Escape to the Chateau DIY (2018–2021): Season 3, Episode 7 - Episode #3.7 - full transcript

Dick Strawbridge:
I'm Dick Strawbridge.

And with my wife, Angel, and our
two children...

Boy: Let's go get it!

Dick: we're nearly 5 years
into our French adventure...

It's heavy.

restoring this once
abandoned chateau.

We have another capability of
the chateau.

Dick, voice-over: It's brought
plenty of challenges...

Phew.

but also some amazing rewards.

Angel: I love you.



Dick, voice-over:
And across France,

there are dozens of
other Brits

who've bought their own
chateaus.

Oh, my.

Dick, voice-over: Now Angel
and I are once again

lending a hand to other
expat chateau owners.

Angel: Sometimes, simplicity
is the way forward.

Dick, voice-over:
We'll meet some old friends...

Man: We don't need instructions,
only when it goes wrong.

Dick, voice-over:
and new faces.

Woman: Ooh, look at that.

Dick, voice-over:
There'll be plenty of ups...

Woman: Oh!

Dick, voice-over:
and downs.



Man: We can't ruin
the wedding meal

by eating outside in the rain.

Dick, voice-over:
But no matter what,

these plucky Brits...

Ooh.

Dick, voice-over:
will stop at nothing...

No. Steve--whoa. Steven.

Dick, voice-over: to ensure
these once unloved buildings...

I think I've made a hole.

Dick, voice-over: become
the homes of their dreams.

Woman: That is amazing.

Dick, voice-over: Today...

Angel: How are you?

Woman: So good.
I'm so happy to be here.

Dick, voice-over:
One chateau owner takes tips

in distressing
mirrors from Angel...

Angel: Just put a bit
of welly in it.

Woman: Elbow grease is my least
favorite form of power.

Dick, voice-over: and find some
time for reflection.

Angel: That's looking great.

Dick, voice-over: As this
couple race to renovate
their ground floor...

Woman: We've got a bit of
a problem here

because every time people
go in and out,

they'll take
some of the stones with them

because they're very loose.
You can see.

Dick, voice-over: they end up
coming unstuck.

Man: There's an air bubble
here, look.

Woman: Oh, God.

Dick, voice-over: And at one
chateau, a DIY roof fix...

Man: Oh, my god. The things I'm
doing to save a few bob.

Dick, voice-over: has
this owner wishing he
had a head for heights.

Man: Oh, my God. No.

Dick, voice-over: Over 8,000
properties have been bought

by Brits in France last year.

And a fair few of us have been
lucky enough to end up

as owners of one of these
glorious places.

Take the magnificent
16th-century Chateau de Lalande.

It's run for events and as a B&B
by British owner Stephanie.

Stephanie: I think we started
doing bed and breakfast here

about 6 years ago,

and it's just word of mouth
that's spread bit by bit,

and now we're very busy,
so it's fantastic.

Dick, voice-over: Located
in rolling countryside
in the heart of France,

Stephanie bought the chateau
13 years ago.

During the off season while
there are fewer guests,

she's planning to
renovate her final B&B room.

Stephanie: Bed and breakfast is
our main source of income.

So it's really idiotic of me
not to have

got that room ready before.

If money comes in from
the B&B room,

that will give us
the money to do the next phase,

and then eventually the entire
stable yard can be renovated

into apartments and life will
be perfect.

Man: Show me where
this room is.

Stephanie: Finally, finally
it's happening.

Dick, voice-over:
She's on a tight budget,

so has cajoled friend Michael

into giving her a hand with
renovations.

Stephanie: So what do
you reckon, a couple
of hours of work?

Michael: A couple of hours?

Yeah, it always starts that way,
3 weeks later.

Stephanie: Yeah.

Dick, voice-over:
With a peak holiday season

starting in just a few months,
there's no time to waste.

Michael: Right. This is the
famous chambre de la tour.

Stephanie: Yes, it is.

Michael: Wow, what do you want
done in here then?

Stephanie: Quite a lot.

Michael: I think it needs it.

Stephanie: It's just
not working.

I have two panels of matching
fabric from the wallpaper.

They were the old curtains
and they faded a lot,

but I still think it's
incredible to have
the matching fabric.

That's why I want to try
and save this wallpaper,

and I'm going to use
this old fabric

because it's not big enough to
make into a curtain itself.

I'm going to
use the individual panels

and line all of the new
curtains.

I'll edge them with this fabric.
Michael: Wow.

Stephanie: Problem is, I don't
really like

the finished look at
the moment.

I think it's making the room
look really tall and thin.

I thought we could maybe fix
that by putting a dado.

Michael: What do you want to
do below the dado?

Stephanie: Well, I really wanted
paneling,

but I can't afford paneling.

Michael: Have you ever
seen where they used
to paint paneling?

Just paint it, like, on the
wall, like a mural, so it--

Stephanie: Oh, like
trompe l'oeil?

