Gingerbread Den The Dengineers

-I'm Mark.

-And I'm Lauren.

-And this is The Dengineers.

The show that puts you in charge, building your very own dream den.

'Dens for adventure...'

Hello, trapdoor!

'Hanging out with your friends and family...'

This den is the best thing ever.

'And dens built to fulfil your dreams.'

-It's more than he could ever have wanted.

-Ah, Mum...!

'Whatever your ideas,

'the Dengineers team are here to transform

'your inspiration into amazing spaces.'

'Built especially for you.'

-ALL:

-This den is done!

-Hello!

-Hello!

Yes, you, Lola!

Let's do it.

That is epic.

Really happy.

It's amazing.

Hello. We're in Leeds today,

where a unit of Girl Guides will be joining us at this very park -

one of which is our Dengineer.

A unit of Girl Guides? So, what are we talking? Like, five?

-Nah.

-Ten?

-Nah.

-15?

-Nah. Try over 30.

-Over 30?!

So, what you're saying is we're going to have to avoid

being spotted by a whole park full of people AND over 30 Girl Guides?!

That's exactly what I'm saying.

We don't make it easy on ourselves, do we?

No, so we'd better get going. Come on.

Whilst our team starts setting up

the hidden cameras for the big surprise,

let's meet today's Dengineer.

Meet ten-year-old Carrie from Leeds.

Dengineers, I really need your help

to create me a fab, positive den

celebrating all things being ginger.

Carrie loves her amazing red hair,

but others haven't always been quite so positive about it.

Well, Carrie's really keen to celebrate the colour of her hair,

mainly because, in the past, she's been singled out because of it.

She's always tried to remain positive,

but sometimes people have not been very kind about it.

So this is a really good way for her to celebrate.

Carrie's mega-upbeat attitude stretches far and wide,

and she uses it to help other children at school.

And one of those is seven-year-old Lily-Jade.

She helps me stay in the classroom,

and when I'm upset or sad, she's always there for me.

As a reward for being good at school,

Lily-Jade gets to spend time with Carrie

and their favourite thing to do is read together.

Carrie is really important to Lily and how she gets on at school,

cos Lily is really, really bright

and she just needs a little bit of focus sometimes.

And if she knows that she's got encouragement and praise

and rewards with Carrie,

then that keeps her really focused.

Carrie loves helping other children at school.

So much so, she wants to become a teacher one day.

And there's one subject that Carrie would be perfect at teaching.

Oh, it would definitely be arts and crafts.

Anything, painting, drawing, creative,

with a little bit of imagination thrown in,

that's what she'd be brilliant at.

This girl really deserves a den.

And a den is exactly what Carrie's about to get -

she just doesn't know it yet.

This park is filling up quickly,

so our team better get their skates on

-fitting in the hidden cameras, hey, Tim?

-Yeah, yeah.

Whilst the Dengineers team work double-time

to get everything set for the big surprise,

Carrie and her Girl Guide pals start to arrive at the park.

Now, all we need is our Dengineer on the inside.

So, Gillian, you're the leader of Carrie's Girl Guide unit,

which makes you the perfect person for this job.

-I am.

-Now, Gillian, what have you told the girls?

We've told the girls they're coming here

to make a film for Girl Guiding.

I like it. Sneaky skills.

Do you think that Carrie has any idea what's about to happen?

-I don't think she's any idea whatsoever.

-Good.

How do you think she'll react?

I think she's going to be so shocked and surprised.

Yeah, I think she's going to be super, super excited.

Having had this chat, I'm already feeling like an honorary Girl Guide.

-Here we go...

-Do you want to make your promise?

-Yeah! How do I do that?

-Make the Guide Sign.

-OK, three fingers.

-And repeat after me.

-I promise that I will do my best.

-I promise that I will do my best.

To be true to myself and to develop my beliefs.

To be true to myself and develop my beliefs.

-To serve the Queen and my community.

-To serve the Queen and my community.

-To help other people.

-To help other people.

-And to keep the Guide law.

-And to keep the Guide law.

Ha-ha! Look at that!

