Escape to the Chateau DIY (2018–2021): Season 2, Episode 6 - Episode #2.6 - full transcript

I'm Dick Strawbridge,

and along with my wife, Angel, and our two children,

we've lived in this magnificent chateau in France

for the last four years.

Angel: I love you, I love you, I love you.

Dick, voiceover: It's not just our home...

Right. So canapes.

Dick, voiceover: But a business.

And it turns out we're not the only Brits

who have quit the UK for the chateau life.

Wow. I've never seen anything like this.



I can't talk.

Dick, voiceover: Now Angel and I are back

helping more chateau owners on their journey.

The whole of this has to be completely tanked and sealed.

Dick, voiceover: We'll work with some familiar faces...

- Good to see you. - Welcome.

Dick, voiceover: And meet some

who are new to the chateau life...

Ta-da!

Angel: Good work. Ha ha ha!

Ah...

You broke it? In the hole?

That's a bit of an issue.

Dick, voiceover: As they battle to renovate their homes



and make them work as businesses.

Paul, our guests are here!

Dick, voiceover: There will be extraordinary discoveries...

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Dick, voiceover: And inevitable obstacles.

Aah!

Dick, voiceover: But however hard the going gets,

for these plucky Brits,

their homes really are their castles.

[Indistinct voices]

Dick, voiceover: Today...

Rebecca: There's quite a lot of water

leaking out of this tap, Tim, right now.

Dick, voiceover: New chateau owners get a dose of reality...

As happy as can be with water coming out my bath.

Dick, voiceover: As they start a massive rebuilding job.

Right now, it's not looking so pretty.

Dick: There you are.

Dick, voiceover: And I'm on hand to help them find their feet.

Tim: We've got 14 bedrooms,

and we slept on the sitting-room floor.

Dick: It's so glamorous, having a chateau, isn't it, eh?

Dick, voiceover: We welcome back

a familiar face from last year...

You don't go into a room and shut the door.

You can't find your way out. You can't find the door.

It's crazy.

Dick, voiceover: Who's still trying to finish

her renovation project all by herself.

Whatever you do and you account for,

you end up...just double it, double the time.

Dick, voiceover: And one couple

tries to keep their wedding business going.

Anna: Oh, there we go. A little accident.

Dick, voiceover: Otherwise, it could all go down the drain.

Edward: To be honest, it doesn't get much worse than this.

It's just mushy hair.

[Music playing]

Hello, darling.

Dick, voiceover: I'm Dick Strawbridge, engineer

and former lieutenant colonel in the British army,

and with my wife, Angel, we've spent four incredible years

renovating our chateau into a home and business.

Dick: Ha ha ha! Yay!

If it doesn't work, we're so in the boot.

Dick, voiceover: And across France,

more and more Brits are taking on

their own castle challenges...

[Music playing]

Attracted by chateaus that come in all shapes, sizes,

and states of repair.

Among the latest to take the plunge

are Lincolnshire couple Tim, Rebecca,

and their two children,

who found their perfect one seven months ago

when they bought Chateau de la Ruche

for 380,000 pounds.

Tim: You stand in the back garden,

and you look out, and the sun's out,

and, yeah, it can't not be the dream, I don't think.

Rebecca: I knew I was in trouble

as soon as we hit the driveway,

because I've always, always loved country lanes

with the trees growing over the top

and it all looking like a fairy tunnel basically.

It was just amazing. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Dick: Located just 50 miles from us

in the Pays de la Loire region,

their chateau dates back to the 18th century

and has 14 bedrooms, 15 acres of land,

and comes with its own lake.

But for Tim, an ex I.T. engineer,

and Rebecca, a part-time journalist,

the move has come at a price.

We can't afford to eat and live

and probably just about pay the bills.

Tim: Because the cost of living is high.

We kind of joke, but we say

literally the only thing that's cheaper in France

is houses and wine,

because I can't think of anything else that we've found--

Bread is fairly cheap.

Yeah, but you have to buy it every day

because it doesn't last, so...

Dick: To start bringing in some money,

they plan to open the chateau as a bed-and-breakfast

in four months' time.

It's a big task, given the state of the place.

Rebecca: The winter, we had no heating whatsoever.

So we were all living in one room, because the kitchen

was the only room with a log-burner to keep us warm.

It was kind of like living in a fridge outside of that room.