Michael: Yeah. So it kind of
looks 3D,

but it's actually just
painted on.

What did you say, trompe--
Stephanie: trompe l'oeil.

Michael: Does it mean to
deceive the eye?

Stephanie: Yeah.
Michael: Yeah.

So, it will kind of--

from a distance,
it will look like paneling.

Stephanie: I love it.
Michael: Yeah.

Stephanie: So that's the idea
for the main room.

But I'm stumped with
the bathrooms.

Bathrooms, I say,
because they're cupboards

on either side of the alcove.

I've turned one into a loo.

Michael: Oh, wow.

Stephanie: And the other one is
a shower.

It's a bit prison toilet.

Michael: It does. It does look
a bit prison toilet.

I think that we're going to
have to think

about this a
little bit longer.

We need to keep brainstorming.

All right, I'm going to get on
with the curtains.

Dick, voice-over:
While they ponder the loo,

Michael can crack on with
fitting the dado rail...

while Stephanie gets busy with
needle and thread.

Stephanie: It's really lovely to
be able to use the old fabric

and see it coming together
in a new way.

I did not know that
buying a chateau would mean

I'd have to become an expert
curtain maker,

but I've made
easily over a hundred drops,

goodness knows how many pelmets,

and I had to do it out of
necessity.

I couldn't possibly have
employed somebody

to make all of
these curtains.

It would've cost a fortune.

Dick, voice-over:
Half an hour later,

the curtains
are taking shape.

I'll be pleased when they're
completely even.

But I think it's definitely
getting there.

Dick, voice-over:
Looking good.

But there's
a lot more work ahead

to get the B&B suite
refurb sewn up.

This is 15th-century
Chateau Mareuil,

which South Londoners Belinda
and Lee bought 4 years ago.

Lee: My family thought
I was crazy

when I told them what
we're going to do.

Belinda: I think they thought we
were just

having a bit of a game
or a laugh or something.

Dick, voice-over: Lying
40 miles from La Mouche,

after years of renovation, they
launched the chateau

as an events and holiday let
business last summer.

Belinda: This was
something I have worked
out only very recently.

Lee: I don't want to hear.

Belinda: But, hmm, we have
spent at least...

Lee: I'm not listening.
Belinda: 150,000 pou--

Lee: I'm not listening.
Belinda: euros. 150,000...

Lee: I heard that.
Belinda: euros.

I'm sorry you heard that.
Lee: Ouch.

Belinda: And it may be more
than that,

on the work that we've done to
date here at Chateau Mareuil.

Lee: Did you just say to date?

Dick, voice-over: Belinda
and Lee have now staged

their first event in
the chateau's salon.

Anyone who would like
some lunch--

I hope you all do want lunch.
It's a lovely lunch.

Hurray. It's ready.

Dick, voice-over: But their
main event space

is the medieval
castle keep or donjon.

It's currently in need of urgent
repair thanks to a recent storm.

Lee: We've had a bit of a hole
in the roof

where some tiles
have come loose.

And I've been trying to get
a roofer to come and fix it,

but the quotes we've had have
been exorbitantly high.

So I decided to have
a go myself,

so I've hired Steve
and his machine for the day,

and I've gone and bought
some tiles,

and I'm just going to go up

and have a go and see if
I can fix it.

Dick, voice-over:
By hiring a cherry picker

with a licensed operator
for just over £300,

Lee may save himself thousands
on the roof

and could get the donjon back up
and running more quickly.

Belinda: It's really important
to get the donjon roof fixed

because, you know, we've used it
for events,

and we want to carry on
doing that,

so it's got to look its best.

Lee is going to be really brave
and get up on the cherry picker.

I think he will
try not to show his fear.

Very hard, but I know him
really well,

and I think he's really quite
scared.

Lee: So I'll get these two
in there.

Steve: Oh, stick 4 in there
and we'll see how we got the--

Lee: We've got 4 tiles there.

Steve: Yeah, yeah.

Lee: If getting your leg over
was always this easy.

Steve: Yeah, yeah. Right.

Lee: Even up--I'm only up about
a meter off the ground,

and you can feel this thing
wobbling around quite a bit,

and I'm looking at the wind
in the trees now.

And the wind's picking up.

[Beeping]
Right.

Steve: That's the sandwich
alarm,

so I've had too many
sandwiches.

Lee: Yeah. We've got
to throw some ballast off here.

Dick, voice-over: The cherry
picker can carry a maximum
of 200 kilograms,

so something's got to go.

Steve: Take those two off.
Lee: We're obviously overloaded.

Steve: Close to the limit,
yeah, yeah.

Lee: Middle-aged men.

Dick, voice-over:
With only two tiles on board,

that's not much of a payload.

You'll be going up and down
all day.

I reckon you secretly
like this, Lee.

Lee: Oh, my god.

The things I'm
doing to save a few bob.

Oh.

