partiot gets an airing.

(old-time lively music)

- Oh, this is very lively.
- Yeah.

- I can embarrass anybody.

- It's like the
early rock and roll.

(laughing)

- So they were party animals
in our Chateau, you see.

Did ordinary people have these,

or was this only for the rich?

- It couldn't be
ordinary people.

- Really, no?

- Because that period,

you know the early
period on any technology,

it was not available to anybody.

- Expensive?

- Yeah, expensive.

- Are they rare?

And are they worth anything?

- Anything over 100 years old
is become like antique period

that means some of the record
it's from five to 50 Euro.

- But you know,
more than anything,

these are history of house
and I would be reluctant

to sell them anyway.

What would you suggest that
we did with these records?

- First, it's to clean them.

And second, buy a machine.

- Can we just stop
for one second.

I'm starting to think that
I've been stitched up here.

(laughing)

'Cause instead of making money,

we need more bits
in our Chateau.

Though it would be lovely
to be able to play them.

(old-time lively music)

- [Narrator] The museum has
provided a feast of facts

for Angels tower of curiosities.

And taught them that the
records historical value

is priceless.

(pleasant music)

Parisian day trip is over,
it's back to the hard graft

to complete the
tower of curiosities.

Angel's orangery inspired
design is coming together

with the help of her artist
friends, Sam and Sophie.

- There was a very basic brief.

And the brief was, it's
a botanical suite tower

that want to incorporate
something from the garden.

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] In a fusion
of art and technology,

they project images onto
the walls as a template

for the finished work.

On the floor below the
pictures are very different.

Loving caricatures
of the family.

In less than 24 hours,
the lift will arrive.

This will be done
by tomorrow evening,

neither Angel or I sleep.

- The lift arrives
in the morning

and Jesus said, "No dust."

Wind and cleaning windows.

- You be very
careful of that hole.

- Okay.

He's such a worry-pot.

- [Narrator] There's one
chance for the family

to see the final construction

before the children
are packed off to bed.

- Who wants to go
in and look up?

- Me.
- Wow.

(laughing)

- [Dick] Hello.

Hello, down there.

- Hello up there.

- [Angel] Come on, monsters.

- Hello.

- Who's ready to go to bed?

- [Arthur] Me!

- I'm putting the kids to bed.

- I'm gonna follow you anyway.

- [Narrator] Dick and Angel
work on into the night.

Tomorrow comes the final test

of Dicks engineering master plan

and of Angels design vision
for the tower of curiosities.

As long as the lift
fits into the shaft

and as long as it works.

(pleasant music)

(birds singing)

It's the day everyone
has been waiting for.

Not yet Christmas, but the lift
is arriving at the Chateau.

- Bonjour, hello.

Jesus, good to see ya.

- [Narrator] It's the cumulation

of whole month of
backbreaking work.

- Thomas, hello.

- [Narrator] Dick
has done all he can.

The tower is pristine,

the second floor ceiling
has been knocked through

and the basement
door is widened.

- Here we go.

One meter and have
a look at my hole.

(excited music)

- [Narrator] For once,
Dick can stand back

and watch other
do the hard work.

- Let's have a look,
come on, it's Christmas.

Oh.

- [Narrator] The
21st century lift

is at last making it's way
into it's 19th century home.

Each of the cylinders have to
be squeezed into the tower.

- [Dick] Made for it!

- [Narrator] Then
attached to a winch

that is secured at
the top of the turret.

- It doesn't look
wonky, does it?

- [Narrator] The pieces
are then hauled up,

from the bottom to the top
in turn and set in place.

(speaking in foreign language)

- It fits, that's
all we care about.

(laughing)

- [Narrator] The boys from
Spain make it look easy.

- [Dick] Perfect.

- [Narrator] But as the last
300 kilo place unit come in,

work falters.

- We know the door's big enough.

We know the
measurements are right.

It's just very heavy.

- Do you wanna help us?

- Of course, I'm here.

I can lift heavy weights.

(laughing)

Rest, one second, okay.

- [Narrator]
Luckily all it needs

is a bit of Strawbridge
brute-force.

(grunting)

(laughing)

- [Narrator] The
lift is complete.

It's taken four men seven
hours to install and Dick

and Angels extraordinary vision
has finally been realized.

Jesus can't quite believe what
Dick has managed to pull off.

- When I was here
three weeks ago,

this was totally a disaster, so.

Now, it's amazing

that only two people did
everything in just three weeks.

- [Narrator] Now, all they
have to do is test it.

- [Dick] In you go.

(laughing)

Shut the door properly.

Okay, choose the floor.

(laughing)

(cheering)

(laughing)

I thought it wasn't gonna
work there for a second.

She's gone.

- Oh, no one told me it went up.

- Been in a lot of lifts.

But this is fun.

Willy Wonka would've
happy with this.

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] The hardest
job is at last behind them

and the family
finally find a moment

to get in the festive spirit.

- [Dick] I wonder
what's in there?

- Christmas tree!

(cheering)

- Come in, Mummy.

Look at this.

