Sport Den The Dengineers

-I'm Lauren.

-I'm Joe.

-And this is The Dengineers.

The show that puts you in charge of building your very own dream den!

LAUGHTER

Dens for adventure.

CHEERING DROWNS SPEECH

Hanging out with your friends and family.

-Wow!

-It's amazing!

-Yeah.

-Yeah!

And dens built to fulfil your dreams.

It's amazing, thank you so much.

Whatever your idea, the Dengineers team

are here to transform your inspiration into amazing spaces.

Whoa!

Built especially for you.

-ALL:

-The den is done!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Merry Christmas!

Whoa!

Whoa!

We are at a school in Birmingham to surprise a girl

who's absolutely mad about sport and build her dream den.

And we are very excited today,

because we are joined by one of the country's greatest netball stars.

Thank you for noticing, I've been working on my ball skills.

No, I'm not talking about you, am I, Joe?

I'm talking about England centre Beth Cobden of course!

-Hi, Beth.

-Catch.

-Ooh, thanks.

-You all right there?

-I'm fine.

For today's surprise, we are going to have to be on it,

so we'd better not drop the ball on this one.

Whoa! LAUGHTER

Today's Dengineer is nine-year-old Maddie from Birmingham.

I really need your help, Dengineers, cos I love sport

and I really want to win gold at the Paralympics.

She loves anything to do with sport,

she loves playing sport,

she loves watching sport and she wants to just get better and better,

and she's really, really competitive.

Maddie's always been on the move since she was really little.

She never really stops moving.

And sport really helps Maddie in other ways, too.

I've got a condition called cerebral palsy. It affects my muscles

and I need to do exercises every day.

Having a den will give me somewhere to do my exercises

without my little sister Nancy jumping on me.

We call her "The Hurricane". Maddie will start her exercises

and Nancy thinks it's an opportunity to play pile on,

and they just end up rolling around on the floor

and no exercises ever get done.

This den is so important to Maddie.

I think it will just continue to inspire her to keep practising

and to keep stretching herself,

so that she can become the best sports person that she can be.

Please, Dengineers, come and build my den.

I really need your help to make my Paralympic dreams come true.

And that's exactly what's going to happen, as our trusty

Dengineers spring into action, rigging Maddie's school

netball court with hidden cameras ready to surprise her.

Maddie has absolutely no idea that we're here at her school.

She thinks her PE teacher,

Mr Jenkins, has set up a special training session

with England Netball star Beth

and it's going to be filmed for BBC Sport.

-High fives!

-High five!

We're on a street outside the school

and just up there is the netball court where Beth

and Mr Jenkins are busy training with the team.

All we've got to do is sneak up this alleyway

and hope that nobody sees us.

-Are you ready for it?

-I'm ready.

-Are you ready?

-I'm born ready! Come on, let's go.

-Yeah.

LAUGHTER AND SHOUTING

Do you want to...? You go forward, you go forward.

-Are you sure? Right.

-Yeah, I'm scared.

They are so close.

-They're like...there.

-Tuck in a little bit.

I'm pushing it.

-GATE CLANKS AND CREAKS

-Ssh.

-JOE GIGGLES Ready?

-Yeah, go, go.

Excuse me, everybody.

Hello.

Hi, sorry to stop you,

we're looking for Maddie. Is Maddie anywhere?

-Maddie! There she is. Come forward, Maddie.

-Come here, Maddie.

-My name is Lauren.

-And I'm Joe, hello.

And we are from CBBC's The Dengineers.

And we're here to tell you, Maddie,

that you are going to get your dream den.

-How does that sound?

-It's great.

-CHEERING

-See you later.

-Come on...

-Are we going this way?

It's so cool... Cos, like, it's not every day

that the Dengineers are going to turn up at your school.

It was so nice to see her little surprised face. She was...

Yeah, a real shock to her, I think she's dead happy.

We head straight to the Dengineers Mobile HQ.

It's packed with awesome technology that will bring

Maddie's sport den to life.

Maddie, welcome to the Dengineers mobile HQ.

In here is where we're going to take all of your ideas

and come up with the design for your den.