So, there were days when we were pretty miserable.

Dick: To save money,

Tim and Rebecca are doing most of the renovating themselves.

So far, they've stripped the walls and floors

without too much bother.

Rebecca: You can clear up my mess.

Tim: What is that? That is a disgrace.

Rebecca: We both quite enjoy getting our hands dirty,

and I just love the fact

that we get to work on stuff together.

Tim: That's how you do it.

Rebecca: That's so annoying.

Adequate, my love. Adequate.

- Yeah. - Competent.

"Competent." Don't you "my love" me.

[Music playing]

Dick: But there are some jobs that are just too big.

Today they're having a new septic tank put in,

a vital addition to ensure their B&B guests all have

en suite bathrooms of their own.

After already splashing out on electrics and plumbing

inside the chateau,

Tim and Rebecca now face a 12,000-pound bill for the tank,

which means 3/4 of their 90,000-pound budget

has gone on getting their utilities up and running.

Rebecca: We're actually really excited about it,

because it means that we can go

from one toilet for the whole household

to hopefully three, maybe four if we're lucky.

So, um, it also means that the whole place won't smell

of...disgustingness.

- Effluent. - Yeah.

Dick: Septic tanks, or fosse septiques, as they're known,

are very common in rural France,

and with no mains, it's often the only way

to get rid of wastewater and sewage.

It's a messy job and means Tim and Rebecca's garden

will have to be redone.

[Tool beeping]

I'm very much hoping that these green bits,

which apparently are for them to, um, pump out the fosse,

are going to be buried under the ground enough

for the grass to grow back over the top of them.

And if people can see green plastic,

I'm not going to be very happy about it.

So, if I can see them when they fit it in the hole,

I'll be getting them to dig it back out again

and put it down a bit lower, because I'm not having that.

[Music playing]

Dick: 275 miles south, set in an old vineyard,

is the stunning 15th-century Chateau Lagorce.

Once the residence of some of the region's top wine producers,

this palatial castle is now home

to Brit Edward and his Kosovan wife Anna,

who live here with their three-year-old son Charles.

[Charles shouts]

You rarely get a chateau like this.

You've got the turrets. You've got the terraces.

You have a lake. There's everything here, you know.

And it was that that kind of sold it to our family,

to myself and my parents.

Anna: It's, like, on the big scale,

so, like, wow, oh, my God.

Dick: Located in Haux, just outside Bordeaux,

Edward's family bought the chateau

when it was nothing more than a shell.

Today, it's a lavish wedding venue,

with 22 en suite bedrooms.

It also has its own chapel and swimming pool.

With Edward's parents semi-retired,

it's left to the two of them to run it all,

and that doesn't come cheap.

Edward: You can't just have a chateau

and have it sit there pretty. There are running costs.

Just to have the chateau is about 80,000 a year.

Anna: So, it's not easy,

because on a daily basis, whatever we do,

we have to make it work.

If we just stopped doing what we're doing,

we'd have to... we'd have to sell.

Dick: To pay the bills,

Edward and Anna host two weddings a week over the summer.

And today, the pressure is on,

as they're preparing for one of their biggest bookings.

185 guests are due to arrive tomorrow,

and they can't afford for anything to go wrong.

You want everything to be perfect,

because at the end of the day, it is their special day,

and--Oh! There we go. A little accident.

The hardest part is making sure everything is...is going well

and is exactly like it should be.

Dick: To save on costs,

they split most of the work between them.

But when it comes to organizing the big day,

Anna takes charge.

I like to do everything myself and to oversee everything,

and I do like everything to be my way.

I think this one is done.

I just get told what to do in summer basically.

Ha ha ha.

Edward: Uh, rubber gloves on here.

Anna generally gets the glamorous jobs,

and I end up with the, uh... mucking-out jobs.

[Tools rattle]

To be honest,

it doesn't get much worse than this.

It's just mushy hair and...

Once, I did find...

I did get called by a client to find

a diamond earring that had fallen down a sink.

So, that was good fun.

There we go.

15 showers more to do.

So, let's go.

Dick: All part of the job.

[Speaking French]

Dick: Anna is welcoming some of the wedding party,

who are staying here before the big day.

Anna: Which one did you choose in the end?

Man: I think we're gonna pick the one that we looked at first.