Oh, god.

Oh. Oh.

Steve: Oh, we're going down now.

Lee: I just had a descending
feeling.

Oh, my god.

Dick, voice-over: You just have
to get used to it

or you'll never get that
roof mended.

This is stunning Chateau
Thuries,

dating from 1885 and sitting in
4 acres of woodland.

Its owners, British
couple Jayne and Steve,

moved in 9 months ago.

Jayne: We walked in, and even
though this house

had been shut up
for over 4 years,

it just had this most wonderful
feeling to it.

Steve: The thing that really
hooked me,

the land that it came with
was wonderful.

I was blown away by that.

Dick, voice-over: Located under
an hour from Toulouse,

Jayne and Steve plan to open as
a B&B in 4 months' time

and are currently renovating
their ground floor.

You've missed a bit, Steve,
right on the edge.

Steve: Up there?

Jayne: No, right on the edge of
where the wind--

Steve: Oh, I can see it.
Jayne: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Man: Yay.

Dick, voice-over: They made some
progress

with their dining room in time

for a festive visit from
their daughters...

Steve: Group hug, group hug.

Dick, voice-over: and are
now moving onto the rest
of the downstairs.

With their savings rapidly
running out,

the stakes couldn't be higher.

Jayne: This is our home,
but it's also our business,

and we've got to earn a living.

If we're not earning any money,
then we're in big trouble.

Dick, voice-over: Steve and
Jayne have a huge task

ahead of them to have the
chateau ready in time.

Today, they're focusing
on the salon,

which will be their guests'
main relaxing space.

This is the original wallpaper
that was put in on the house.

It's hand-blocked,
beautiful old wallpaper,

but it's a little bit dark
and dingy.

And I want to lighten up the
whole of this floor, really.

So it's all going to be white
and lovely and bright.

Dick, voice-over: Rather than
stripping and filling the walls,

the plan is to cover
the existing wallpaper

with lining paper.

It could save them valuable time
and money,

which is essential because they
have a lot on their plate.

Jayne: Should we just have a
quick look at this paneling then

because--oh, it's completely
rotten, isn't it?

Steve: All this is fine.

It's only the central bit.
Look.

All you're talking about is
replacing that central--

that bit and that bit
and that bit.

Jayne: I know.

Steve: Piece of wood goes in
there, 4 screws.

Dick, voice-over:
Loving your optimism, Steve.

But it looks like a fairly big
job to me.

Luckily, mate Dave
is here to lend a hand.

First things first, get the old
battens off the walls.

Steve: What we don't want is to
be making--

pulling out huge lumps of...

Dave: Plaster.
Steve: plaster.

But it's all a question of

rather slowly then, it breaks
like that.

Dave: OK.

Oh.

Steve, I
think I've made a hole.

Steve: And there's going to be
a little bit of filling.

It's just quite--trying to keep
it as flat as possible

and to do less work as possible

before I put
the lining paper on.

Dick, voice-over: As Dave
removes the last battens,

Steve starts on the papering.

Steve: Ta-da.
Dave: Hey, nice pinny.

Steve: Lovely pinny, isn't it?

It's gone a bit watery.

I'm just hoping it's going to be
adhesive enough.

Dick, voice-over:
It's the moment of truth.

If the lining paper lies smooth
on the wall,

it'll save Steve
weeks of prep.

Now, is that pretty much
going straight down, David?

Dave: It is. Bang on.
Steve: Good.

Overall, this is
really smooth compared

with all the other rooms, even
the--even the master bedroom,

which I am--

Dave: It's going to save a
lot of time, isn't it?

You won't be filling
and sanding and--

Steve: This is wunderbar.
Dave: Yeah, it's great. Look.

Steve: This is absolutely what
we wanted.

Well, the main thing
about this is

there's no filling
and rubbing down

and refilling and rubbing
down and dust everywhere.

I reckon it's two weeks saved.

I think overall, that's
successful.

Dave: Great.

Good day's work.
Steve: Yeah.

Dave: Time for beer?
Steve: Yeah. Beer time.

Dave: OK. Good stuff.
Steve: Beer time.

Dick, voice-over: Excellent.

But you'll need
to get back onto it tomorrow.

At Chateau Mareuil, despite
his fear of heights,

Lee's battling on with fixing
the donjon roof.

As their main event space,
it's a crucial job.

Lee: I don't know what
I'm doing here.

Dick, voice-over: A storm has
left a hole in the roof,

so Lee needs to hang
new tiles all the while

suspended 50 feet above
the ground.

Lee: That one's definitely
hooked on there now.

Yeah.

Oh, no, it's not.

Belinda: Lee hates heights.

Even doesn't like going up
ladders,

any--if it's just he and I
on our own,

I always have to be
standing at the bottom

of the ladder if he's going up.

So no, he really doesn't
like them.

Lee: Jesus, this is scary,
Steve.

This is hairy canary scary
from the berry.