And remember, it is your den, so you're the boss, all right?

You can have whatever you want.

So first things first, what is the theme of the den?

It's a sports den, because I've got cerebral palsy,

and every time that I've done sports,

it's really helped me get confidence back.

-Wow.

-That's such a good idea, isn't it?

Explain for us, what is cerebral palsy?

It's when your muscles get tighter each day and then

you have to do stretches to make them looser.

How will a sports den help, then?

Cos I can stretch more than I normally do.

Amazing. Do you want to get stuck in and have a look at some pictures?

-Yeah.

-What do you like the look of?

Now, medals...

Right, do you want somewhere to display, sort of, medals?

-Yeah.

-And what sports have you got medals for?

I've got two medals for netball.

-Yeah!

-Wow!

-High five to that, Maddie.

She is medal award-winning.

-I love that.

-What else do you reckon?

I like the GB flag.

What is it about Team GB that you love?

They always persevere and if, when they don't win,

they're always like, "Let's try again,"

-and "We're going to win."

-I love that.

-Yeah.

But is it just the Olympic teams,

or are you into the Paralympic teams?

The Paralympic and the Olympic teams.

Have you thought about maybe

what you want the den to look like on the outside?

-What sort of thing...?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Oh, wow. That's the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, isn't it?

Why do you like the design of that?

Cos it's, like, circular, like all the sports stadiums,

and it lets light in.

And...

Sort of like running tracks.

-Yeah.

-That could be a really cool kind of flooring design?

-Yeah.

What about colours for your den?

Er, I quite like the red one, which is this one.

-Yeah, that's nice.

-Yes.

What else do we need in your den?

Mm, probably a commentating microphone!

A commentating microphone, what a great idea.

That is a great idea.

You can comment on everything that's happening in the den.

You can get one of your friends to sit there and go,

"Maddie is now having a drink."

MADDIE LAUGHS

"Maddie got up, is having a scratch

"and has sat back down."

-Brilliant.

-Perfect.

-I like all the sports.

I'm in the football team, I'm in the netball. I do like badminton.

-Yeah?

-I like rugby, I play against my grandma in tennis.

You need to go and have a sit down, I think.

Do you know what I mean? Give yourself a break.

You're playing all of the sports under the sun.

Anything else, Maddie?

-A podium.

-Amazing.

-So you can take some of the medals that you've

already won and sort of pretend that you're having a ceremony.

That would be brilliant.

Ah, kit bag.

Somewhere to put all the kit.

Just some fruit and veg. Pretty easy to sort.

Why do you like the fruit and veg, then?

Because you have to keep fit and you have to train quite a lot.

-And eat healthy.

-You've got to be healthy.

-Got to be healthy.

Amazing. I think that is an incredible mood board.

It's going to be really exciting, isn't it?

But the main thing, Maddie, is are you happy with it?

-I'm happy with it.

-Are you sure you're happy with it?

-I'm sure.

-Amazing stuff.

Maddie's straight out of the blocks with ideas for her mood board.

She wants a den that will inspire her to fulfil her dreams

of becoming a Paralympic athlete with her very own stadium.

She needs a multi-sports space to hone her skills

and somewhere to show off her sporting success.

This den needs a designer who's got a great track record

when it comes to the wow factor.

It's Olga.

With her creative flair and eye-catching designs,

you can spot an Olga den from space.

If anyone can make a den worthy of a gold medal, this girl can.

I came up with a brilliant idea for your den.

Basically, what we're going to do,

we're going to build you a stadium,

-because that's what you wanted, isn't it?

-Yeah.

This is like an acrylic that are very, very durable,

waterproof and the most important thing is that they're see-through.

So, when you're going to be inside of your den,

you can still see your mum and dad in the kitchen,

but they can't see you.

They're really colourful and they're all part of the GB flag,

-so I'm quite happy.

-OLGA GASPS

And the other thing is going to be a see-through roof.

So, Maddie, are you happy to sign off my idea?

Yes, definitely.

Inspired by Maddie's ideas,

Olga plans to create a sport den fit to host the Paralympics.