Anna: OK. Armedouc? OK. Man: Yeah.

Dick: But no matter how many weddings you've organized,

you always know to expect the unexpected,

and today is no exception.

The roads to the chateau have been closed for the weekend.

So Edward needs to put up diversion signs

so the guests don't get lost.

Edward: The diversion signs are for Creon,

which is a town nearby,

and La Sauve, another town nearby.

But they kind of forget about my clients.

So, I'm kind of left to put my own signs up.

I'm starting at the start,

where people will get completely lost,

and then we're gonna divert people.

Dick: If the cars miss the turn into the chateau,

they'll end up in Creon,

which is five miles in the wrong direction.

[Music playing]

Late guests mean wedding schedules go out the window.

[Speaking French]

Dick: So he needs to do everything he can

to stop people going AWOL.

Edward: And you go right until where it says "route barree,"

and that's our entrance.

Dick: With endless signs still to put up,

it's going to be a race against time

before the big day.

[Music playing]

In the Limousin lies the majestic

13-bedroom Chateau du Masgelier,

which dates back to 1174.

Former noble owners include the Knights Templar

and King Louis XIV.

It's now owned by DIY enthusiast Fiona Jones.

Last year, we saw her forging ahead

with her ambitious renovation plans.

It is very nice to live in France.

It's beautiful, beautiful country.

But some days, I'm living the dream,

some days I'm living a nightmare.

Dick: Located slap-bang in the middle of France,

she's singlehandedly making over the chateau

from top to bottom.

Fiona: So, all of this has literally been soaked

in cat urine. That's why it smells so bad.

People do think it is very...

yeah, you're sitting by your pool, drinking pina colada,

but it's just constant,

from the moment you wake up in the morning

to the moment that you go to bed at night.

You're having to do it all. You're having to do it all.

Dick: Last summer, Fiona's ultimate goal

was to finish the ground floor...

Fiona: Gravity. Stay.

Dick: Which proved trickier than she thought.

But all her hard work eventually paid off,

as she created a stunning dining area.

Fiona: I think the biggest success

is that I'm still here after six years...

if I'm honest.

You got it tight? You OK there?

Dick: Fiona shares this historic castle

with son and helper, 10-year-old Louis.

Fiona: Brilliant. Thank you, Louis.

Get to bunk, huh?

Dick: They live in the old servants quarters

and make money from a gite, which is rented out

as a holiday home during the summer.

But to bring in more cash, she wants to open the chateau

as a high-end B&B and wedding venue

within the next 18 months.

Things are progressing, and I'm not bankrupt yet.

Not yet.

But the pot has to start filling up.

Money has to start coming in

so the castle can actually start paying for itself.

Dick: Before she can even think about welcoming guests,

she has another epic project to take on,

restoring the chateau's first floor

to create bedrooms for a B&B.

Fiona: You have to give it a go,

work hard, keep on target,

and hopefully you'll get there at the end.

Dick: Fiona's first task is to strip

the vast corridor that leads to the bedrooms.

This could take a while,

as there are 70's carpet glued to the walls.

The whole corridor was completely green.

It just was like walking down The Green Mile,

minus the electric chair at the end of it.

Such a lovely old castle, and...

I just cannot comprehend

why they would put carpet on the walls.

Dick: You and me both.

This is a new one. Carpeted the doors as well.

You don't go into a room and shut the door.

You can't find your way out, you can't find the door.

It's crazy.

It stinks, doesn't it? It stinks! Uh!

I should have just got a castle that was original

and just needed sort of general-gent restoration.

Dick: In my book, there's no straightforward job

renovating a chateau.

Fiona: Oh.

Dick: You always have to expect the unexpected.

There you go. I've got some damp

just to add to the work.

See? Whatever you do and you account for,

you end up...

just double it, double the time.

Nothing goes smoothly.

Ridiculous.

[Music playing]

Dick: 160 miles northeast in the Pays de la Loire region,

new chateau owners Tim and Rebecca

are finally seeing their septic tank going into the ground.

Tim: How exciting is that, Lars?

Dick: It's the first vital step towards the goal

of opening a bed-and-breakfast in four months' time.

I'm a bit anxious about the state of the garden right now,

because, obviously, it's been trashed

by all the diggers and everything,

but I'm sure it will grow back,

but the sooner we can get it covered over

and start repairing it for the summer,

because, obviously, we're hoping to open to paying guests

by the end of the summer,

and right now, it's not looking so pretty.