Dick, voice-over: You took
the words right out
of my mouth, Lee.

Lee: Steve, what does
that look like?

Steve: If that feels solid, I'd
leave that as that and then--

Lee: It is solid.
Yeah, it is. That's it.

Steve: We've got to get some
more tiles.

Lee: More tiles, yeah.

Yeah, that actually look--it
looks a lot better.

Yeah.

I'm feeling happier
that we're going down.

Steve: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dick, voice-over: But only
carrying two tiles at a time

means plenty of up
and down trips.

Lee: Oh.

Steve: Not gonna kiss
the ground, are you?

Lee: Ohh! [Laughs] This is--this
feels so good.

Dick, voice-over: Sorry, Lee.

You need to get
back in there and up again.

Just over an hour later,
the hole is fixed.

Now for the other side
of the roof.

Unfortunately, there's trouble
blowing in.

Lee: Oh, come on.

Now let's go down.

Steve: Yeah, yeah.
Lee: That's too dangerous.

Lee: Yeah, let's take it down.
Steve: OK?

Lee: Yeah. OK. I'm clear.

Dick, voice-over: The wind's
picked up, so Lee's coming down.

Lee: Oh, firm land.

[Laughs]

On my feet,
I'm standing on proper earth.

When we were right on
the extremity

with both of us
in that bucket,

the thing was
rocking all over the place.

And I have to say, I felt
really dead scared,

and even Steve was saying,

"I don't really want to be doing
this anymore.

Let's get down," because it was
just too dangerous.

Dick, voice-over: It's always
better being safe than sorry,

but with winter
weather so unpredictable,

it could be some time
before Lee

can get back up and finish
the job.

Back at Chateau de Lalande,

work has continued apace
in Stephanie's

fifth and final B&B
guestroom.

So how's it going in here?

Dick, voice-over:
Michael's been painting

below the new dado rail,
but there's an issue.

Michael: The finish is not
very nice.

What's happened is all
the paper

is starting to bubble off
of the walls,

and where it's been patched up
over the years,

you can see all of the joints.

Just doesn't look very nice.

So what are our options?

Michael: Well, the only thing
that I can think of

is to use a Stanley blade and
just score underneath here

and use a
wallpaper steamer

and just take off the paper
from there to there.

OK. Well, doing the job,
let's do it properly.

Let's get the wallpaper off.

Michael: Have you got
a wallpaper stripper?

Stephanie: Yes. We have
everything in this house.

We just have no idea
where any of it is.

Michael: Well, if it's going to
be anywhere, it will be in here.

Stephanie: I can't see anything
obvious right now.

Michael: What about the storage
room at the end,

is there a wallpaper stripper in
there, do you think?

I thought I had two, weirdly.

Ah, wallpaper stripper, it
says it on the outside,

but do you suppose there's one
in there?

Michael: That looks like
a wall--

Stephanie: That's a miracle.

Dick, voice-over: The key
to doing any job

is having the right tools
that are in good working order.

Michael: Well, the wallpaper
stripper is meant

to have a lid just here.

The lid is missing.

The seam's just going to escape,

so this just
shambles the whole thing.

Dick, voice-over: That may be,

but this is a job that needs
doing,

so the only option left is to
take an old-fashioned approach.

Michael:
We have hot water and sponges.

Stephanie: Excellent. OK.

I can be starting to wet
the paper if you want.

Michael: Yeah, there's sponges
there.

Stephanie: All right.

Dick, voice-over:
By soaking the wallpaper,

it should come away more easily.

This is what we used to do
before steamers.

Stephanie: It is never
ever as simple as you
think it's going to be.

When we start any project here,
it takes longer than we think

and becomes unnecessarily
complicated,

but it'll be worth
it when it's done.

It's lined with newspaper.

Michael: So that means we can--

Stephanie: We can date.

Michael We can date
the wallpaper.

Stephanie: This is so exciting.

It's like a journey
back in time

with everything that
we peel off.

Michael: The date of this
newspaper

is the 9th of April, 1964.

Stephanie: 1960s.

Now, if we just find
a little hidey-hole

with a treasure,
I'll be sorted.

Dick, voice-over:
They're getting there slowly.

It's a painstaking process.

At least Stephanie knows
the drill by now.

Stephanie: It's very common for
us to start a project

thinking it's
going to take a couple of days

and then find that it takes
weeks longer

because of things like this.

Pray for no more setbacks.

Dick, voice-over:
At Chateau Thuries,

Jayne and Steve are busy
renovating the ground floor

to open officially
as a B&B in 4 months' time.

Steve: This is wunderbar.
Dave: Yeah, it's great. Look.

Steve: This is absolutely
what we wanted.

Dick, voice-over:
Now a more pressing problem

has forced them to down tools.

Jayne: I've got to trim all
these bushes down

and stuff as well.

Dick, voice-over:
A cedar that fell

in a recent storm needs
dealing with.

