DIY SOS: The Big Build

Hello and welcome to the show.

This week, we're coming to you from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.

We're here for a very special SOS,

because hundreds of people have written in to us asking for help

for just one family and on that basis, well, how could we refuse?

We're here to help a mother who made

an incredible promise to her best friend...

She said, "I'm scared for my life."

And I knew we were losing her and then she said,

"Would you have the children?"

..to help a family of nine,

struggling in a house that's bursting at the seams.

Space is the difficulty we do have as a family.

We're all squashed together.

The house is too small.

But we can't do it alone.

Luckily, we have an army of local tradesmen here to help.

It's nice to work for a family which truly deserves it.

The best thing for the kids is definitely to keep them together.

Who wouldn't want to be a part of it, you know?

You know what this is. It's DIY SOS...

ALL: The Big Build!

CHEERING

Three years ago, single mum Julie thought she'd found

the perfect home for her three boys - Adam, Peter and Christian.

When I bought this house, it was just amazing.

I thought, after lots of moves in our past,

this was the time that we could settle.

The boys would have their own bedrooms

and this was our forever home.

I said, "We don't need to move anymore." This was going to be it.

And as she was so happy, she looked forward to inviting

best friend Caroline and her family to come and visit

and see the house.

Caroline was a lovely girl.

We met when we were 11 on our first day of secondary school.

As we did grow up and we married and we had our children,

she would come with Dave and the children for holidays,

so the children would have picnics and we'd go to the beach.

So we shared some real happy memories of our babies growing up together.

We have pictures of my mum and dad so we can remember them.

This is a picture of Mummy going to school with Julie.

That's our dad, there.

Caroline and Julie thought they'd be close friends

for years and years to come,

but in April 2009, everything came to a sudden halt.

JULIE: Caroline was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour.

A very aggressive kind.

So, along with Dave, her husband, I knew we were losing her.

That was just absolutely terrible.

Caroline's illness left them all reeling, but only eight months

after her diagnosis, the unthinkable happened.

JULIE: Her husband, Dave, collapsed and died.

He had a massive brain haemorrhage and died

while he was out Christmas shopping with Caroline.

It would have been their last Christmas together as a family.

With Caroline given only a few months to live,

they were forced to consider the worst.

JULIE: Losing Dave was just totally out of the blue

and it was during that time that she said, "I'm scared for my life."

I said, "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

And she said, "What about the children?"

I said, "They'll be OK as well."

And then she said, "Would you have them?"

I said, "We'll call it plan B. Everybody needs a plan B."

Only three months later, plan B became a reality.

I think it was hard for her to cope with the fact

that her best friend had died.

I think she grieved quietly and on her own,

but she really pulled it together for the kids, in front of them.

It was left to Julie to tell the children -

Michael, Kieran, James, Emma and Chantelle.

I just said to them, "Mummy has died today."

I said, "She's gone to heaven, so she's with Jesus and the angels."

I said, "She isn't poorly anymore, but she's not coming back to us.

"She won't be coming home."

And they just sat - dazed, shocked.

Two years on and Julie and her boys

welcomed Caroline and Dave's five to become a unique family of nine.

There's really only one way to do this. In ascending order, we have...

They're all growing up

and Julie's four bed house is no longer big enough.

Pretty busy around the house.

Meal times are difficult for Mum, obviously.

The kitchen's just far too small.

Obviously, we can't all sit around our kitchen table.

JULIE: I can't even fit chairs in there. It's stools.

So usually we eat two or three at a time.

JULIE: We've got one bathroom.

And that is a nightmare, as well.

Showers, yeah.

There's always hot water running out and everything.

Three boys in one bedroom.

I sleep on this bed here.

I sleep on this bed.

I sleep on this bed.

The bedroom's not big.

Sharing this room is horrible.

There's nowhere to do homework.

I'll go to library during lunch to do it instead.

'Our one communal living space is the lounge,'

which becomes a bedroom for Adam when he's home.

The girls have been using the dining room as their bedroom.

We keep getting into each other's way.

I think the house is too small.

To, like, try and make sure we find whatever time

we can have by ourselves.

We're all squashed together.

It's always chaos around Christmas time and birthdays.

JULIE: Space is the difficulty we do have as a family.

Your house is actually in better condition

than most of the houses we get to work in.

It's actually quite a nice little house, isn't it?

I love this house, yeah. I do love the house.

I've put a lot of time and energy in myself,

trying to do little bits and pieces.

But it's not quite big enough for all the children, though.

That's the issue, isn't it? It's space, rather than how it looks.

Is it going to be all right,

cos you've put a lot of love into this house, and now

we have to kind of take it apart in order to make it bigger for you?

But it needs to be a nice, big, spacious family home.

We need to be able to fit in here comfortably.

-I would love to have a kitchen that we can all sit in.

-Right.

Sit around a table, just old-fashioned kind of stuff, really.

You just need more rooms, really, don't you?

-It's just the space. More rooms.

-So you spread the kids out.

Yeah, spread out.

'To help me understand the issues Julie and the kids face,

'yes, you guessed it...' In you come, everyone.

'..we're going to pile everyone into the one room.'

-It's busy, isn't it?

-Just a little bit, yeah.

It must just feel crowded all the time with everything you do?

Yeah, there's not really much space for anyone on their own, really.

There's always two people to a room.

Except the bathroom and sometimes with the girls,

-they like to share the bath.

-I hadn't thought about that.

The queue for the bathroom, in the morning...

Horrific. Really bad, yeah.

In terms of just making life easier on a day to day basis, what do you guys need?