Gillian, it is now time for you to go and get the girls.

So, go on, off you go, make it happen, and we'll see you in a bit.

-Thank you. See you later.

-Go on, Gillian!

-You're not a Girl Guide.

-I am!

-You never will be.

-I am now!

I was a Scout, love.

Yeah, you wish, Mark.

The park is filling up quickly, so we need to get our team

into position before the surprise is blown.

Gillian rounds up the Girl Guides for a spot of fictional filming.

The surprise is on.

(They're right there.)

They're literally right there.

-Let's do this.

-(Come on.)

-Got it.

-Right...

-Hello!

-Hello, girls. How are you doing?

Now, we are looking for...Carrie.

-Hello, Carrie.

-Come over here, Carrie.

-I am Mark.

-And I'm Lauren.

We're from CBBC's The Dengineers.

Now, we've heard that you would love to build

your very own awesome den celebrating all things ginger.

-Is that correct?

-Yeah.

Well, that's exactly what you're going to get.

-How does that sound?

-Awesome.

Give her a big round of applause, everyone.

Woo-hoo!

So, Carrie is going to be coming with us

to build her very own awesome dream den.

So, girls, I'm afraid to say, we're going to have to leave you,

but you're all going to come to the den one time and have some fun?

-GIRLS:

-Yes!

For now, we've got to take Carrie away, so we'll see you later.

-Bye.

-Bye.

It was amazing when Mark and Lauren jumped up on the kerb,

cos I wasn't expecting it at all.

I'm, like, one hundred thousand million percent happy.

Never been as happy as this before.

It's definitely the coolest thing that's ever happened at Guides.

She's a really valued member at our Guides,

and she deserves what she's getting because she's just really nice,

and to have something good to happen to her...

It's really cool, because, like, being ginger, as well,

so I support it all.

Our first port of call is the mobile Dengineers HQ

which has some mega-cool technology to get this den rolling.

So, Carrie, in here is where we're going to download

all of the ideas that you've got in your head

and pop them onto this big computer.

And remember, Carrie, you are the boss of your own den,

so anything you see here, anything you want, throw it up.

What's the actual idea for your den? How can we kick things off?

I want a gingerbread theme.

-This is brilliant.

-A gingerbread house.

A gingerbread house for the ginger theme.

Explain what kind of gingerbread house you want.

I want it to be like for when I grow up, as well.

Yeah, we need to think about the future here, don't we?

What about something more like that?

That's better because it isn't as babyish.

I love quotes.

-There's lots of quotes.

-OK, nice.

Carrie, what's your favourite quote?

My favourite quote is

"Be yourself - everyone else is taken".

That is one of the good ones.

-That is a lovely quote.

-I like it a lot.

So, what's your den actually going to be for?

What are you going to use it for?

I like doing crafts...

-OK. So, like that.

-Yeah.

I think it's one of the most unique ideas

that we've had so far in The Dengineers.

I've never heard anything like it,

and I think it's going to be absolutely brilliant.

So, Carrie's decided on a grown-up gingerbread house for her den,

with positive and inspirational quotes on the wall,

and a space where she can work on her arts and crafts.

Carrie's got some big plans for the den,

but we can't get started until we know

where she wants to build her awesome gingerbread house.

Right, Carrie, so, where are we having the den?

-In that corner over there.

-Ah... I see.

That does look pretty good, quite a big space.

But we've got a tree in the way.

Well, ha-ha!

Luckily, for you guys, I am actually a really good tree surgeon,

so if anyone could pass me my old chainsaw, get to work...

SHE IMITATES CHAINSAW

-The tree is this skinny and this big.

-Yeah.

You do not need a chainsaw - we can get that out with our hands.

Bit of elbow grease, little shovel, we're in there.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say.

If Carrie wants to build her den here,

we need to do a spot of Dengineers gardening

and transfer this tree to another patch of grass.

A job like this is going to take some serious strength.

HE GROANS, BOTH CHEER

Whilst Mark puts his muscles into action,

me and Carrie get our hands dirty.