Fortunately, chateau helper
Jean is a trained tree surgeon.

Steve: This is a necessity
because of really health

and safety and danger to
the public.

I think that Jean will save us
hundreds of euros.

Possibly even...
Jayne: Oh, Steve.
Steve: Thousands?

Jayne: You know, there's a lot
of work to do here.

I think it's going to save us
thousands.

Steve: OK.
Jayne: He's a Godsend.

So where would you start with
this then, Jean?

Jean: I think the emergency is
about taking down the trunk.

It's supported only by this
small branches--

branch here, you know.

You know, so I need
to breach the ground.

Then I guess we're going
to split it and...

Steve: For firewood.
Jean: For firewood, yeah.

Jayne: Great.

Dick, voiceover: As Jean sets
to work...

back in the chateau,

Jayne's turning her attention to
the entrance hall's

130-year-old mosaic floor.

Jayne: We've got a bit of
a problem here

because every time people
go in and out,

they'll take
some of the stones with them

because they're very loose,
you can see.

So what I've done, I've cleaned
this area up

and I've Hoovered out all the
debris.

And what I need to do
is do a little patch test

with some terracotta-colored
grout in there

just to see if I can mend

and set the areas that have been
damaged.

Dick, voice-over:
Here's hoping.

Original features like this are
key to a chateau's magic.

So this floor is very special.

When we first came to
see the chateau,

I absolutely
fell in love with it.

But it does need a little bit
of TLC.

And what I want to do is
actually

just do a little test,
put some in there.

The problem is when it's wet is
that you can't kind of see

what it's going to look like
when it's dried.

But at the moment, it's
looking a little bit bright.

But I think that if it dries
to look anything

like the actual dried powder,

it should work really well.

So I think
overall looking at it,

I think that's going to work,
which is very exciting.

Dick, voice-over: In the salon,
Steve is busy replacing

the rotten boards
with cheaper MDF panels.

That's great.

What we have now is all
we have to do

is to do a little bit of corking
around the edge

and then glue that on there.

So we need some glue.

Dick, voice-over:
Finally attached is a
central panel of plywood.

Steve's sure no one will ever
know the difference,

if it's glued on
straight that is.

Jayne: What I just want
to make sure

is that this line is lined up
with that.

Steve: Well, it's also--
Jayne: And that looks--yeah.

That looks slightly over to
the right to me.

It needs to come
a little bit further.

Steve: Yeah, you're right.
It does.

Jayne: Over to the left.
Steve: A bit more?

No, I think that's
about right, actually.

Steve: That's slightly out,
Jayne. It's going to be--

Jayne: You know, once
it's painted in,

I think, you know, really
nobody's

going to examine it
that closely.

Dick, voice-over: Job done.

And you've managed
to keep the cost down.

Now to get on with decorating
the room.

Back at Stephanie's, B&B
season is coming up fast.

Her curtains for the alcove in
her fifth

and final guest room are
finished.

This is a very unusual
curtain job.

Usually, I'm hanging normally
onto a curtain rail.

And these don't need to
open and close,

they're going
to be purely decorative.

So they're going to be a fixed
curtain.

But I haven't done
anything quite like this before,

so I'm working it out as I go
along.

Dick, voice-over: Stephanie's
first job is to put up

the 3 swags that'll
make up the pelmet.

With a few tacks, the pelmet
quickly starts to take shape.

Stephanie: It's fixed.

Dick, voice-over:
And then finally,
the curtains themselves.

Stephanie: It's great.

It actually makes it feel like

a little room in here
or on a stage.

To be or not to be,
that is the question.

It's perfect. I love it.
I love it.

Dick, voice-over:
Stephanie's homemade curtains

complete with their trim

to match the wallpaper are
impressive.

Stephanie: The curtains have
been quite complex in here.

And I'm making huge curtains for
the window,

so they're even more
work than the alcove ones.

Every spare second that I have
now at Lalande

will be in this room until I've
got it finished.

But it's all
starting to come together.

Dick, voice-over:
Next, Stephanie needs

to work out how
to give her toilet

in a cupboard a touch of
je ne sais quoi.

Stephanie: This place is
amazing.

I love it so much.

Dick, voice-over:
So she made the 4-hour drive

to our place for some
inspiration.

[Both speaking at once]

Angel: Aw,
come in to the walls.

- It's good to be back.
- It's good to have you back.

Do you want a cup of tea
or coffee?

Stephanie: I'd love some tea.

Angel: Tea?
Stephanie: Yeah, always.

Oh, what a beautiful sight.

Wow. Cheers.

Angel: Cheers, gorgeous.
Stephanie: Oh. Cheers.

Hmm. So I have had a
little look at your project.

Tell me a bit about the room

and what it's going to be used
for and...

It's a 16th-century room, but
that was redone in the 18th.

So, you know, they put those
alcove beds

with the little cupboard on the
other side of the alcove.