Just a bigger kitchen would be helpful.

Just a bedroom or two more. A bit more space, generally.

-Another bathroom would be handy, wouldn't it?

-Oh, yeah.

-Might ease the queue.

-Definitely.

Right, so we need to clear you guys out

so that we can get my builders in and get started.

There you go, there you go.

MUSIC: "Match Of The Day" by Barry Stoller

-What's your name?

-James.

-Hi, James, I'm Billy.

How many others are there?

Hello there.

-What's your name?

-Hello.

-Good to meet you.

It's like the start of the FA Cup final, isn't it,

when the teams meet at the beginning, don't you think?

Your hands are all freezing!

-See you, guys! We'll see soon!

-Bye!

-See you later. Cheers!

'Touched by Julie's story, the local trades have

'volunteered in their droves and we're going to need them.

'We've got just nine days to design, build and dress 14 rooms.

'This dressing business is harder than it looks, though.'

Just so that you know, I've got two pairs of black boots.

When I chucked them in the car yesterday...

MEN LAUGH

..I got the left of one and the right of another,

so I'm off to get myself a pair of boots as soon as possible.

So, I think that's concluded all of our chat.

-Shall we hit it?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Up for doing this?

Thanks very much, ladies and gentlemen! Have a good week.

For Billy and the electricians, it's all about prioritising jobs.

What's our main aim now?

Main aim now is to get some temporary power on,

so we can get the cabins and everything up and running.

Let's get this temporary power on for the caterers,

so everybody can get fed and watered.

-And then what about...?

-First order of the day - tea urn and food.

-Have you got kids?

-Yes, I have.

-How many?

-Four kids.

-You got quite a few, as well.

-Yes.

-Fancy doubling up to eight?

Not really, no. It's a big job, isn't it?

Get these walls all made good...

For build manager Mark, staying ahead of the game is vital.

-Going very quick, isn't it?

-Absolutely brilliant.

We've only been here 15 minutes, John's got all this in the ground.

What - 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 piles in the ground.

-Yes, but it hasn't gone in in 15 minutes.

-We've been here 15 minutes.

No, in the BBC, we aren't allowed to do that kind of thing

where we pretend things have happened very quickly.

'Me, the guardian of truth and honesty,

'who'd have thought it?

'John's team have been working on site for two days already,

'giving us the head start we need.

'But Julian is still working out his plan of action.'

This box is coming off and I'm going to mark it all up on the walls

and see whether it's feasible or possible or logical.

-Or...

-# Physical... #

Or physical or reasonable, even.

-# Physical... #

-'# Physical... #

'Each one of our army of trades has given up their time to be here,

'and they're tripping over each other to get the job done.

'But it's not just the trades who get behind the project.

'Julie's friends, Sandra and Sandy, are here to show their support.

'Well, for one member of the team, at least.'

Lovely to see you!

Tell me about it. Stud.

-We bought you these, because we think you're the star.

-They're gorgeous.

-I can't believe it's Billy!

-She loves you, Billy.

-Will you sign my T-shirt for me?

-Course I will.

You know where the G's going to finish, don't you?

Go for it.

So, that's Billy, Jules and Mark accounted for. One more to go.

At first glance, it looks all right, but when you start looking at it,

it really is in need of a bit of a spruce up.

Board sprucing up.

'Sprucing up? That's not exactly a technical term, is it, Chris?

'Thankfully, he isn't our designer.

'That honour goes to our very own Gabrielle Blackman.

'She's a veteran of these big builds and brings her own

'brand of passionate design in stages as we go along.'

I think I'm being quite low-maintenance today, though, don't you think?

'She's high maintenance,

'with a real flair for maximising the space available.'

What's the whole deal for you here with this conversion we're doing?

It's two things, really. We've got to make it...

It's got to suit this large number of people,

so it's got to be practical and it's got to suit them all.

But also, I'm really aware these children

have had a really difficult time.

I want to make each one feel special,

like we've really looked after them, and looked at them as individuals,

but at the same time, this house has got to work for everyone.

So, this is the plan.

We're going to add a one-storey extension to

the back of the house, to create the kitchen space Julie has always

dreamed of and a dining table big enough for them all sit around.

The living room will be revamped,

to give Julie a classy area to entertain friends.

And, to make the best use best use of every available inch,

we're going to transform the garage

from one big, cluttered storage space, into three rooms -

a large family bathroom, utility room

and a study space for the kids to do their homework.

Downstairs will now house the older boys

with bedrooms for two of them

where the kitchen and dining room used to be,

meaning the upstairs, the five youngest will

fit into three redesigned bedrooms and Julie's own room with en suite,

will become an oasis of calm and tranquillity, away from the madness.

And Gabrielle's got something special in mind for the garden, too.

This corner that we've sort of marked off here,

why are we digging a hole here?

We're going to put a really beautiful garden room here for Adam.

We couldn't make the house quite as big as we wanted,

so we need to have another bedroom, somehow.

So it's going to be like a glorified garden shed? A posh sort of garden shed?

I knew you were going to say that, Nick!

It's going to be a lovely garden room.

Cedar clad, amazing windows, heated, warm and beautiful.

We've got to do quite a complicated lighting scheme with Billy out here.

He'll look forward to that, won't he?

He looked quite cross about it, I think.

My view is just pile it all on him early, get him really miserable

on the first day, then he thinks it can only get better after that.

I might try that as a technique today, see if it works.

'And people accuse me of stirring things up.

'I have no idea what they mean.'

We need an 18 inch trench dug all the way through.

-How deep?

-18 inches.

-That's 18 inches, is it?