After a mighty team effort, the tree is in its new home,

and the corner of the garden is ready for Carrie's den.

Mum, are you gutted about your tree?

I do think it looks quite nice there.

-Yay!

-I was worried about that.

-Good job.

But on the one hand we giveth,

on the other hand we take away-eth.

In other words, Mum...see this sign?

Sling your hook.

-Go on.

-Bye, Mum.

-Dengineers only.

-See ya!

-Sure...

-See you later.

-Bye!

'I'm really quite nervous.'

Just letting go of my garden and handing it over to her

is a little bit worrying, but I do trust her.

With the site cleared, it's time to meet the designer of Carrie's den.

But who will make her gingerbread house dreams come to life?

Well, it is two for the price of one with this den.

Meet Tony and Satwinder.

They're both amazing architects and lecturers

who, between them, have over 40 years' experience

designing awesome structures.

They're a perfect match for this den.

So, we've been chatting to Mark and Lauren,

and we've seen all your brilliant ideas,

and we're really excited about designing your den.

Have you had any thoughts how it should look?

I want it to, when I grow up, I can go in it

and not think it's a bit kiddy.

We want to make it look like a gingerbread house,

-but be slightly different.

-Yeah.

So one thing we thought it could be,

it could be quite crooked, a bit sort of Gothic.

-That would be really cool, yeah.

-OK, you got any other thoughts?

Maybe, like, if I could have a table,

so I could do lots of craft work on that, that would be really cool.

Fantastic. So what we could have is a desk maybe up against one wall,

and we had an idea that we might have a mirror on the wall

so it looks like the desk is disappearing into the other side.

Yeah, that sounds awesome.

Tony and Satwinder's plans have been given a big tick from Carrie.

They've designed the outside of the den

to look like a grown-up, crooked gingerbread house,

and inside she'll have an awesome desk to do her arts and crafts,

and Tony and Satwinder are going to do some cool tricks with mirrors

to create Carrie a magical space.

This is probably more than I expected in the den.

I didn't think it were going to be this good. I can't wait!

I just want to build it right now.

The first job for the Dengineers is to lay down some concrete slabs

which are needed to support the weight of Carrie's den.

With the ground ready for action,

it's time for the rest of the team to arrive.

And, boy, do we bring a lot of kit.

Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming...

It's as tall as you!

'Unpacking all this den-building kit is thirsty work,

'so it's a good job me, Tony and Carrie

'are brew-maker extraordinaires.'

That's lovely, that.

The Dengineers have well and truly moved in,

and the first job of the day is to put up the main structure of the den

which has been made off site from over 130 metres of timber.

That's about the same length as one and a half football pitches.

This is a massive job, and one that is concerning designer Tony.

This is one of the most complicated designs I think we've done.

Just to get it to stand up is tricky, let alone make it look good.

So, yeah, I'm pretty worried at the minute.

The Dengineers spend all of day one

putting Tony and Satwinder's complex plans into action...

Magic!

Look, it slots right in.

'..whilst me and Carrie paint the letters

'that will spell out her name along the roof of the den.'

Tone, what are you saying?

-I'm saying it looks great.

-Yeah!

-I love it.

The centrepiece inside Carrie's den

is going to be an arts and crafts desk,

and Satwinder's got a cool idea for an upcycled chair to go with it.

Can you guess what this is?

Is it the thing inside the washing machine?

Yeah, it is.

It's not from your house - don't worry.

It's from an old washing machine.

So, what we're going to do is

we're going to use this to make the structure

of a special chair that goes in your den.

-What do you think?

-It sounds awesome.

To turn this old washing machine part

into a cool chair for Carrie's den,

the first thing to do is paint the metal exterior.

I like this colour.

Then Satwinder and Carrie move on to painting the wooden legs

that the chair will rest on.

How do you think that looks against the brown?

I think it works really well, doesn't it?

The next time Carrie will see her upcycled chair

it'll be complete with a cushion to sit on

and will have pride of place in her gingerbread house den.

With a mixture of hard work and tasty refreshments

in the shape of Carrie's home-made gingerbread men,

it's not long until the structure of the den is up.