Oh, look it's bursting out.

Okay.

Dorothy go grab the end for me.

Arthur, feed me lights.

Whoa!
- Yay.

- [Dick] Wow, how
beautiful is that?

- I did it!

(cheering)

- [Dick] All right,
cheers to Christmas.

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] Getting
the lift fitted in time

was nothing short of miraculous.

But Angel's fairytale
tower of curiosities

is still not ready to
unveil to their guests

so she and Dick are rushing

to add the finishing
touches to her vision.

- Oops, getting stabbed.

This is medieval torture.

- Oh, yeah.
- There you go.

- [Narrator] Some
of the old records

that Angel found in the
attic were beyond saving

so she's incorporating them
into the design of the tower

with Dicks help, of course.

- So we're gonna balloon it
out like a bunch of balloons

that you'd see in a theme park.

- I'm saying nothing.

- That's looking
really good, baby.

- Stop me.
- No, not yet.

So next to that one.

Yes, but further back.

- You just tell me, up,
down, left or right,

that's all I need from you.

- It goes back a bit further.

- [Dick] Back's which way?

- That way, up.

Down, down, down,
that's good enough.

(pleasant music)

- [Dick] Hello.

- [Narrator] Dicks mum
and sisters have arrived

at the Chateau for
their family Christmas.

- Hello, Mummy.

Hello, Darling.

Angela, we need to get
the family upstairs,

how we gonna get them up?

- [Narrator] In
just under a month,

the pepper pot turret has
been completely transformed

and Dick and Angel can't wait

to show off their
fruits of their labor.

- We got this.
- Look at this.

- [Narrator] Just days ago,

the turret was a crumbling
mess of rubble and dust.

(screaming)

But now it's resplendent

as the magical tower
of curiosities.

(pleasant music)

Full of hundreds of years

of treasures the
house has revealed.

And lots of Angels imagination.

Dorothy flying her
antique record balloons.

Arthur riding on an owl,
brandishing his sword.

Angel fanning herself.

And Dick, sporting a sporran.

But mot importantly,
Dicks mother is able

to visit the second floor
for the very first time.

- Well done, Dorothy.

Oh, my goodness, gracious me.

Oh I say, look at that too.

That's beautiful, Angela.

- [Angel] Have you never
been up here before?

- No, I got as far as
the honeymoon suite
down stairs there.

This I never saw,
but oh my goodness,

I don't know what
it was like before,

but you've done
beautifully with it, love.

You have worked like
trogants, you really have.

(happy music)

- [Narrator] It's the day

of the family
Christmas celebration.

The turkey has grown to
it's full Christmas weight.

- 13 and a half pounds.

That's not bad, is it?

Right, peelers now.

Who's gonna be leeks, carrots?

- [Narrator] Dick
is the chef de jour,

master of all in his
kitchen, except his mother.

- Richard, do I let you
know at this stage, darling,

I haven't cleaned the parsley?

- Christmas tip number one,
is do it with your mum,

'cause she taught you anyway

and that's if you're
thinking too hard.

(laughing)

- I put it with
butter in there too,

because what have you done?

- Bun, could you
pass me the butter,

Lynn will you pass me the
butter there, sweetheart.

'cause Mum says I
have to do this.

- No, you don't have to.

I'm just saying I do.

(laughing)

- Okay, here we go!

(cheering)

Cooking by committee.

(pleasant music)

- [Narrator] Angel is using the
greenery she foraged earlier

for her dream of bringing the
garden to the dinner table.

- That's a big old book,
that one, isn't it?

- [Narrator] Along with her
special Christmas crackers,

a hollowed out book for every
guest with presents inside.

And a homemade decoration
for every guest.

- There we go.

The kids are gonna
be so excited.

Sugared fruits.

Yeah, I'm done.

I'm gonna get ready.

Yeah, good.

(happy music)

- [Dick] Christmas
lunch is served.

- Okay, Mum, you're here.

Dad, you're there.

Granny, Jenny.
- Thank you, darling.

- [Dick] Aunty Diana.

- On your place settings,

the book is your
Christmas cracker.

- [Dick] Oh, what's
inside, what's inside?

(whistle blowing)

- [Arthur] Wow, I
do like my whistle.

- So this is your
little keepsake.

Oh, don't dry.

(laughing)

Oh, yeah.

- We're all gonna say, families.

- [All] Families.

- [Dick] There you go.

What's this?

(cheering)

It's quite heavy.

It's quite heavy.

- [Angel] Arthur, you
did say I want a big one.

Be careful, it's hot.

- This is beautiful.
- There's so much gravy.

- [Narrator] The
family dinner is over.

Angel has always promised Dick
she would teach him to dance.

(laughing)

And she's found a gramophone,

which will play the records
she's saved from the attic.

- [Dick] This is good.

(old-time music)

- You did the wrong foot then.
- I know.

(laughing)

(singing in foreign language)

- So, you don't actually
get what's happening here,

I'm been pulled in circles.

(laughing)

I lead.

- No, I'm leading.

(singing in foreign language)

Happy Christmas, baby.