-Yes.

He's got a tape measure in his hand, as well.

Yeah, slightly different, isn't it?

'Billy's measuring might be more like guesswork,

'but Julian is still sizing up the garage.

'Three rooms into one is a tricky equation.'

Shower room comes to there.

And there's two doorways got to go in here, but I think

they must have miscalculated for that, because that can't come out.

That's load-bearing these lintels.

Your door strikes on that pillar.

Damn it.

You see how you've got your utility,

which is a worktop, sink, worktop and space?

Could you take that worktop service

off there and have a door that way?

'This is the key to getting all the downstairs right - listening to me.'

Worktop, worktop for those two spaces,

so the first door opens like that and the second door opens like that.

'He's not listening properly, is he?'

-Then utility...

-THEY LAUGH

Rubbish idea. It's a rubbish idea.

How about we have a utility/ shower room combination?

That I like.

-That I like.

-Very good.

'OK, so that's why Gabrielle is the designer

and I'm just a lowly presenter.'

-Flowers.

-JULIE: And sunflowers.

Ever since Julie adopted the children two years ago,

they've planted flowers in memory of their mum, Caroline.

To make sure we get the new garden right,

Gabrielle wants the girls to have a part in shaping it.

Emma, if you can choose me a tall, purply-blue one.

Do you think your mum would approve of those?

-These ones?

-I like that.

With eight children in your house,

the garden must be so important to you.

The garden is really, really important. We use every inch of it.

'We're out there weekends, after-school, holidays.

'It's a really happy place for the children to be.

'They can talk about Mummy, because we do call it Mummy's Garden.

'And we decided Daddy would have the garden shed and it just

'gives the children the chance to ask questions if they want to.'

I just think gardening's a really optimistic thing to do, anyway.

And I just thought remembering Caroline through the garden,

it's what she would have wanted.

She would have been happy, I think, knowing that she lives on

through the garden.

Everything you do seems to have a really light touch about it

and you seem like such a happy family unit.

They are wonderful children.

-They've done so well to come to terms in the way that they have done.

-Yeah.

They're very positive.

You've got so many boys in your life.

Is it quite nice to have a couple of little girls?

It is lovely to have girls, yes.

The boys adore them,

because they're just so cheerful and bright and breezy.

They bring a lot of laughter and happiness to the family.

They make us complete. Certainly with me, I adore them, as I do them all.

They're very special.

Everything seems to be really organised and tidy, actually, in your house.

I'm a mother myself, to only two children.

Do you have any time to relax?

When I get into bed.

THEY LAUGH

Take that one?

Let's go and get these amazing plants, shall we?

You're getting a bit cold, aren't you?

Back across town,

it's incredible what's been achieved in only a few hours.

And you know, keeping morale up isn't hard.

This is a site fuelled by goodwill.

All right? Happy?

Why have you guys decided to join in and help out?

It's a good cause, isn't it? It's fantastic.

Read about it, heard about it locally, and I'm really pleased to be a part of it.

It must take a really special person, you know?

I heard about it through the grapevine and through the family, as well.

Who wouldn't want to be a part of it, you know? Being a local person, as well.

-Who's your gaffer? Or do you not have a gaffer?

-We haven't got one here.

It's cooperative, is it?

-Teamwork makes the dream work.

-Is that right?

MUSIC: "A Punk" by Vampire Weekend

Not sure what's going on here,

but four men and one traffic cone reminds me of my student days.

Although that looks a pretty ugly cocktail.

What they're doing is pouring a rapid set cement in there.

and what it does is it fills up all the inside of the beams

and the beams become a solid structure.

They lay the floor on top and that adds to the strength of the building.

Really good system.

Really good and pretty darn quick, too.

# Ay, ay, ay. #

Inside, the house has changed,

but it's out the back we've really raced along.

Another roof truss to come onto the top

of what is our new extension.

Come through, you can have a look. Come on, come with me.

What's amazing about this is today,

when we arrived - this is the end of the first day -

and there was nothing here and now we actually have a base

and most of the extension done.

People often say to us, "How can you do what you do in just nine days?"

And the reason is because we have people who can

put a base down and build the greater part of an extension

in just one day.

Mind you, even I'm still amazed by this kind of thing.

NICK YAWNS

Beautiful morning in Huntingdon, but don't be fooled.

Every day on-site is fraught with difficult issues.

Are you actually going to come and do something today?

I am, it's just that yesterday,

the hard hat had just completely ruined by hair.

It makes you look like an idiot when your hair goes all flat.

-Look at poor Gabi and her hair.

-What?

We're just saying about how the hard hats ruin your hair.

I haven't put my hat on yet.

Oh. That looks magnificent, doesn't it?

I think you might have just put your foot in it.

Yes.

Day two and we're tackling the main problem for this family - bedrooms.

Julie's eldest has been camping on the sofa when he comes back

from uni, so having his own room again will make a huge difference.

'Only problem is, well...'

Well done, boys.

'There's a problem.'

-Did you order this?

-Yep.

-The amount?

-Yep.

Have you noticed anything about this floor that might be

-something of an error?

-Yep.

-I mucked up, didn't I? Didn't order enough.

-Little bit.

It's only a barrel full, but...

It's a little short, I would say.

-What are you shuffling in next lady for?

-Sorry?

What you shuffling...

'Slippery little devil, isn't he?

'Come back here and take your ridicule like a man!

'On a job this big,

'the pressure is on our designer to produce the goods.

'Now, normally, she'd be a frantic ball of ginger anxiety,

'but on this one she has a secret weapon.'