Dick: They need the tank in place

so they can check all the new plumbing inside the chateau

is in working order.

Rebecca: So, we've got new water supply,

new hot-water tanks, new pipework, and everything,

but we haven't been able to test anything

until we get this fosse in the ground.

So, now this is done,

everything else can kind of kick off from there.

So we've kind of been waiting for this to happen

so that everything else can go.

Dick: After three days of work,

the tank is in situ,

and the massive hole can be filled in.

Now they can start connecting it to the bathrooms,

but that's no easy job either.

We are in the process of finishing all the plumbing

that was put in a few weeks ago.

Um, we've got to finish off the pipework for the toilet,

connect it up to the gray pipe in the corner,

which is really exciting, because that's the pipe

that goes to the new septic tank outside,

and we can use that for the first time.

So we'll then have a fully functioning new bathroom.

Dick: Exciting times all around,

although Rebecca isn't completely pleased

with the final look of things.

So, this is where the septic tank has gone in.

And I was hoping that these great big green covers

would be a bit deeper under the ground.

When I asked about it,

apparently they have to be accessible

because it has to be pumped out every now and again,

which is fair enough, and it's an essential piece of kit,

and we can't start without it.

So I need to come up with some kind of solution

to hide these as best I can.

Can maybe have some artfully placed pots,

something lovely. I don't know.

But I need to do something with it,

because at the moment, it looks horrendous.

Dick: With so much work to do

to make the chateau a fully operational business,

I'm paying Tim and Rebecca a visit

to see if I can give them a few pointers.

[Music playing]

Their entranceway is just surrounded,

lined by lovely old trees.

You get a bit of driveway envy. Ha ha.

[Music playing]

That is lovely. It looks in good nick.

I wonder what they've been spending

all this time working on.

Hiya! Didn't plan on the weather.

Nice to meet you. Good to see you.

Rebecca: Nice to meet you. Come in.

Dick: This is great, isn't it?

I'm gonna take my coat off, if I may.

First things first. You bought it with 14 bedrooms?

- Yeah. - Yeah.

What is your aim?

So, this half, this side...

From this wall onwards.

Yes, from this wall onwards, will be for guests.

So that will be the chambre d'hote side,

and then this side will be for us.

Tim: We've got 14 bedrooms,

and we slept on the sitting-room floor

on Saturday night.

Rebecca: Plumbers and electricians have been in

and turfed the kids out of their room,

turfed us out of our rooms, and trashed them all.

Three years in, we were still camping in our bedrooms

when we actually made the decision

and said, "It's time to spoil ourselves

and put a bathroom in," because it was literally...

It was wooden stud walls.

It's so glamorous having a chateau, isn't it, eh?

I think my need is to understand

exactly what you've got going on. Come on, show me.

Rebecca: Come through this way.

Dick: Well, we already have something in common.

Now I'm intrigued to see the state of the place.

Dick: May I put this down? Rebecca: Yes, of course.

Dick: You know what? This is a lovely, lovely big room.

What's your plan for it?

Rebecca: So, this is gonna be the main sitting room

for guests and also where they'll eat their breakfast.

Dick: Salon, darling. Salon.

Rebecca: Salon. Sorry. The main salon.

Dick: What are you gonna do to this?

How far off finishing is this room?

Rebecca: Um... it's quite a way.

The walls are in a bit of a state,

so we need to do some repairing of the walls.

We've got original plaster on the walls there,

and we don't want to put--

Dick: I've got a very good friend

who is an artist and a sculptor in London,

and do you know how he is making his fortune now?

Re-creating this as a... as a chateau shabby chic

or chateau chic or something, yeah?

And, dear me, he's been doing it for a lot of years.

And he goes around. He comes to our house,

and you can almost feel him touching it and going, "Wow."

He's re-creating that for a lot of places.

So, the amount of... It's an interesting...

And Angela has left some of our walls like that,

because she likes it as well.

And so, there's an interesting thing.

So, less could be more.

Tim: We like that. Yeah, yeah.

Dick: There are always ways to save a few quid

by keeping things simple.

This is all but done, isn't it?

Nice and gentle. Nice and gentle stairs.

Rebecca: Yeah, they're nice, nice original stairs.