Perfect.

I think today has gone amazingly.

I don't think it could've gone any better.

Day one of the build is done,

and the mood in the camp is sky-high.

Tony, I literally cannot believe how much has gone up in one day.

-Let's just go on holiday, guys.

-Whoa, no, we can't.

We've got hundreds of these to put on tomorrow.

It's going to take all day, so...we're not there yet.

The build's gone really well today,

but I think everyone's sort of underestimating a little bit

what needs to be done.

There's still loads to do, and there's only three days left now.

It's day two in Leeds, and the weather forecast today is windy.

Very windy.

Which is the worst possible weather if you need to fit

hundreds of wooden shingles to the roof of a den.

The biggest concern is the weather.

If the wind gets too strong,

we'll have to just stop doing the shingles today,

cos it could genuinely get quite dangerous.

At the moment it's safe for the Dengineers team to push on

with laying the shingles onto the roof.

But if it gets any stronger,

the team will have no choice but to stop working.

Which would be a disaster for their chances of finishing the den

in time for the big reveal.

As the team keep one eye on the weather,

I get stuck into some arts and crafts with Carrie's mum

and find out why she deserves this amazing den.

So, where did the idea of doing a gingerbread house come from?

Well, she was trying to think of something very original

and she came up with the idea of her ginger hair.

The more she started thinking about

the gingerbread and the ginger den and the ginger hair,

she just came up with the idea about,

"How about we make it a really positive den?"

and "I have it as a place where I can go and chill out

"and feel positive if I've had a hard day at school."

So, why do you think Carrie deserves her den?

Just really to have a place that's hers,

because she's so used to doing stuff for everybody else.

I think she deserves it just for being generally all-round lovely.

I agree, fully agree.

Back in the garden, and despite the windy conditions,

the team are working double-time on the roof of the den.

And whilst they crack on,

Carrie and Tony have some serious choices to make...on paint.

Right, Carrie, so we want to add a little bit of colour

to the outside of your den,

so shall we mix some paint and test it on here?

To help pick the perfect colour for the outside of the den,

Carrie and Tony test out various washes of paint

by diluting it with water.

OK, Carrie, so which one do you think's working best?

-Well, I like the third one.

-Yeah.

-But I had an idea.

What happened if we'd mix them both together?

-OK, so it's like a unique colour for you.

-Yeah.

We could give it a go. Shall we try it?

-Yeah, let's go.

-All right.

Carrie's idea is to mix both the orange and the red paint together

to create her very own colour.

And after testing out

a few different mixtures of paints and water,

it's decision time.

Right, Carrie, what do you think? Which one's your favourite?

The one that really caught my eye was this one,

because it's, I guess, a gingerbread theme,

and it really works well with my den.

Perfect. Well, we'll use that. Great.

With the colour picked, Carrie and co crack on mixing

a mega batch of the chosen wash of paint.

I think we might...

-I think we need a bit more of the red.

-Yeah.

Carrie and the Dengineers have to be really precise

when mixing this wash.

Whoa.

They can't afford to have any errors with this task.

If we get this wrong and we start painting it,

and it won't fade back to that colour...

-Which'll be a bit sad.

-And we've only got one shot at it.

With Carrie in charge, the team take their time

and finally get the perfect paint wash for the den.

Tony, I think this is our paint.

All right. Well, let's splash it on.

Carrie's been brilliant.

She's really taken control of the whole project, really,

and she's kind of bossing us around quite a bit,

which is quite refreshing.

The rough winds have finally died down,

and the sun has come out in perfect time

for the team to start painting the outside of the den.

Oh, my gosh, this looks so good.

We need to really have a name for this colour.

What do you think we should call it?

I think it should be named after you.

-Car-red. Car-red.

-Cred?

-Car-range.

-Car-range. Yeah.

-OK, I like Car-range red.

-Let's go with Car-range.

The Dengineers work their socks off all afternoon,

and it's not long until the den is painted and the roof is finished.