We've got so much carpentry and joinery to do and

what I always get told is, "We don't have the men, we don't have the men,

"You can't have anybody to help you,"

and we end up really compromising.

And every little bit of space that I can make for these guys,

every shelf, is so important.

And, um... So you are so important, Keith.

So I've bypassed the whole system and I've asked Keith

to come and help only me.

And so you're only allowed to talk to me and nobody else.

Anybody small and Irish who approaches you,

-just don't listen to them.

-That's fine.

'What's she writing? What's she writing on the hat?

'What is it?'

-I'm just worried that's a bit rude. Is that all right?

-That's fine.

-I can't see it.

-Yeah? That's good.

'You can't own a workman! That's slavery!'

MUSIC: "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac

'With eldest, Adam, away at uni it's rare that all six

'of Julie's boys get to enjoy a day out together.

'I want to find out how and the last two years have been for them,

'but first there's time for some healthy, brotherly competition.'

I was interested to know

when the five joined you to make eight of you, plus your mum,

at the time, were you like, "What's going on?"

At the start, we were probably trying too hard with them, I guess.

They're brothers and sisters to us now, so you can give them

a clip around the ear and that, it's just messing around, isn't it?

Just keep it natural and down-to-earth

and then they feel more comfortable, don't they?

We all like to support Mum, really.

When she explained to us what was happening, it's bigger than us.

Were they really close friends, your mum and Caroline?

Yeah. The hardest thing was, like, my mum had to keep on with the kids

and everything, but her friend had died.

She had no time to think about it, no time to be on her own

and grieve for her.

It happened so fast.

And she sees the kids every day, reminding her of Caroline,

so it works through that.

-And what's it like having girls in the house?

-Really strange.

Really weird, cos obviously we grew up together,

it was male-orientated,

everything we did was football and stuff like that.

-And punch-ups.

-Yeah, pretty much.

All of a sudden, two girls are here and you've got to

kind of find different things to do with them, it's weird.

I had to braid Chan's hair once and just didn't have a clue about it.

Really strange things.

The kids have been a saving grace in a way.

I think we're all a lot happier with them around, to be honest.

I'm happy for my mum, cos she deserves it.

For such a huge upheaval, I think you guys have done an amazing job.

Honestly, I do.

To have five new members of the family come in like that

and to absorb that and be as easy-going and nice to chat to

and nice to meet as you guys are,

I think it's a great credit to your mum and a great credit to you

that you've got a solid head on your shoulders.

'What a nice bunch of lads.'

'Now, you'd think we'd have learnt a thing or two about this

'building malarkey in the 13 years we've been doing this, but no.'

Here's one for all you DIY aficionados,

and you'll probably have to be to get this,

but have a look round the room

and see if you can see where we've made a slight design error.

Concentrate.

That's it, round you go. Keep going.

Can you see it yet? Can you see it?

Can you see it yet?

Have you spotted it at all?

Toughy, isn't it? Yeah.

What have you done, you great wazzock?

What happened?

I got the measurements wrong!

THEY LAUGH

Just a little bit!

-The middle of the room is here...

-Yeah.

-You've put the window there.

Halfway between this room and the living room.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-Are you all right?

That hole's in the wrong place.

Can I just say almost everything that he's measured in the past

has been 100 mil too long, or a 100 mil too short.

-That's why he's known as 100 miller.

-SHE LAUGHS

But he's expanded now and become 1,000 miller.

'The key to this thing might just be a little creative thinking.'

Seriously, we need to put the window in the right place.

-But do we, though?

-Yeah, do we?

We're thinking out of the box now. I wonder whether you are.

You know how things are really cooler when they're slightly offset?

-Yeah.

-No, they're not.

-The window slightly offset.

No, windows are not... No, that's not cool at all.

'She just doesn't rate any of my ideas, does she?'

Night-night.

Day six and the plasterers are in full swing.

They come in virtually all shapes and sizes, you know.

That plasterer in the window there. He's quite feminine, isn't he?

-The one on the left there.

-That's Amy.

-Yeah.

Why do you think there aren't more woman plasterers?

It is a hard job to do. It's not an easy job.

It's messy, you know, dusty and all the rest of it.

-Not very glamorous, is it?

-No, it's not,

but by night, I don't look like this. I look like a glamour queen.

Yeah, honest. I scrub up all right. Yeah.

We'd better get out of here. LAUGHTER

'Speaking of glamour queens...'

What do you think?

It's a bit, you know... It's not very good, is it?

It's like a really ugly belly dancer, wasn't it?

Julie's friend Sandra

isn't just a founding member of the "I Love Billy" fan club.

She also applied for Julie to receive our help,

and knows better than most how hard it's been.

'I tried to persuade Julie to do it last year.'

She said no, she didn't want publicity,

she thought it would be detrimental to the children.

It's a worry, isn't it? Obviously,

because the children need to settle down in life and get on with things.

Exactly, so I think she changed her mind in January.

Obviously, the practicalities about needing a place won out over that.

The children are very excited. They're so resilient.

It will change not only Julie's life

but the eight children, her children as well.

What do you think, now that you've seen the layout and the changes?

It's wonderful. It's absolutely beautiful.

I can't imagine what she's going to say and think.

The girls are going to be really happy.

I admit I was unsure if Gabrielle really needed her own carpenter

but fair play to her, she hasn't half put him to good use.

He's made something for virtually every room,

from shelving to headboards.

-Do you like that?

-Yeah, I think that'll look really gorgeous.

I don't know what to say.

And that's perfect.

Look at that, designer's in there, throwing the orders around

to our plumbers who are getting all the pipework in,

lovely copper work going in on the right.