Tim: Until a couple of weeks ago,

this was all completely covered up.

We didn't even know it was here.

We're like, "There must be another window."

And then it's in... it's in the downstairs toilet.

Dick: OK. I'm loving the pipes as well, by the way.

Rebecca: So, I wanted them removed,

but the plumber has just informed me

that he's going on holiday next week.

Plumbing is something

you can actually sort out yourself.

You haven't got the same regulations,

you haven't got the same worries and things, you know.

I'm quite comfortable with U.K. plumbing,

and you come to France, you think plumbing

must be exactly the same in France.

Every single thing about plumbing in France is different.

The connectors they use, the pipe they use,

the diameter of the pipe they use.

I think, "I could do that," and I go to the hardware store,

and I wander around, and I think,

"I can't do that anymore."

I've got to completely rethink what I was going to do.

Dick: Tim and Rebecca have a lot on their plate,

but I hope I'm helping them move forward.

What I like about them

is they're willing to give it a go.

240 miles south, Anna and Edward

are making the final preparations

for one of their largest wedding receptions of the summer.

[Anna speaking French]

Dick: With 183 guests

along with the newlyweds due in a few hours,

Anna's making sure the bride's seating plan

is carried out with military precision.

Anna: It's their special day, so my aim is to make

everything that they want pretty much happen,

even though sometimes it means that, yes,

a few people will be upset, but it has to go as they want.

Dick: But even the most expert wedding planners

have to deal with the unexpected...

[Music playing]

Especially Edward, as he has now discovered

all his diversion signs have been taken down.

Well...as kind of...

as the French say, "compre vous."

As...as I thought, uh...

somebody has not taken a liking to the signs.

So here I'm gonna try and place it

a bit harder for people to steal

or to vandalize and a bit...

because you've got the slope.

Dick: With Edward having to retrace his steps

to check on all of the signs,

he's going to be cutting it fine.

Edward: Our bride and groom,

they're gonna be coming back in about an hour's time.

They're going to be taking this road, following my signs,

and so, if they miss this turning here--

it's quite a strategic turning,

and so, if they miss this, they're going to be going

quite a way the other way.

So let's hope it doesn't go anywhere.

And, uh...you know, we'll just see. We'll see.

Dick: Fingers crossed, Edward.

Edward: We good? C'est bon?

Let's go.

[Music playing]

[Speaking French]

Dick: At the chateau, perfectionist Anna

almost has everything the way she wants it.

[Speaking French]

Dick: With lots of mouths to feed as well as entertain,

she knows she can't leave anything to chance.

Anna: I try so everything is pretty much like they wanted.

And even on the last minute

is just to make sure that the tables are straight

and the chairs are straight,

or at least until they sit down.

At least until they sit, nice.

Then after, there's nothing we can do.

Dick: With the scene meticulously set,

all they need now is the bride and groom

and wedding guests.

Edward's diversion signs are now strategically placed.

So, hopefully there shouldn't be any mix-up.

[Horn honking]

The plan seems to be working,

as the guests are starting to come in.

And here comes the bride and groom.

[Horn honking]

And there they go. Oh, dear.

[Music playing]

With the next stop five miles away,

this party might take a while to get started.

[Music playing]

I'm at Chateau de la Ruche

with new chateau owners Tim and Rebecca.

I like your stairs, by the way.

They feel sort of substantial, don't they?

They moved here from Lincolnshire and want to open

a bed-and-breakfast in four months' time.

They hope to capitalize on tourists

visiting nearby Le Mans.

Every year, its racetrack hosts

five major motorsports events,

including the 24-hour Le Mans car race.

Why is the Le Mans...sort of Classic so important?

Tim: When we were looking at places,

it was a really big draw to this area,

was the fact that we were within half an hour of the track,

and that's well within catchment.

People stay further away than that of the track.

Rebecca: The whole of this area gets booked out.

So...and there's big groups of people

who want to come together and do this whole week

of motorsports and things,

and they're willing to pay big money

to stay somewhere really lovely.

Dick: It sounds as if they've thought it all through.

But running a business in a chateau

never comes with any guarantees.

Dick: Do you believe that you are going to be full

for each of the Le Mans events?

Do you believe that? And if you really believe that,

well done, tick. That's...