> Yep, yep, yep.

So I put a shower in one
and a loo in the other.

Angel: Brilliant.

Stephanie: And they're tiny.
They're really tiny.

Angel: Yeah. Yeah. OK.
That's fine.

But I want to make them
special because of that

so that it's a surprise
as you walk in.

Angel: OK. I have--and I've not
done it before,

but I did
start a similar project

about 3 years ago, but ran out
of time.

And just before me and
Dick were getting married

when we're doing up
my honeymoon suite,

I was going to do a whole wall
of mirrors.

So I thought at the time,

just these kind of like
mirrored tiles,

and they're square,
they're nothing fancy.

And my idea then was to distress
them and just to make a wall.

Now, a mirrored wall just gives
a illusion

of extra space, doesn't it,
as soon as you walk in.

I just thought maybe you
can do a whole mirrored
wall at the back.

I love--I really love
that idea. I love it.

Great. I mean, I've got
enough tiles

to give you for
both rooms, honestly.

- Are you serious?
- Yeah, yeah. I think so.

It's unbelievably
generous of you.

Angel: Honestly. I'm really
excited about doing the project

and seeing you finish it.

Right. Should we go and have
a little look around?

- Oh, yes.
- And start getting
these mirrors out.

Stephanie: Yeah. Fantastic.

Dick, voice-over:
OK, I don't get it,

but I'm looking forward to
seeing

what these two rustle up in
Angel's treasury.

Back at Belinda and Lee's,

the weather has relented
and the donjon roof

is finally fixed much to
Lee's relief.

Lee: So because we've managed to
successfully repair the roof

and patch the hole up properly
and secure the tiles,

the building is completely
water tight now.

Dick, voice-over:
The roof may be sorted,

but before they can start
holding events in the donjon

and bringing an income, work
needs doing.

The donjon has once again
turned into

a sort of bit of a
rubbish tip, basically.

And, you know, it needs to be
tidier than it is.

It needs to look like a place
where you could have a party,

and at the moment,
it looks like a rubbish dump.

So I'm a bit disappointed, to be
honest, in how it's ended up.

Lee: Belinda couldn't bring
herself to come in here

because she said, "Every time I
go in that room of yours"--

it's become my room now.

"Every time I go in that
room of yours,

it's in a complete state."

So what my plan is
today is to clear bits

and pieces out and tidy the
place up a little bit, right?

And then when it's clear,

I'm going to bring her in
and say,

"Ta-da.
We've got our donjon back.

Now, you can start
planning events."

That's my plan.

All right.

So I'm going
to get these trestles out,

get those over by the door.

Dick, voice-over:
Fair bit to do, Lee.

Lee: It's all wreck.

Oh, look at this stuff.

I like the juxtaposition of
having something really,

really rough and something
really elegant together.

Dick, voice-over: Just a few
last touches to woo Belinda--

bubbly...

Flowers, and last of all,

a ribbon.

I need to get a pair of
scissors without her seeing me.

All right. It's all set.

I've now tidied the donjon up.
I've laid a table for two.

And basically, it's now
ready to open again
for the summer season,

which is something Belinda's
wanted for ages.

So I'm just going to go
and find her.

Right, so--
Belinda: Oh, it's a ribbon.

Lee: Yes.
Belinda: What does that mean?

Lee: It's under new management.

Belinda: Oh, yeah.
Whose is that then?

Lee: It's not my donjon anymore,

it's returning back to you,
and there's the scissors.

You got to cut the
ribbon and go inside.

Belinda: I hereby reopen
this donjon. Oops.

Lee: Yeah. Right.

Belinda: This is not very good.
I haven't done this before.

Lee: There you go.
Now we push this open.

This is what I
wanted you to see.

Belinda: Oh. Oh. Look at that.

Oh, that looks lovely.

Lee: It's all been cleaned.
Belinda: Oh.

Lee: Everything's been tidy.

And it's ready
to rock and roll.

Belinda: Ready for a party.
Lee: Come on, sit down,

and I'll pour you a drink.

Belinda: Oh, I say, I didn't
expect this.

Lee: Ready?
I'll point at the wall.

Belinda: Oh.
Lee: There.

Belinda: Oh, thank you.

Lee: This is what I've
been doing while you've
been over there pruning.

Belinda: What, drinking?
Lee: No.

Dear me.

To the success
of the donjon.

Belinda: Cheers. To the donjon.

Lee: And to the next event.
Belinda: And its rejuvenation.

Lee: Its rejuvenation.
Belinda: Cheers.

Dick, voice-over:
Good work, you two.

You certainly earned that glass
of fizz.

Belinda: Lovely.
Lee: Oh, that's good.

Belinda: The donjon is looking
great.

Looking much better than it was
this morning. Well done, Lee.

- Are you pleased with it?
- I'm really pleased with it.