All very lovely. It's happening all over the place, innit?

The designer's own chippy. Have you noticed that?

I think he's running away. I thought he was going to get something.

He's off. He's running.

He's escaped from my evil clutches. Keith!

You want a longer bit of rope?

You know he's not allowed to work for anybody else?

I see it on his hat.

And he's been told he's not allowed to do anything for Mark

and to pretend he's foreign

and he doesn't speak English if Mark comes in.

-So I've had this brilliant idea, which...

-Uh-oh.

..Keith is really thrilled about, as you can see from his face.

-Yeah, he looks thrilled.

-Run it by us.

What I thought would be really nice is a bit of cheeky wall panelling.

-These are strips...

-Yep.

Maybe in the sitting-room. I want that room to be transformed

into something elegant and beautiful that she really likes,

rather than something slightly similar to what she had before.

Let's go and map this out

-as it'll be a bit complicated with the pictures.

-Work to do.

It's going to be fine.

It'll be so lovely. You're going to have so much fun.

This is how we built the Empire, you know.

Just as everyone was starting to flag,

our daily dose of sugary nourishment arrives.

Hello! We brought you some cake.

Very Easter. Have that one there.

-We ordered these especially for you.

-That's amazing, innit? Look at that.

-Where's the top of that gone?

-It fell off.

It's on the floor.

Have a look down there. Have a look down there.

Where's the rest of it gone?

The garden has become an extra storeroom for tools

so finding any garden to actually garden

is a bit of a challenge for local landscape designer Stu.

We've got enough airspace underneath the joist for the deck

so that'll stay dry all the time,

they're not sat on wet ground or anything like that.

We're getting there.

Three years ago,

Julie spent everything she had to buy this house.

But when her family doubled in size, it was stretched to bursting point.

'Once we're finished with it,

'it'll barely resemble the place she left only a few days ago.'

So is this process very strange for you?

A whole bunch of people you don't know

going into your house, that you love, and changing it?

My dream is to have the big family table,

everybody sat round for a lovely meal, chatting, homework,

just old-fashioned, simple family life, really.

I couldn't do it on my own.

I can't work any more hours to make these things happen

and I know the authorities, for whatever reasons,

they're unable to help, so this was the one chance

and it's not just about me, it's the children,

it's what they need for their future.

They need space to grow.

One of the things that I find frustrating on your behalf is,

-because you've chosen to adopt rather than foster...

-Yeah.

Because you've chosen to stay in your house

and stay working and earn for yourself

rather than throw yourself on the mercy of the state,

you don't fit into any of the boxes that the state has for helping you.

It's just the way it is. It's just the way it is.

I work 40 hours a week to feed and clothe them all and pay the mortgage.

It's just the way it is. I don't have time to dwell.

I've never asked the authorities for anything.

Social services I invited over to take a look at things

and I did say to them, I said,

"The only issue I have is space and lack of space,"

and that's when they said, "Sell the house, move into a council house,

"give up work and claim benefits,"

and at that point, I thought no way.

When I first came round and met you,

I thought the kids were fantastic

and properly integrated, just like an everyday family

but the first few weeks must have been really difficult

to get the ball rolling on that.

I very quickly had to make life normal for them.

I wanted them to get into school and make some friends and just...

..try and carry on

but it was hard, you know.

Chantelle would cry every bedtime.

"I keep seeing Mummy every time I close my eyes," she would say.

So as your best friend, but really more like your sister,

when she died, it must have been devastating for you

and with everything going on,

presumably you couldn't have time to grieve yourself.

I had tearful moments. I tried not to cry,

because I just wouldn't have stopped, probably, if I had.

-Do you miss her still?

-I do.

I've got her on my mobile phone, her number's there.

I can't take her off.

Yeah. She's in my address book.

Yeah.

Julie's story hit the national newspapers.

It caught the public imagination

and inspired many of the local trades to be here to help.

Why have you decided to join in and help out?

Well, because it feels good to put something back.

It's nice to work for a family which truly deserves it.

Just feel better, really.

There are some stranger reasons people end up here.

This is Paul, right?

And Paul's here today because he met Mark in a Jacuzzi last night.

-Didn't you, Paul?

-Stop telling people this!

So you were there in the hotel, having a Jacuzzi.

Going to the gym, and then he just pounced.

Come and got me in DIY SOS.

There's a name for people like him.

A Jacuzzi pest.

PAUL LAUGHS

That's his new nickname.

Here's my mate Paul. We met in the Jacuzzi last night.

-I know, that's what worrying us.

-I want clean staff. That's what it is.

'Clean staff? You're not making it sound any less dodgy, Mr Millar.'

On this build, we need to do far more than just get the garden done.

With the special memories it holds for the kids,

we have to get it right too.

How are we fixed for time?

-Tight, now.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, yeah.

-My main worry is the path between here and the room over there.

-Right.

It's quite labour-intensive. Time is ticking

and I think, if the weather changes, that'll be a miserable old job.

He had to say it out loud, didn't he?

I mean, you're tempting fate if you say stuff like that,

and now it's raining. Now it'll be miserable and hard to work in.

The last thing you need now is someone being miserable about it.

Bit miserable. Garden's going to get all churned up.

-There's going to be mud everywhere and stuff.

-Yeah, thanks, Mark.

It might be miserable out there,

but a bit of water won't stop us,

especially when you've got a really good reason

for being here in the first place.

-What do you think of it, now you've been here?

-Site's good, quality of work's good, people are good.

Every one of them's been brilliant, ain't they?