BOTH CHEER

Today I've had lots of fun,

but my favourite bit was probably making my own colour of paint,

which was car-range,

and I really like the shade

and it looks really, really great on the den.

Carrie's worked really hard again. You can't stop her.

I don't think we could've got this far without her.

The Dengineers team are making brilliant progress with the den,

so I think it's time for Carrie to take a break from the build.

We are trading in this garden-cum-building site in Leeds

for Wembley Arena in London,

where 20,000 of Carrie's fellow Girl Guides have rocked up

to see the Girl Guiding Big Gig.

And headlining this massive gig is

Carrie's favourite artist and fellow redhead, Jess Glynne.

-Carrie, are you happy with these seats?

-Yeah.

-Are they good?

-Yeah.

Well, Carrie, we don't do just "good" on the Dengineers.

-Amazing!

-We...

..have VIP seating.

Do you want to sit here, or in these seats?

In these seats.

-Shall we go?

-Yeah.

-Come on.

These VIP passes get our Carrie close to the action -

and I mean mega close.

Carrie, look where we're standing right now.

-We're basically on the stage.

-Yeah.

Jess is about to take the stage,

so it's time for me and Carrie to take our seats.

Now it's time for the star the show.

# Darling, hold my hand

# Oh, won't you hold my hand?

# Cos I don't wanna walk on my own any more

# Won't you understand?

# Cos I don't wanna walk alone

# I'm ready for this

# There's no denying

# I'm ready for this

# You stop me falling

# I'm reading for this

# I need you all in... #

-Can you believe how close you are?

-I know!

# So, darling, hold my hand. #

-Woo!

-Wow!

-That was awesome.

It's been one of the best days. I will never forget it.

It's just massive for me.

Carrie's on top of the world.

But there's still one last surprise.

And this one is a belter.

Home time. Yeah.

What if I said we're going to go backstage

and meet Jess Glynne herself?

-Would you be up for that?

-Yeah!

-Are you sure, or do you want to go home?

-No.

-Let's go!

Jess Glynne may be

one of the biggest artists in the world right now,

but that doesn't mean she hasn't got time for the Dengineers.

So, Carrie, meet Jess. Jess, meet Carrie.

-I like the colour of your hair.

-Thanks!

What have you got to say about the colour of your hair?

What are you doing with the Dengineers?

-Well, people used to tease me because of my hair colour...

-Oh...

..so I wanted to do a den to be proud of it and to be positive.

-Yeah! Can I come?

-Yeah.

-Oh, wicked!

-Would you let Jess into your den?

-Yeah!

-Oh, that's exciting.

-I'm going to the ginger den when it's ready.

-Yeah.

-If you invite me, that is.

-Yeah.

-I think you'll definitely be invited, Jess.

-Yeah.

The ginger den!

Meeting Jess Glynne was absolutely amazing.

It was like a dream come true.

I think I will take all the positiveness from today

and take it to go in my den.

Back at the den,

the team are pushing on into day three of the build.

And from here on in, Carrie won't see the den

until the big reveal tomorrow.

I'm really nervous about not seeing my den,

but I'm putting all my trust into Satwinder and Tony

and hoping that they'll do a good job.

In the absence of Carrie, the Dengineers crack on with the build.

But it's not long until the team hit a problem.

About that much gap.

It's a wonky door, so we're having a bit of trouble fitting it.

It's vital that the door fits, so we've got to make time for it.

Hopefully it doesn't mean we have to sacrifice a few other things.

As soon as Carrie leaves, something goes wrong.

Well, she's like the lead Dengineer, isn't she?

And now she's gone, all these problems are coming up.

-We need to get her back.

-Where's she gone?

The Dengineers team work together

to find a solution to their door dilemma.

-Yeah...

-I sorted it.

Time is ticking until the big reveal,

and the Dengineers need to finish painting the inside of the den

and lay the flooring,

whilst Carrie customises

her very own gingerbread man door knocker.

As day three comes to an end,

the team are mega happy with the den.

We're absolutely delighted.

I think Carrie's going to be really, really happy with it.

-I hope so, I hope so.

-I hope so, too.