Part of your future revenue stream is there, you know,

because where you've chosen to live has given you that.

So that's a big point.

When it comes down to the other arm,

it's getting things done and getting it out there.

Nobody knows you're here.

Rebecca: This is very true.

Dick: Are you advertising this?

Rebecca: We haven't advertised anything yet.

I've just had all the branding done and everything,

and there is pressure on Tim to do the website.

If you were to start advertising now,

it'll be next year before people start coming to you.

You want to sort of be saying,

"The chateau is used for Le Mans special sort of...yeah,

and we're open for this and this."

I know, for us, we got our first letting room done

and started out advertising as sort of people coming

for getaways to us and things straightaway

so we could start that revenue.

And if you wait until all the ducks are aligned,

you've missed quite a large lot, yeah.

Rebecca: I think we need to get advertising straightaway.

Tim: I think you've given us the confidence to...

to push forward and be ahead of ourselves

rather than wait until it's all finished.

I just love the fact we're sitting here,

and all you can hear is birds singing.

Rebecca: Yeah, it's beautiful.

Do you love the place?

I do love it, yeah. Wouldn't leave it for anything, no.

Dick, voiceover: I think they've got a great setup here

and could do really well as long as they keep

their renovations on schedule.

160 miles away at Chateau du Masgelier,

Fiona is also hoping to turn her chateau into a B&B,

but it's proving to be a slow process.

So far, she's only managed to strip the walls

of the castle's first-floor corridor.

Until it's complete,

she can't make a start on the bedrooms.

What the aim is is to put four chandeliers

throughout the length of the long corridor.

Dick: Today she's brought in Pete, the electrician,

to check the wiring along the hallway,

and he may have just made a big discovery.

Pete: OK. There's a joist there anyway.

- There is a joist there? - Yeah, that's good.

Fiona: See, I was thinking the medieval beams

will probably be under all this plasterboard,

but if I start pulling down the ceiling,

there might not...

Well, I could be in trouble. It could be a right mess.

Does that feel like wood?

Pete: Yeah, it's wood there.

Fiona: Oh, I'm tempted now to take the ceilings down.

I'm gonna sleep on it, because I'm playing with the idea.

There's a big chance most of it is still beams,

and I thought it would be really nice

to take the ceilings down

and expose all of the medieval beams.

It's a bit of a gamble.

Dick: While Fiona ponders what to do with the corridor...

Fiona: Ah! Light!

Dick: She checks the neighboring bedroom

to see if there are any beams in there.

But it's going to be a messy job,

as the ceiling is covered in damp.

Fiona: Before I moved here, there was too much rain.

There was a big gully that was completely blocked,

and all the rain has poured through

four floors all the way down

and caused all of this damage.

So I'm going to take part of the ceiling down

before it does actually fall down.

[Music playing]

Right. Let's see what we've got. Uh.

It may come down in one piece, if I'm lucky.

Oh, God.

Dick: What I love about chateaus

is you never know what you might find

in any nook and cranny.

Fiona: So, there's beams.

So, what I think I'm going to do

when I do come to restore this room

is take down the whole ceiling

and, you know, varnish all of the...the beams.

Dick: It's a great find, but sorting out

ceilings like this is going to be time-consuming,

and she's doing most things by herself.

So, after careful consideration,

Fiona decides to opt out of doing

the same thing in the corridor.

There are beams underneath, which is fantastic.

But I've got to also paint doors, paint frames, ceiling,

and that's about 130 drops of wallpaper.

So...one week? No, a couple of months, I would have thought,

and that's if I work on it every single day.

[Music playing]

Dick: Having made her decision, Fiona cracks on

with her next challenge in the hallway.

This time, she hopes to see some light

at the end of her very long corridor.

Fiona: I've got three chandeliers up so far.

I've got two more to go up.

So that's five. That sounds

quite a lot of chandeliers, doesn't it?

I think I've got a bit of an addiction.

I might have to put myself into a 12-step program

with C.A., Chandeliers Anonymous.

Dick: Having overdosed herself on chandeliers...

Fiona: Louis, darling, could you bring me down a torch?

Dick: It's left to mom's assistant and son Louis...

Fiona: Ah, thanks. Do you mind just shining it up

just while I check?

Dick: To help ensure everything is present and correct.

Fiona: If you could just do it while I do the screw.

Don't want that falling down.