Every one of them's worked together and everyone's got on.

Why do you think that is?

Because they ain't getting paid.

-You think that's the difference?

-Yeah. If they was going for money,

there'd be a few arguments and fights, but no,

I think that's what it is, everybody's joined in,

everybody's wanted to join in, joined in and it's been lovely, innit?

Because they know why we're doing this, that's the background?

They're doing it for that purpose. They're not doing it for money.

They're doing it to put it together for the people to move in.

You're probably right.

I'm still sort of gobsmacked by the decision she made,

you know, with three kids of her own and being on her own,

to adopt five more.

Don't you think it's just the most extraordinary thing to do?

I actually come from an ex-Dr Barnardo's home myself,

so I know the best thing for the kids is definitely to keep them together

because I've got two sisters and a brother

and we all stayed together,

and I know this much, they weren't very nice in the home,

so if those kids had to be taken away,

it wouldn't have been a very nice, happy family.

So it's worth every bit of it, and I know that.

Well, that's as good a reason as I've heard all the way through.

Thank you, and thanks for all the hard work you're putting into this.

-It's OK. Thank you.

-Excellent. Well done.

-Thank you.

I haven't seen Billy for a while. Sometimes that's a good thing,

but most of the time, it's really very worrying.

Just doing a little bit of testing. We've got a dead short somewhere.

I'll try and find where the fault is, and hopefully get it back on.

It could be a screw through the live cable, it could be anything.

-It's an direct MCB fault.

-I thought he said it was an earth fault.

No, the carpet's coming back, floorboards coming up.

Find the fault. As simple as that.

Hold on a minute, guys! This build's going backwards now.

They'll be tearing the walls down next.

Five hours and four carpets later...

We just connect this into there. You're all connected up.

Yep, ready to turn on.

It's the moment of truth.

If we don't get lights back on, there will be no sleep tonight.

That's on.

THEY SIGH

That doesn't look good.

That does!

It's on!

All working.

Hey-hey!

-Thanks, boys.

-That's all right.

I'm ecstatic.

I can now go home, I can get my head down and get a nice rest, nice kip.

Well done, boys. Thanks for a hard evening.

Problem solved, but they have had to make some holes to find the problem.

I'm not sure everyone's going to be quite so happy.

Luckily for Billy,

carpenter Martin doesn't look like a vendetta kind of a guy.

It wasn't exactly considered.

I think they were quite eager to take the boards up to get it sorted,

so start again.

And that's why he's known as Lovely Martin around here!

That's lovely Chris.

Now, my friend here is a skipologist.

With skips being so expensive,

his view has always been, you pack it airtight.

Whilst he's in there climbing around, he's found...

duvet tops, girl's bedroom, girl's bedroom, what's that?

-"Egyptian cotton..."

-Have that.

-"..Duvet?"

All bunged in a skip.

Just, because we like to give a tip now and again,

about once every three series,

would you like to explain the process of skipology?

If you see a little hole,

rather than just throw...

Just square everything up.

And then the hole becomes filled.

I asked the council if I could have a skip on the driveway.

He said, "It's your driveway, you can skip where you like."

HE LAUGHS

"Skip where you like!"

We can't control him. Don't look at me. It's not my fault.

Here we go. Here's the very person.

I've a bone to pick with you of dinosaur size.

What's wrong?

We've just been doing... Well, I say we've just been doing.

Chris, who you know is a bit skip-obsessed,

cos he's constantly in there tidying,

hopped in to find, in the skip,

-girl's bedroom, girl's bedroom...

-What's that doing in there?

Precisely the question I was going to...

Nick, do you think I'd have thrown the girls' bed linen in a skip?

-New pillow.

-Oh, I've be looking for that.

We're into recycling, but that doesn't mean

putting things straight from the shop into the skip.

We like to recycle via a bit of use on the way.

Nick... Right, go away, everyone,

-let me just do the thing.

-Good luck.

By the way, have we raided a yurt for some of these?

No. And can I say, shoes out, now.

Ooh! Look at the mud.

Better put you out. Honestly, she starts to get nasty now.

Go away.

People may think that I'm bullying, but I'm not.

It's a way of encouraging.

Designers tend to float, you know,

a bit like, "Hello, trees. Hello, flowers. Hello, sky,"

unless you actually point them and sort of...

It's a bit like...

A bit like having a racehorse. She's a bit like a horse.

Basically, when you get to the finish,

the horse doesn't know you want to win, it just runs at whatever speed

so sometimes you just have to apply the crop a little bit.

Not too much, because then you get in trouble with the RSPCA.

Yeah.

Despite the weather, the garden is starting to take shape

and the flowers the children planted in memory of their mum

can be carefully put back into place.

After two years of serving the children every meal

in three separate sittings,

Julie's going to get the family space she dreamed of,

somewhere they can all sit and eat together.

But there's one important thing missing.

Oh, look at that!

What a beauty!

Benches is a great idea, because if you have to squeeze more kids on

if they bring their friends round or anything, all pitch up, squeeze in.

That's it, here we go.

Want me to give you a hand here?

Once we get up to the high bit, that'd be great, Mark.

You balance it, you take that corner.

-Is everybody lifting?

-Yep.

-Keep going, mate. You're doing well, Mark.

-I'm right behind you, mate.

You're lucky I'm with you.

Let me take a bit more of the weight, Nick.

Look at that. Oh, that's beautiful.

Shall we sit down and test it?

Isn't that a thing of beauty?

-Mate, that is...

-You like?

-Absolutely gorgeous.

-Just stunning. It's amazing.

Round of applause for the man who made the table!