I think you've done a great job.
Lee: So you'll be able

to walk in here
and not feel bad anymore?

Belinda: No. I mean, it looked
terrible, didn't it?

I think it looked a mess.

Lee: And I've got to say,
you know,

one of the things I'm
really pleased about--

Belinda: Is the fact you
did it yourself?

Lee: I did it myself,

up on a cherry picker,
doing the thing.

And it saved us
thousands. Thousands.

Dick, voice-over: You've
also learned some new
skills along the way, Lee.

That's one of the great joys

about owning these magnificent
buildings.

Now you need to
get that donjon paying its way.

Belinda: I think now this
space has a future.

Lee: We probably extended the
possible life use of this

beyond the 4 or 5
summer months

into sort of 8 months now.
Belinda: Fantastic. Yeah.

So what we really need now is
some events booked in here.

We need some income coming in.

And that's going to help us pay
for the rest

of the work that we
need to do in this place.

Lee: Good. So you're
pleased then?

Belinda: Yeah, definitely.
Thank you. Lovely.

Dick, voice-over:
In southern France,

it's now less than two months

until Jayne and Steve welcome
the first guests of the season.

They've been busy lining the
walls and decorating

throughout the ground floor,
but the job isn't done yet.

Jayne: It's all very--it's at
that very exciting stage now.

Steve: The finishing--
the finishing stage.

Jayne: We've been working
flat out

to get all the decoration
work done.

And we've got 6 weeks
until we actually open,

so we've got to finish all the
other rooms in that time.

So we've really got our work
cut out for us.

Steve: Well, I went through
the piggybank the other day.

I was thinking, "Jayne,
the piggybank

is getting to be
a bit empty now."

Jayne: Really, you know,
we've got

to start making some
money to live on.

Otherwise, we're stuffed.

Dick, voice-over:
Their next task,

inspired by the chinoiserie
screen

Jayne made for their oriental
bedroom,

is to create a paneled
wallpaper mural in the salon.

So what we've got, we've got 4

of these pieces of
screen-printed mural

that all line up together.
Steve: Yeah.

Jayne: And you've pre-made
these things

that we can then paste
the mural paper

and then mount in onto those
and mount it onto the wall.

Dick, voice-over: First, they
need to lay the panels flat

so they can figure
out which roll goes where.

Jayne: It's a two-man job, this.
Steve, can you help, please?

Steve: Give me that one. Oh.

Jayne: Can you get--[Scoffs]

Go and bend it. Right.

Dick, voice-over:
And that's the easy part.

Steve: See, that's cut.

Jayne: See, that says
panel 4 on it.

Steve: So that's the last one?

That would be at the end.
Can you put that?

Jayne: Just move it over because
we know that that's panel 4.

Steve: 4. Well, that's good.

Where does it say 4, Jayne?

Jayne: Here.
Steve: OK.

Jayne: Yeah. That's the
correct order.

Steve: Now, you can see in all
its grandeur

there's a major tree
in the middle.

Jayne: So, we've decided where
this is going to go on here,

so we need to paste this first.

Dick, voice-over:
Pasting wallpaper like this

is a high stakes business.

The paper is in a--in
the hundreds.

And all the other
materials are about a hundred.

So it's all added up to quite
a lot really

because they're quite rare.

All this is really
collectible,

and it's quite difficult to get
a hold of these,

but it's the main sitting
room,

so you've got to--got
to make a statement.

So you got to spend a bit
of money.

He doesn't like it, but you've
got to spend a bit of money.

Steve: So are you ready then?
Jayne: Yeah.

Steve: Oh, god. Here we go.

I'll do it like wallpaper.

If it's too wet-wet, it won't
stick properly.

Jayne: OK. So, I've rolled it so
that we can start at the bottom

and that is the edge where you
can see where it's...

Steve: If you get the
straightness first.

Jayne: Well, the only way I can
do that

is by laying that down,
you can see.

Steve: If it's out slightly,
it will go out.

By the time it gets to
the other end, it'll be--yeah.

Jayne: I know, I know.

We'll have to do it quite
quickly, I think.

Steve: Is that going out?
Is it going out, Jayne?

Jayne: Well, what's it doing--

Steve: Yeah, it is.
It's going out.

It needs to move over here
towards here, the door.

Just lift the whole thing up.

Well, this is a new experiment.

We've never done this before.

That's spot on there
and that's spot on here.

That's absolutely spot on
there.

Dick, voice-over:
The paper is finally on.

Now, there's another fly
in the paste.

Steve: There's an air bubble
here, look.

Jayne: I can see one, yeah.

Steve: Listen, you're
going to get it.

Jayne: No, but look, that's
quite a big one.

Steve: Then that's why I think
we should wait

until it dries
before we do any more.

Jayne: Oh, god.

Steve: I think that we need to
know that this

is successful before
we do anything more.

Jayne: Well, the point is if
it's not successful,

there's not a lot we can do
about it, is there?