It's the morning of day four,

and Carrie's den is looking in great shape for the big reveal

in just a few hours' time.

The team want this den looking perfect for the big reveal,

so me and Satwinder do some paint touch-ups to the outside.

And me and Tony customise the inside of the den.

There you go. We better move on to the next thing.

That's the pictures up.

Whilst the team add the finishing touches,

I catch up with Satwinder

to find out the engineering behind the use of mirrors in this den.

So what happens is, here's the desk, the mirror's in the corner.

When you look through,

it looks like the desk is just carrying on into the distance,

so it makes that corner look bigger when you least expect it.

-We've done it in that corner over there, as well.

-Oh, yeah.

Tony and Satwinder have used

a tactic they call reflecting the corner,

to create an illusion of more space in the den.

So instead of seeing the desk come to an end at the wall,

the mirror makes it look like you can see through the wall

into an imaginary space where the desk goes on and on.

-Last hook.

-Last one.

The big reveal is a matter of minutes away,

and the Dengineers make one last push towards the finish line.

How cool is that? Put that there.

-Great stuff.

-High five me.

-Nice one.

-Sorted.

This patch of garden used to be home to a few plants and a tree.

But Tony, Satwinder and the Dengineers

have worked their magic over the past four days

and transformed it into

an incredible ginger house den for Carrie.

The stage is set for the big reveal,

and Carrie's friends, family and Girl Guide pals

have arrived at the house to see the den.

It has been absolutely brilliant

having the Dengineers take over my house.

I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I've loved every minute of it. To see the den, I'm just so excited.

I'm just... I really just can't wait!

I am really, really, really mega excited about seeing my den.

I just can't wait. I need to see it.

Well, you don't have to wait any longer, Carrie,

because it's countdown time.

ALL: Three, two, one!

Carrie, what's your first thought?

I think it's amazing.

Mum?

I'm speechless. It's totally amazing.

Shall we give her a round of applause?

CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

This patch of garden has been transformed

into an amazing gingerbread house den,

where Carrie can chill out and work on her arts and crafts.

I think the wonkiness, like, really paid off.

I think it looks amazing.

-Proper wonk factor, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Carrie wanted a grown-up, crooked gingerbread house

and that's exactly what she got.

The roof of the den is decked out in stylish shingles,

complete with Carrie's name across the top.

And there's even a gingerbread man door knocker, too.

I think my den is absolutely amazing.

I couldn't ask for it any better.

Oh, my... Oh, my gosh!

I love those lights.

That is amazing.

The surprises keep coming on the inside.

Carrie's den is decked out in cool orange lights,

and she's got an awesome desk

where she can craft away whenever she wants.

Her upcycled chair takes pride of place in the den,

and there's loads of inspirational quotes

to make this a positive space to hang out.

"No one is perfect - that's why pencils have rubbers."

-Pretty good that, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Oh, there's me and Jess Glynne!

Oh, yeah. What about the other person?

THEY LAUGH

-"There's me and Jess Glynne."

-Yeah, she got it right.

I'm up there - there's no mention.

I think the den is absolutely fabulous,

because it's a celebration for her of everything that she wanted to say

about being yourself.

-So, how are you feeling, Carrie?

-I'm feeling absolutely amazing.

This den is, like, the best thing ever.

Oh, that's good news! We've done a good job, I think.

Carrie and the family love the den,

but does it get the Girl Guides' seal of approval?

-Whoa!

-Hello.

Oh, Carrie, this is well good.

I'm really happy for her because she deserves to have it,

because she's, like, a really nice friend and she's kind to everyone.

I'm so happy for you.

Part of this den has been about the positivity,

and Carrie's brought that to the project right the way through.

It's been a pleasure to design for her.

This den is going to mean everything to me.

It's going to mean the world to me.

Thank you to all the Dengineers crew.

You've worked so hard, and I'm just really thankful.

There's no doubt about it -

this gingerbread house has gone down a treat here in Leeds.

So there's only one more thing to do.

-ALL:

-This den is done!

THEY CHEER

Come on, yeah!