ALL: Stu! Stu! Stu! Stu!

So, nine days of the most extraordinary effort

from the trades and suppliers of Huntingdon, and we're done.

All we've got to do is clean all the mud away

and show it to them first thing tomorrow morning.

Looking forward to this one.

Just over a week ago, we arrived to find this family of nine

struggling to live in a house that was just far too small.

A family trying to move on

from the tragedy of losing both their mum and dad.

Oh, I love having the kids because I see her in them, in them all.

The boys are quiet, like Caroline.

Chantelle's got Caroline's long, blonde hair

but Emma looks like her

so yeah, the children are just a continuation of her,

which is lovely for me.

"Two. You stay in..."

If she took the time to step back and think about the situation,

it might overwhelm her a bit,

but from what I see, she's like the eye of a hurricane

and, like, she's calm in the centre and there's chaos going around.

I just want them to have a childhood, what remains of their childhood.

I want them...I want it to be as good as I can get it for them.

We received hundreds of applications from people all over the country

on Julie's behalf, so we just had to help,

along with an army of local trades determined to make a difference.

Incredibly, we've finished it!

We've added a one-storey extension,

giving the family the communal space they so desperately need.

A stunning oak table completes the dining area,

giving them somewhere they can finally share meals together.

It leads through to a massive kitchen,

complete with breakfast bar, granite worktops

and all the appliances Julie could need.

We've breathed new life into the living room,

making it a cosy, welcoming place to relax or entertain.

It was quite a struggle, but we've transformed the garage

from a cluttered storage space into an inspiring study and play area

and a utility room and second family bathroom in one,

making the morning queues far easier to manage.

The old kitchen space has been transformed into a bedroom

for Julie's youngest boy.

And across the hall, there's a big double room for her middle son,

complete with a window

that's traditionally placed in the middle of the wall.

Upstairs, we've revamped and refreshed the old bathroom,

giving it a modern and stylish feel.

And the bedroom that once had all three adopted boys crammed into it

is now a good-sized space for the youngest two...

..meaning the eldest brother can have his own room

for the first time ever.

The two girls have moved upstairs next-door to Julie, into a room

that really is fantastically girly.

And we've gone all out to make Julie's bedroom a luxurious

and calming space - somewhere she can retreat to

for those precious moments of peace and quiet.

The back garden has been revitalised.

Bi-folding doors lead out onto a stunning decked area...

complete with a beautiful solid oak bench that celebrates

the bond the family share.

And the flowers in Caroline's garden

have all been replanted in her memory.

Even the shed's had a lick of paint.

Finally the cedar-clad garden room

is an occasional bedroom for Julie's eldest son -

quite a step up from sleeping on the sofa.

After everything they've been through,

this is finally a home big enough for all of them.

Somewhere they can be a normal family, spend time together,

and move on from the sadness in their past.

A lot of people from the Huntingdon area have come in

and worked very hard to try and give you exactly what you need.

And, we hope we've given you the tools to carry on

the amazing job that you've done, so, are you ready?

I'm not sure!

Open your eyes.

Oh, my goodness!

Oh!

It's amazing!

NICK LAUGHS

Oh, it's absolutely beautiful.

I love it! I absolutely do, I really love it!

The table's huge!

Obviously, there is the pride-of-place chair,

-which is also a bit apt...

-Is that for me?

-Yes, a little pink seat for you.

-Shall I sit down?

-So the family can all sit round with you...

-Oh, this is lovely...

This is wonderful.

-Is it a beautiful thing?

-It's beautiful.

This is what you needed, is it?

This is what I needed, but I love it.

I love it, because it's just so practical,

but it's just beautiful, as well, isn't it?

-It's all wonderful.

-Yes?

-Really, yes.

-Is going to make difference?

Yes, I love it, gosh, I never want to leave this room.

The children are going to go mad.

-Really?

-They are, they are.

Do you know, Christmas is just going to be... Wow!

SHE LAUGHS

-Looks nice when it's on, doesn't it?

-Oh! Gosh, it's just absolutely beautiful!

-You like?

-I do. I do!

So clever! Isn't it... Oh, look at the sofas and the cushions!

-Do you want to have a little...?

-Can I sit down?

-Yes.

Oh, wow! It's luxury in here now, isn't it?

I tried to make it as nice as I could before, with my limited time

and energy, but this is warm and it's cosy,

I like to be very cosy.

I like the little lamps and lights and things which you've done.

-Yeah, I absolutely love it.

-OK, happy with this?

-I don't want to leave this room.

-You said that in the last room!

-Can I stay here a bit longer?

-No, we have a lot to show you, come on!

More, there's more yet!

Bear in mind - this door wasn't here before!

No, it wasn't.

-Oh, my goodness.

-I'm afraid we've had to take your garage away,

insulate the place, so it's a nice warm place to be,

and create a study room, because I know you're keen on the children

being up-to-date with their schoolwork, and this is a study area

for them to be able to come in and have study time, computer time...

What do you think?

I never, ever imagined such a wonderful room.

This is just... It's everything and more.

Oh, beautiful, absolutely beautiful!

-Very posh, isn't it?

-It's very posh, yes!

Oh, it's just... I love it.

It's got a hotel sense of style about it, as well.

-Let's see your room.

-Thank you.

Oh, it's just...

I'm saying the same things over and over again,

I'm just lost for words, really.

Has she got the style right for you?

It's just absolutely gorgeous, yeah, this is very me.

If I could pick and choose anything...

I could never have imagined such a beautiful room.

I have to tell you at night it's beautiful in here

with the wall lights, either side of the mirror.