I didn't expect it to bubble in
the way that it bubbled.

And I've got my heart
in my mouth now.

We've done what we think is
the best thing.

And we'll just have to
keep our fingers crossed

and hope that it dries flat when
it's--when it's dried.

Steve: We want to get it
all right

because we haven't got long
before we open.

And yeah, the stress--the stress
is mounting.

Vesuvius is going to drop
soon.

Dick, voice-over: Hang in there.
After months of graft,

you're so close to
having the whole place ready

for your first official guests.

You just need to keep going.

In the Pays de la Loire,
Stephanie has come to our place

for inspiration for the bijou
WC in her last guest suite.

She's determined to make
it unique, and that's
where Angel comes in.

Angel: Oh! Have you been
in here before?

Stephanie: I saw it once
last time.

Angel: Oh, you did?
Stephanie: Yeah.

Dick, voice-over: Angel has
a cunning plan

involving distressed mirrors.

Angel: Oh, this is it.
This is what--

- And it's gorgeous.
- This is what I want to do.

Stephanie: Wow.
Angel: Do you like it?

Stephanie: Love it. Love it.
Angel: OK. Great.

We can do this with a bit of
paint stripper and some bleach.

So that is quite an economic way
to do it, isn't it?

Stephanie: I would love to learn
to do that so much.

Angel: All right.
Let's get busy.

Dick, voice-over: They're
using mirrored tiles

and stripping them with some
pretty potent chemicals,

so protection is a must.

Angel: All right. So, what we're
going to do,

we're going to put
oodles on, yeah.

I'm going to put enough.

Dick, voice-over: Angel starts
with paint stripper to remove
the backing.

Angel: Do you want to do one
and I do one?

There you go, babe.

Stephanie: How thick does it
need to be?

Angel: Well, so not too thin

and not too gloopy because
the--where it's, you know,

these little bits that are
a bit thicker,

it will work a tiny
little bit quicker.

I'm going to just set my clock
3 minutes.

Great.

Dick, voice-over: 3 minutes
later and armed with wire wool,

they can start
the next step.

Angel: Oh, yeah.
Great. You see?

So it's starting to come off.
So you start.

Come on, Steph, a bit of
welly in it.

Stephanie: Elbow grease is my
least favorite form of power.

Angel: Keep holding it up and
start--you can start to see.

Stephanie: OK.

Angel: Oh, yeah.
Starting to look nice.

Dick, voice-over:
With the backing off,

Angel can get to work with
the bleach

to remove the reflective
silver layer.

Angel: And it's only
going to work on the
areas--on these areas.

OK? It's not going
to work on like--

- It won't do that? OK.
- No, it won't do that.

So, OK. I got to leave that for
5 minutes now.

So, 3-5.

Stephanie: OK.
Angel: And then, we'll have--

Stephanie: 3 for the stripper,
5 for the bleach.

Angel: Yeah. OK.

Dick, voice-over:
5 minutes later

and they can wipe off the bleach

and admire their handy work.

Angel: That looks--that's
looking great.

It's really eating its way.

Dick, voice-over:
With a little time

and a whole lot more elbow
grease later,

Angel and Stephanie have
the beginnings

of a pretty
impressive mirrored wall.

Angel: They look great.

Stephanie: They start to look
amazing

when you put them all together.
Angel: They do. They do.

And I think it's going
to be right for your room,

especially if you have
something really beautiful

that is reflecting into it.

Stephanie: Thank you.
Really, thank you.

- You're so welcome, darling.
- Love it.

Angel: I love doing stuff with
you, sweetheart.

So it's always a lot of fun.

Stephanie: Today has been
amazing.

I love seeing Angel, and she has
such great ideas.

And so now, this tiny little
space that I was stumped on,

I've got vision for it,
I know where I'm going.

So I'm going to go home
and I'm going to get
distressing mirrors,

I'm going to finish
that bedroom.

It's going to be done.

Dick, voice-over:
Good luck, Stephanie.

I can't wait to see the finished
article.

[Speaks French]

Dick, voice-over: But you've
still got an awful lot to do

before that last suite welcomes
its first guests.

Next time...

Give me a dimension for your
water feature.

Dick, voice-over: I offer
some engineering advice
to Belinda and Lee.

Probably be about
12 square meters.

That is not small.

Dick, voice-over: Though things
don't go exactly to plan.

Lee: Oops. Oh, Belinda's going
to go mad.

Get rid of the evidence.

Dick, voice-over:
Steve and Jayne's friends
answer the call for help...

Jayne: Can you put the knob
on, on the staircase?

Dick, voice-over: And have
a smashing time of it.

Jayne: [Gasps]

Uh-oh.

Dick, voice-over:
And as Stephanie also
calls in the troops...

Man: I think it may need to
go up a wee dod.

Wee dod?

Dick, voice-over: it seems it
was all well worth the effort.

Oh, this is wonderful.