From the outside, the den will look like a modern sports stadium,

using coloured acrylic panels and angled walls to achieve the effect.

Inside, the floor and wall will be covered in a running track design

and there'll be a display area to show off

Maddie's sporting achievements.

It's time to kick of this build

and the Dengineers are loaded up with all the kit

to build Maddie's dream den.

And there's a lot of it.

It's just like a massive jigsaw puzzle.

Let's hope they know how to put it together.

Hi! Day one, everybody's arrived,

Maddie's sporting theme is rubbing off on everybody.

They're just warming up to start moving the shed.

Dedicated bunch, this lot.

No chocolate! No chocolate for you!

You're a building athlete! You can have a banana, can't you?

We've got a shed to move.

Basically, what we've got to do is we've got to pick the shed up,

put it on a massive skateboard,

turn it a bit and back it into a corner.

-MADDIE GIGGLES

-Yeah.

Oh...

That's text book shed moving from the Dengineers there.

Ten out of ten for style, performance and team work.

But is Dad impressed?

Well, I've had that shed for a very, very long time.

It's been a good friend to me,

but I think it's just about intact.

It's not just the shed that's on the move.

The guinea pigs are, too.

-What are they called?

-Stella and Bella.

Size of that.

It's like a cat. Hello.

She hates me.

Now that the guinea pigs' hutch is out of the way,

the Dengineers can get building.

So it's time to say bye-bye to Maddie's mum and dad.

Dad, Mum, Nancy "The Hurricane", the Dengineers

have well and truly arrived,

and that means the garden is now Dengineers only.

We've bought a sign and everything.

So, in the nicest possible way, please get out of your own garden.

-Oh.

-That's all right. Say bye. Wave bye.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

See you later. Bye.

The garden is officially off limits to parents,

so down goes the base of the den.

There's a lot to get done on this build

and the team need everything to go right, especially the weather.

-David?

-Yes?

Apparently it's going to be raining tomorrow, all day.

-Great.

-So I think we need to do much more than we estimated today.

We need to get as much of the roof up today as possible,

cos the roof is a little bit complicated on this one.

-Oh, yeah. I know, I designed it.

-Yeah...

-I know. Sorry.

Rain plus a tricky design could spell disaster

for the Dengineers,

so it's full steam ahead while the sun shines

and the big job is bringing power from the house

to the site of the den.

Ross, what's going on here, mate? What are you doing?

So, what we've done here,

we've dug a trench out, ready for the electric cable down to the den

and we're just about to drill through

to connect up to the house fuse board.

So you're going to actually drill through the house?

Yes, through all the walls.

Wow. Don't let me anywhere near that drill, it's massive.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah, I'm really sure...

-DRILL BUZZES

-OK! That's fine.

Ross, how thick is that wall?

The wall's about that thick.

OK. And how far in are you now?

ROSS LAUGHS

Good. It's going to be a really good couple of hours. I'm excited.

That's not the only drilling going on in Maddie's garden,

as the frame of the den is fixed into place.

Ooh.

-I'll hold this bit.

-OK.

-You got it?

It's like holding a dog!

JOE STRAINS

That's a lot of armoured cable right there. Good luck, Joe.

Thanks, mate. This is the most work I've ever done.

JOE WHEEZES

The den is really starting to take shape

and while the Dengineers fill in the gaps,

I want to find out more about Maddie

and why she needs this den from Mum and Dad.

Did you have any idea when Maddie applied that we'd come in

-and sort of semi-wreck your garden?

-No.

Where did her love of sport come from?

Her love of sport really developed when we went to see

the Olympics and Paralympics in London in 2012.

-We just saw so many great sporting moments...

-Yeah.

-It lit a bit of a fire in her, do you think?

-I think it did.

Can you tell me a bit about cerebral palsy,

what sort of condition that is?

When you have cerebral palsy, there's a damage to the brain,

which then can't be repaired, and for her, she's very lucky

cos she's only got a small amount of damage,

and so it only affects her on her legs

and just a slight weakness on her left side.

So, she's had plaster casts on both legs, or one leg

if one's particularly bad.

