Grand Designs S19E01 - Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire: Mini-castle

Kevin McCloud returns for a new series of the show that follows intrepid individuals trying to design and build their dream home. In Buckinghamshire he meets young Spanish architect Jaime and his wife Mimi as they embark on an epic mission to convert a Grade II* listed folly into a family home. Originally designed to exhibit a fossil collection, but gutted by fire and left in ruins for the last 200 years, the crumbling mini castle beguiles Jaime and Mimi. Giving themselves a wildly optimistic six month deadline to finish before the birth of their second child, it's not long before the couple hit trouble. The Saxon burial ground the folly is built on throws up some macabre surprises. Their stonemasons from Madrid let them down and local builders with no restoration experience have to take on the crumbling stonework. Jaime puts all his energies and creativity into the project, using innovative 3D mapping to squeeze living spaces into the tower, but it's an exhausting struggle.