Oh, I was looking for that. That's even better.

See if I've wired them up correctly.

Dick: It's the moment of truth for both Fiona and Louis.

Fiona: OK. Here we go. Drum roll.

Yay!

Let there be light to stop that poor illumination.

And there's two more chandeliers to go up.

[Music playing]

Dick: 145 miles south, at Chateau Lagorce,

Edward and Anna are hosting a huge wedding reception.

Over the weekend of road closures and diversions,

no one knows where the bride and groom are.

It was a bit harder to see the sign maybe.

but most people have got here.

Nobody's really said they've missed any signs,

but, yeah, apparently the bride and groom missed them.

Dick: It's a nervous wait.

But finally, an hour late, Brit Sarah

and new French husband Alexander make their appearance,

and now the party can really get started.

[Music playing]

For Edward, that means making sure

everything else runs without a hitch.

Edward: All I do is put wine on tables,

keeping my eye on the catering staff,

and you just need to keep your eye on everything.

You can't take your eye off the ball,

because the smallest thing that you take your eye off the ball,

and you can have a problem.

Dick: With so many guests to look after,

Anna and Edward rely on the caterers

to keep things moving.

[Music playing]

Unfortunately, the delayed arrival of the bride and groom

means Anna's strict schedule has to change,

and that could upset the neighbors.

Normally, we're meant to have a surprise fireworks display

at 11:00 p.m.

Honestly, we'll still do them, but I know what's gonna happen.

So, I'm just gonna have to be super-nice

with the neighbors really close by.

So, some flowers, a bottle of wine, champagne,

and just go and apologize, because what else?

I mean, we have to make it happen, no matter what.

[Music playing]

Dick: With the spectacular evening celebrations

set to go long into the night,

has Anna and Edward's hard work paid off?

We've had a great day today.

It's been a bit hectic, but we've got there in the end.

Alexander: The castle is fantastic, too.

The venue is amazing.

Sarah: It went like clockwork.

[Fireworks exploding]

Dick: It's been a great success

and will help pay the hefty overheads

of running Anna and Edward's chateau.

Basically, all that's left to do now

is clean up the tables, get the chairs.

Um...there's a lot of glasses to wash.

And have something to eat as well.

I need to have my lunch and dinner together.

Dick: Let's hope the neighbors

don't complain too much tomorrow.

Dick: At Chateau de la Ruche,

with the septic tank in and the plumbing in place...

Brits Tim and Rebecca want to see

if their bathrooms are finally working.

Getting the guest suites operational is...

is really, really important for us to be able to run

the property as a business. So, this is a massive step

towards us surviving over here.

And making money, yeah,

because, obviously, you can have a lovely bedroom,

but if you haven't got a decent bathroom,

no one's gonna want to come and stay.

So, as boring as it is, plumbing is an essential, definitely.

Tim: Are we ready?

Rebecca: I can hear water.

Ah.

There is water coming out.

Tim: Where it should be?

Rebecca: Yeah, of where it should be.

Yeah, both hot and cold are working, too.

Though there is water dripping from one of the taps.

The joint on the tap is leaking.

I had my mop at the ready.

There's quite a lot of water

leaking out of this tap, Tim, right now.

Just need to stem the flow.

Dick: A leaky tap is an easy fix,

but the bigger issue is making sure

the wastewater reaches the new septic tank in the garden.

If the pipes are not sealed, they'll leak,

which will mean getting the plumbers back in,

costing money they haven't got.

Right now, we need to test the waste pipes for everything.

So, I'm slightly nervous that they might leak.

So, the best way to do it, we need quite a lot

of water going through at the same time.

So I'm gonna fill up the bath,

and then I'm gonna take the plug out,

and Tim is gonna go downstairs,

because then he'll be the one to get wet if it leaks.

[Music playing]

Dick: 210 miles southeast at Chateau du Masgelier,

Fiona is making some progress of her own.

With all the chandeliers in place,

the first-floor corridor is finally ready for decorating.

Fiona: The idea of this paper, the design,

is that it looks like fabric,

um, once all of the drops are on.

There we go. Oops.

Isn't that bonkers? Look at that. It's drying.

Probably the worst day to be papering.

Dick: This is a common problem,

as the heat is causing the paste to dry too quickly,

preventing the paper from sticking to the wall.