So when she's had her legs in plaster,

-that's not because she's broken her legs...

-No.

-..it's to keep them from breaking.

-Exactly...

So when her muscles get tight, they use it as a form of treatment.

-So, it does hurt.

-Yeah.

-But she goes to school in her cast,

she can go on her scooter in the cast...

She doesn't let it stop her.

-No.

-I think she really does deserve it, doesn't she?

She does definitely deserve it.

The den's flying up, just as Olga hoped.

It really is a piece of engineering, this design,

and I want to check that Olga's covered all the bases.

I've noticed the walls are sort of pointing out.

Why have you done that and not normal straight walls?

Well, I decided to construct it slightly differently

to give the impression that the den is actually bigger than it is.

That's amazing.

In looking at it, I have thought of a possible problem,

-if you wouldn't mind me running it past you.

-Of course.

I borrowed some of Nancy's building blocks,

which is about my sort of level, just to explain.

If you're building a wall at an angle,

it's going to do that, isn't it? It's just going to fall down.

Well, as you can see, ours is not doing that.

-Yeah, but why?

-Because we make sure

that they're not going over the tipping point.

In addition, we strengthened the floor and the walls

so they're supporting the front walls from falling down.

So because you know that you're building it on an angle,

you've supported it everywhere you can.

-Exactly.

-Amazing.

The tipping point is the point at which an object,

like Maddie's den, is no longer balanced

and adding even a small amount of weight can cause it to tip over.

If Olga designed the den to be tall with a small base,

it would have a high centre of gravity

and be more likely to tip over,

but she's made sure Maddie's den has a low centre of gravity

and a wide base, which makes it more stable.

This is a complex build and with bad weather forecast,

the Dengineers put a temporary roof on to protect the den.

Today has gone really quickly.

Slightly chaotic to start with. However,

we managed to achieve a lot and we are ready for the rain.

Fingers crossed, there's no sign of it,

but the Dengineers aren't taking any chances

and everything is covered over for the night just in case.

It's day two and just as Olga predicted, the rain has arrived,

so the Dengineers have to create

their very own undercover work space.

Dengineer David calls a site meeting,

as he's got a see-through material in mind

to replace the temporary roof.

So, there are a couple of options. One of them is,

I found last night, I found a very, very clear material,

-as you can see.

-Yeah.

-So you can see straight through it.

What do you think? Cos then you can see the sky through this.

-DAVID:

-Like that?

-MADDIE:

-Yeah.

-And that's not the only decision to be made.

-DAVID:

-I need to know which way these boards go.

So do you want them to go longways, like that,

or do you want them to go short-ways, like that?

-MADDIE:

-Longways, definitely.

-DAVID:

-Definitely? Great.

Decisions made,

I'm whisking Maddie away to Loughborough University

for a little bit of sporting inspiration.

So, Maddie, remind me, what is your sporting dream?

To become a Paralympic runner.

To become a Paralympic runner.

Well, we have a running track, but I think we could do

with a little bit of help from a Paralympian. What do you reckon?

-Yeah.

-Well, please meet Sophie Hahn.

She is a gold-winning Paralympian.

Hi, Maddie. Nice to meet you. How are you?

Amazing. I'm speechless.

Are you a bit speechless?

Sophie Hahn is not only a Paralympic gold

and silver medallist,

she's also a three-times world champion and holds the world record

for the 100m sprint in the T38 class.

And just like Maddie, Sophie has cerebral palsy, too.

It's not every day a gold medallist shows you how to sprint

and it's way more complicated than I thought.

So what do I do with my hands, guys?

-You want big arms, like that.

-Big arms.

-Yeah.

Maddie, any tips for me?

-Have your strongest leg at the front.

-High knees, like this.

It's really brilliant, training with her.

Sophie's coach, Joe, has arrived to teach us some hurdle drills,

which will help us with our technique.

If you watch Sophie, what she does, it's a very easy exercise.

You want to be able to have balance,

cos if you have no balance when you try to run,

you move slower.

That's good. Well done.

-Excellent.

-Good balance.

-Yeah!

-You've done this before, haven't you?