I've just seen the dressing table!

Oh, I've got everybody there.

Oh, gosh, all the lovely photos.

I've got everybody, I've got Caroline in here with me again.

You always had a little en-suite in there, didn't you?

I did, a little cupboard, as I'd say to my friends,

it's a little cupboard, but I'm lucky to have it.

Well, have a look, we've given it a coat of paint.

I'm smiling before I go in.

Oh, yes.

Oh, it's beautiful.

What a massive difference this will make to our lives.

Yeah, we'll be able to just function as I guess we should do, really,

without the difficulties we've had before.

I have got so many thank yous,

massive thank yous to say to all these people.

I'll go and get the youngsters.

Is it all right for me to show them into their rooms?

-Of course it is.

-Yes?

-Yeah!

-Are they going to be excited?

-Yes.

-All right.

Wow...it's awesome.

I like this.

-Look, it even has our names!

-Yup!

In you go.

Wow!

Uh-huh!

-How is it up there?

-Nice and comfy.

It's changed!

-Yes, has it?!

-Yes.

-What's your favourite bit?

-I just like all of it.

-Do you?

So, what do you think of your bedroom?

It's awesome.

Awesome.

-Marks out of 10?

-10.

-10.

-Definitely?

-Yup!

I think it's excellent!

This is all right, isn't it?!

-It will do, it will do!

-Sweet!

Are you happy with this?

-It's not bad, it's better than your old one!

-Yes, definitely.

-Much better.

-It's awesome.

Are you a bit of a Chelsea fan?

-Yeah, just a bit!

-Really?

Yeah, I love Chelsea.

Do you want to look on the shelf behind you?

Oh, my word!

Check it out! Lamps!

He was good enough to sign that for us and send it through, so...

-Really? No way!

-Yes, really.

That's awesome.

So nice, honestly.

-Awesome!

-So, do you want to see the other one?

-All right?

-Ready?

That makes it your room.

-Oh, really? All right, cool! I've got a room.

-Come on!

-Double bed! Double bed!

-Nice.

I've not had a double bed in so long.

-Oh, lovely.

-It's pretty cool, isn't it?

It's all right! Do you like it?

I've got nothing to say, mate!

I'm happy.

-Mate, check you out! We've finally got you!

-I know.

The coolest guy in the world and we've gone and got you!

-This is all right!

-Oh, quality shower. Yes, that's it!

-I'm going to christen this!

-Not whilst we're in the room.

-Not right now.

-A loo and shower, so you guys can get yourselves

sorted in the morning without bumping into

the little ones upstairs, who have got their own bathroom,

and your mum's got her own little en-suite up there, too.

So, whilst these two are away, I've got my own bathroom?

Pretty much! Yes, I'm happy with it. It's awesome.

-Yes?

-Yes, I'm so happy.

OK, let's get the little ones down, and we'll go and say hello.

Wow!

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Whoa!

This is amazing!

This is amazing!

This is all right, isn't it?

Did you ever think we'd live somewhere like this?

-No, it's amazing.

-Yes, it's awesome!

-Wow!

-Wow! Look at the doors!

-Isn't that amazing?

-Come and have a look round your garden.

Oh, look. Oh!

It's got everyone's name on it.

-Oh, this is gorgeous, isn't it?

-We need to get the barbecue out.

GIRL: Kieran... Peter... Michael...

Obviously, we've changed the garden a lot.

But there are some things that we knew we couldn't change,

so, you guys planted flowers, didn't you, for Mum?

And in this bed here, what we did was,

we took up all the plants that were there, the ones you planted,

that were important, kept them all during the week,

and the guys who did the garden put them all back in again,

so you'll find in that bed, the ones you had with Gabrielle,

and you'll also find all the other ones that you planted before.

Well, I presumed you were going to be in charge of mowing the lawn,

and things like that, so I just wanted to show you the shed.

-Wooh!

-What's going on here?

-My mind's blown, look at this, check it!

-Oh, Adam!

Happy days!

-Isn't it a cracking little space?

-Gorgeous!

-My mind's blown!

I don't know what to say. I'm speechless.

I couldn't change anything, Adam, about what I've seen!

Not needed!

Do you want a man hug? Want to go that far?

If it's all right with you, I'd like to take you all outside now

and meet some of the people who have been working on this,

-and making this possible in just nine days.

-Let's go.

Here you go!

CHEERING

We've all got so many special thank yous to say to you, guys,

you've made such a huge difference to us as a family, and I don't think

there are enough thank yous, but I would like to say

just a massive one to everybody, all the builders and tradesmen,

all our neighbours and really special friends.

You're all fantastic, thank you so much.

On behalf of my mum, and just the family in general,

you don't know how big this is. It's going to change everything we do,

so, honestly, thank you all so much.

It's perfect. Absolutely perfect to a T.

Amazing, absolutely amazing.

This family's life will absolutely change because of what you did,

so, from us, thank you very much for what you did.

Cheers, come and say hello. Come and say hello.

-It's really nice to meet you.

-Oh, thank you.

This is Max, he works for me, it's his first week at work.

He was going to do that everywhere, but I managed to stop him.

That's right, I normally paint these colours.

People tell you today there's no community left,

that it's just not around,

not like in the old days when there was proper community.

They're wrong, you know. Over 500 people wrote to us and said,

"You have to do this, this family needs your help."

And so we came here, but there's only six of us,

and we asked the community to do something and they did.

All this lot turned out,

and what they've done in nine days has changed this family's life.

You know, that can happen in communities all over the country.

Have a look and see who needs your help.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd