Humax TV Tonight: Grand Designs

Grand Designs is on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm

Kevin McCloud meets retired racehorse breeder John and his wife Helen in Dunstable. The couple met at Newbury races in 2005 and wed two years later, living together in a 17th-century farmhouse until illness struck in 2018. Helen had a catastrophic stroke, severely affecting her mobility and leaving her with aphasia, which affects her ability to communicate. Constrained by the steep stairs, narrow doorways and changes in level of their current home, John resolved to make a big change in their lives with the purchase of a nearby two-acre plot. Following the demolition of an old, dilapidated house on site, a new high-tech accessible pavilion, complete with wildlife garden, will be built in its place for £1.3 million.

Leaving the home where they thought they would spend their rest of their lives is a huge leap of faith for John and Helen, but they both hope that the new house will give them a brighter future. John employs his son Ollie, who has a small construction business, as project manager. With a 16-month schedule and their current house on the market, Ollie is under severe pressure not to let the build programme overrun. He gets off to a flying start: three months in, the shell of the basement is complete, and assembly of an eight-metre-tall exposed concrete spine wall has begun. Unfortunately, defects mean bringing in a concrete doctor to try to avoid a rebuild, costing tens of thousands of pounds and significant delays.

Then installation of the concrete fascias goes wrong, with the supporting steel frame cracking under the weight, spelling potential disaster. As the sale of John and Helen’s house is confirmed, Ollie must resolve all the issues and push on, hopeful that the build doesn’t exact too high a price on a family still reeling from Helen’s stroke.

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