-Running position with your hands.

-So, like that?

-That's it.

Down. What's that doing?

You've got a left arm and a left leg.

-Ah...

-And you should have a good...

Good. Well done.

-Yes.

-Well done.

-Good.

-Yes. Yes.

-Well done.

Sprinting isn't just a career for Sophie.

It plays a vital role in helping her manage her cerebral palsy.

So, tell us about your condition, Sophie.

So, I have mild cerebral palsy, so my right side's weaker

than my left, so my balance is not very good.

So, as you can see, this doesn't want to come up,

but this is much higher.

So, it's your right side that's slightly worse

-than the left side.

-That's correct.

How do you feel when it comes to sport and cerebral palsy?

I think playing sport is brilliant. I just love playing sport,

I just carry on doing normal things and forget sometimes

I have a disability and just hopefully crack on, really.

And it's that attitude that's taken Sophie all the way to the top.

It's not every day you get to train with a Paralympian sprinter,

and Maddie wants to show what she's made of.

-Yeah, that's very good.

-Yeah.

She's so quick, isn't she? Out there. She's gone!

It's only a practice, Mads. Come back, we're only practising!

LAUREN LAUGHS

That's really good. Yeah, go on.

Yes.

I just stop, she just carries on and on and on and on.

I think Maddie's brilliant. I think she's really enjoying it.

She's very talented. I'm impressed with all the hurdle drills,

so I think she's doing a marvellous job.

I have a few things for your den.

-This is for you, I've got this.

-Thank you.

-Here's a cap.

-Thank you.

And then here's one of the tops I wore in Rio,

-so there you go.

-Thank you.

So you actually wore that in Rio

while you were competing and getting your medal?

-That's correct, yeah.

-That is amazing.

-What do you think, Maddie?

-Shocked and it's really exciting.

I am very jealous right now.

CAMERA CLICKS

Back at the den, the Dengineers are working up a sweat

to get the coloured acrylic panels in that form the walls

and put Maddie's new roof up.

Then there's the painting.

So the next thing, we need to start painting

-the construction on the front.

-OK.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

It feels a bit weird, because you're used to painting paper

and not, like, really big pieces of construction.

Well done.

Maddie was incredible today.

Her painting skills are amazing.

All the surfaces, nice and smooth, no drippage anywhere.

I don't even have to say anything, it's all done.

It's day three of the build, and the weather can't make up its mind.

We've had rain on and off all night,

so working conditions aren't the best

and the team are really up against it to get the den finished on time.

It's wet, it's cold

and everything's dirty.

-OLGA LAUGHS

-And I'm really worried.

Cheer up, Olgs.

At least inside the den is looking bright and cheerful.

Oi, Saida, that tickles. Stop it.

There's lots of surprises in store for Maddie,

as from now on, she won't be able to see her den until the big reveal.

But that doesn't mean she can down tools.

Olga's got a special job for her. And I've been roped in, too.

So, what we're going to be doing here is a podium.

We're going to make it out of tyres, why not?

-Why not? Makes sense.

-Yeah?

-Ish.

There you go. Ooh!

It's a lot of tyre, innit? OK, like, first place.

-Yep. That's going to be second...

-Yeah.

-..and third.

Goggles on. Oh, Maddie's ready.

Yeah, Maddie's on. Let's do a bit of painting.

We're customising the tyres with different coloured paints

and finally, the sun's come out to help us.

It's hard work, this, innit?

I don't know.

-Look at that.

-What a coverage, she's a pro.

-She's quicker than you, Olga.

-I know!

-You need to keep up.

-You can do mine, cos you're such a good painter.

-What?

Well done. We can let it dry now.

While the tyres are drying,

the team put the finishing touches to the painting,

before laying the running track wall and floor

with the biggest piece of vinyl I've ever seen.

The right way up.

We decided to go with the floor that goes up

in the wall and then looks like a race track.

And I think that's going to give her an impression

that she's actually in the middle of the stadium.

It's up, and all that's left to do is flatten out the bubbles.

There's a bubble over there, bubble over there.

Corner.