It's shaping up to be the second-hottest summer on record,

and with 130 drops of wallpaper to hang,

it could take a while.

Wow. I really love that.

I think that's gonna look fantastic on the wall.

Dick: Fiona will have to wait for the weather to cool down.

Dick: But there's still lots she has to do,

like making curtains for the corridor windows.

Fiona: I do enjoy making the curtains

I enjoy every element from start to finish

of creating a room, but if I was to pay someone to do

the curtains, make the curtains for me, for example,

that could run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Tens of thousands of pounds.

Dick: Fiona is using material

that represents the chateau's bygone era.

Fiona: This is beautiful French fabric,

but it actually comes... I got it from the U.K.

What I'm really doing is staging everything around, um...

things like these delicious tassels.

Quite nice, are they? Lovely. Look.

And what I'm trying to do

is make everything look completely different

from how it has been since the Seventies,

the green wallpaper on the wall,

with the green carpet on the wall.

Everything's going to look, um, very classic

and very traditionally French,

basically re-create the room

to how it would have been a few hundred years ago.

Dick: After several ups and downs

and weeks of hard work,

the first-floor hallway has been transformed

from a soulless empty space into a place

of traditional style and sophistication.

Dressed in opulent wallpaper and lavish floor-drop curtains,

her brightly lit chandeliers give it that luxury feel

of centuries ago.

It's a big step in the right direction

towards opening the chateau

as a B&B and wedding venue.

But Fiona still has lots more to do.

Fiona: I need to keep working

and as quick as possible.

My hopes for the future for the chateau

would be to see it fully restored,

to see all of the first floor, all of the bedrooms

filled with lots of people.

It would be fab. Wouldn't it be fab

just to sort of try and really see it through,

see the end product, yeah.

It'll be great.

[Music playing]

Dick: Back over at Chateau de la Ruche...

Rebecca: I will run a bath.

Dick: Tim and Rebecca are also hoping

everything will be great, as they're about to find out

if they have free-flowing water

for the first time in seven months.

Rebecca: OK. Do you think that's enough water?

Tim: Yeah, that's more than enough.

OK.

Tim: Let's go down and have a look.

Rebecca: OK. Good luck!

Dick: Tim is checking for leaks on the floor below,

as he needs to ensure the wastewater pipes

are working all the way to the septic tank in the garden.

Water escaping is a bad thing.

OK. Go.

OK.

[Music playing]

[Water rushing in pipe]

Tim: And stop. Rebecca: Yeah.

Tim: Is that all right up there? Rebecca: Yeah.

Dick: So far, so good, but just to make sure,

Tim heads to the cellar to check for leaks

along the last section of pipes.

Tim: OK, Bec, can you hear me?

Rebecca: Yeah, just about. Tim: Go.

Rebecca: You ready? Tim: Yeah.

OK.

OK. Coming.

[Water rushing]

So, I can hear water running, and we can't see any water.

All the contents of the bath is coming down in one go now.

So, if it wasn't working, we would be

significant quantities of water in the cellar.

But what's happening here is it's coming straight down

from the pipe here and disappearing

to the outside of the house into the new septic tank.

So that's working absolutely fine.

We're all good. We're all good, I think.

As happy as can be with water coming out of the bath.

Dick: Tim might not be that thrilled,

but Rebecca certainly is.

Rebecca: I am definitely most excited about having a bath,

because I haven't had a bath since October.

I've obviously washed, but I haven't had a bath

and soaked in a bath.

And you've had showers as well.

I've had showers, yeah,

but I haven't soaked in a bath since October.

So I am very much looking forward to running

a really deep, really hot bath

and lying in it for an hour or so, yeah.

I've waited six months for this.

I'm gonna have my bath now. Bye.

Dick: Next time,

we meet a couple that live life in the fast lane,

as they set out in search

of the chateau of their dreams.

Martin: I feel like crying. Absolutely beautiful.

Kim: I've never seen you like this.

Martin: I can't talk.

Dick: Tim and Rebecca call in the troops

to help speed up their renovations...

Tim: Impressive seeing all the stuff get done

and thinking that's, like, days and days of work

being done in a couple of hours.

Dick: While Fiona has to face up to her next massive challenge.

Fiona: At the moment, I'm looking at it,

and I know it does look like a mess.

It looks like a total mess.

[Music playing]