After one final roll around the running track is looking good,

but outside, the weather has taken a turn for the worse again

and it's slowing things down.

Having to tarp everything is an issue.

Everything's wet, everything's muddy, it's difficult to paint,

all your materials get wet, you've got to keep your tools dry,

plus the den's a very unusual den,

which is taking a little bit longer to put together.

Despite all of that, the Dengineers have pulled together

and there's one person who is very excited

about what tomorrow will bring.

Tomorrow, I get to see my finished den for the first time

and I really... I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight,

cos I'm just so excited.

It's the final day. In just a matter of hours, Maddie's going to see

her sport den for the very first time -

and it's raining.

Again.

Most sports, rain would stop play, but not us.

The Dengineers keep going whatever the weather.

So, it's a sprint to the finish for the Dengineers, as they race

to get Maddie's den finished on time,

and we're a team member down,

cos poor Lauren's under the weather. Get well soon, Loz.

Olga, we're actually in it.

-It's amazing.

-I know, finally.

I love the floor.

It really works, sort of going up there, doesn't it?

-It does, doesn't it?

-Is there anything I can do to...?

Yes, well, we need to put more pictures up. Can you help with that?

-OK. Yeah, I can.

-Brilliant. That one goes here...

Yeah? Wow, and that's signed by Beth Cobden, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

-Look at 'em all! Max Whitlock up there.

It's incredible. Oh, wow! It's like a commentary corner.

Olga is stood in the den.

She looks slightly on edge.

-OLGA LAUGHS

-She's not sure how it's going to go.

I love that, it's amazing.

-She's got so much room here.

-Is it nice and soft?

-Can I have a go?

-Yeah, yeah.

Ooh. That's lovely.

I'll have that.

OLGA LAUGHS

-I might not get up.

-That's good.

-Yeah, I could do a half hour here.

But how about the exercises?

No, no, no. We can leave the exercises, I'll just have a nap.

It was extremely difficult to build the den in these conditions.

We couldn't glue things together, for example,

because everything was wet and the glue didn't work.

It was really frustrating,

but it's all worth it, cos the den looks amazing.

Just in time for Maddie's friends

and family to arrive for the big reveal.

And despite the rain,

everyone's looking forward to seeing it for the very first time.

Where the old garden shed once stood,

Olga and the Dengineers have created an incredible sport stadium,

with a fold-up mat for Maddie's exercises

and BBC Sport commentator's microphone

to let everyone know who's winning.

Maddie has all the equipment she needs

to practise the sports she loves,

but will the den inspire her to go for gold?

Maddie, friends and family, are you ready to see the den?!

ALL: Yeah!

Come on, let's count down.

-ALL:

-Five, four, three, two, one!

MADDIE SQUEALS

That's amazing!

What do you think?

It's amazing! I never dreamed it would be like this.

-Do you love it?

-Yeah.

And do you see, it looks massive, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-What's your favourite bit of the outside?

Probably all the colours and that logo.

Cos they're the colours that you asked for, aren't they?

-Thank you so much.

-You're welcome, my lovely.

Maddie, would you like to go and have a look inside?

-Yes, definitely.

-Come on.

That's good, because inside,

some of the best athletes in the world are waiting.

Open your eyes, have a look.

MADDIE GASPS

-What do you think?

-Amazing!

That's Sophie Hahn's, that's what she wore in Rio.

That's not all, because some of the biggest stars in sport

have all written messages and signed their pictures.

So, you've got Usain Bolt there, an actual Mo Farah.

-Isn't that brilliant?

-Yeah.

And look, down here you've got your very own commentator's corner.

Thanks, Olga. I love this dream den.

Thank you so much.

Mum! Dad! Nancy!

And then Usain Bolt, Mo Farah and Max Whitlock.

Get set, go!

-Get set, go!

-Go...

Hey, Maddie! Look, that's Beth Cobden.

-I know.

-Oh...

They're amazing.

I absolutely love my den.

I never dreamed it would be as good as it is.

Olga's the best designer.

It was absolutely beautiful to watch

Maddie reacting to what we have built for her.

She is over the moon and so am I.

ALL: This den is done!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE