Episode 3 Chatsworth

Chatsworth, Palace of the Peaks.

300 rooms, 35,000 acres,

62 farms and three villages.

Living here, we tend to forget how big it is

and it seems strange that it should just be for one couple.

For more than four and a half centuries,

Chatsworth has been owned by one family.

We've got a Duke and we've got a Duke's son

and a Duke's grandson so we've got the next two lined up.

A line now led by the 12th Duke of Devonshire

and his wife, the Duchess.

It's just amazing. What a fantastic view!

Chatsworth isn't just a costume drama.

I am single. I don't know whether she is, though.

To many of the people that work there, it's home.

Thank you.

It's a wonder they don't get the plague!

This is a priority job for the day.

That's what I like, the glamour of it.

But times are changing.

-It's charming, isn't it?

-It really is.

It's such a charming little cottage.

It was lived in by a tenant

and now we've decided it's going to become a holiday cottage.

I wouldn't mind a place like that myself, to be brutally honest.

And a veil hanging over everyone is about to be lifted.

18th-century bling, it's just the best thing.

It's a dream come true for us. It really is, isn't it?

Welcome to a year in the life of Chatsworth.

Chatsworth in summer.

For the entire season, the south and west wings of the House

have been covered in scaffolding.

Part of the Duke's master plan,

it's a £14 million facelift

to restore Chatsworth to its original glory.

This house was built to show off.

When the first Duke rebuilt it,

he was determined that everybody should know

that he was very important, very successful, very powerful.

So he built what was then a modern house

and it's a palace fit for a king to visit.

Let me take the weight.

It will come down towards you.

The scaffolding is good news. It means something positive is happening.

I find the project really exciting.

If we don't do anything else, the fact that whilst we've been living here,

the stone's been cleaned and restored and repaired.

It'll look pretty much what it looked like

when it was finished building in 1704.

I can't wait.

With over 37 miles of scaffolding,

stone from the same quarry on the estate used to build the original

and employing 259 people, it's a massive project.

So that's all brand new.

That, that is a huge improvement, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-This, this is really exciting, to see that done.

We were really quite nervous

about the reaction of people to the scaffolding

but I think the way we played it was,

"It doesn't look great from the outside but come in

"and we'll explain what's going on and why it's going

"to disappear for a year."

Living with scaffolding is not great but it's worth it.

But not everyone agrees.

"We have just been to your beautiful house

"but we're disappointed the scaffolding was up.

"It was a birthday gift for my sister

"and we travelled four hours to get there." That is such a shame.

This lady says the loss of the view from the lake

due to the scaffolding was really disappointing.

This is somebody from Holland who says they were very disappointed

because the house was so dark.

Oh, dear.

I don't like it when people make adverse comments about Chatsworth.

I do take it personally.

You can really understand where they're coming from at the moment.

And it's not just the visitors who have a problem with the scaffolding.

For the past five years,

Chatsworth has been hosting weddings in the old stables.

One of the key selling features is the view of the famous south facade.

Classic wedding shot for all our brides

who absolutely love this beautiful image.

Looking down on that spectacular view.

You know, it is a pretty amazing piece of scaffolding

so to lots of people and to some of us,

it was quite a bit of a shock

of how dramatic it was but it has to happen.

You have to just work around that.

Which means working around it with bride-to-be Helen and groom, Gavin.

Lovely. 76, day.

It's the creme de la creme of the Peak District, isn't it?

It's got everything. It's beautiful.

Looking at it at the moment, it's not the best.

However, we were told there was going to be scaffolding up.

It is such a shame but we are not going to cancel it, are we?

-Just something what we are going to have to put up with.

-Yeah.

So this is an image of the south front.

This is a shot that the bride and groom love to see.

Obviously, at the minute it is covered in scaffolding.

What we can do with this is take the shot and then Photoshop,

superimpose them back onto an image without scaffolding

and it's as if the scaffolding wasn't there.

So this is the one of those Photoshop moments.

As you can see, no scaffolding in sight.

It's a beautiful shot.

Busy all year round, Chatsworth's Farm Shop prides itself

on stocking fine British produce.

Always on the lookout for new bestsellers is shop manager, Andre.

The Farm Shop has been my life, really, for so long.

I haven't done many other jobs.

If I had to write my CV it would be everything Chatsworth.

I'm very proud of that, very proud of that.

Andre is fantastic.

He is great fun to work with, he's marvellous

and runs the farm shop

with great enthusiasm and he's always looking for different things.

I've been working on a new product for the farm shop and we've

got a beer with Andre's face on it

and it's Andre's Special Ale.

It's locally produced, which is even better

and because he's become a bit of a local hero,

we thought that we'd do a little surprise for him

and I'm off to the farm shop to show it to him. First time he'll see it.

Viviana. How are you?

-I'm good, Thank you.

-What do I owe this honour?

-Now, I've found the most unique product for the farm shop.

-Have you?

Nowhere else will be stocking this line.

-Are you being real?

-Yes. I've got a whole...

-It's horrendous!

-It's perfect!

I'm never really short of words, am I?

SHE LAUGHS

Just let me do a customer. Would he buy this?

What is it?

-He would, with it having your name on it!

-Would he?

-Of course he would.

Yes.

-Is it for sale, Andre?

-It is going to be, apparently.

-Is it?

-Would you buy that?

-Crikey! Frightening! No.

-THEY LAUGH

-No, I wouldn't.

Wherever you put this, I will not be able to walk past it.

I'll have to have blinkers.

Blinkers, we'll get you some blinkers, that will be fine.

But have you not found a better picture?

-Could you have not airbrushed me?

-I think it's very flattering.

I also think it's the same shape as the label as well, you know.

-Oh, my head is?

-Yes! So it's perfect!

I want you to know the beer is better than the picture!

The beer's fantastic.

Person on the front is a bit, a bit shady, to me.

It's embarrassing. I hate to look at it.

It's always a bit of a shock, though, to just see yourself.

Like hearing your own voice and you think it's somebody else.

That's going to keep the children away from the alcohol.

It's actually disguised by some of the better labels

that are on this display.

It doesn't jump out so much now.

I've just found a way to improve it.

There we are, keep the labels inside.

There we are, that is not so frightening, now.

The title "12th Duke of Devonshire"

brings with it centuries-old obligations.

Well, this is the Chatsworth weather book

which has been going for years, since the 19th century.

It records the temperature at 7:30

and the state of the weather and the wind

and really the most interesting for me, always, is the rainfall.

Still in inches, I'm afraid to say.

And it gives the barometric pressure

and the max min on the thermometer and so on.

It's done from the weather station on the big lawn

and the gardeners fill in a slip of paper

with the recordings for the previous 24 hours.

And then it gets put into this book every day so you can look at

every day for the past 60, 80, 100 years

to see, you know, how much drier it's been.

On the report we record all the thermometer readings,

the rainfall reading, wind direction and speed

and the sunshine levels for the previous day.

The sunshine is coming through at this side

and where the sun hits the card, because it is so strong

through the glass, it burns a hole in the card

and as the sun moves around as the day progresses,

more and more of the card will be burnt.

So this is yesterday's sunshine recording and we can see that

each block counts as an hour

so we have to add up how much of the burns are through it.

We can see there was probably two or so hours of sunshine yesterday.

It is one of those things that is a pity to stop.

I don't want to be too stuck on tradition.

I think some tradition is great

but I think changing things is also great so you need to keep

some things the same and some things you need to change and this,

as far as I'm concerned, is something we should go on with.

But as a 21st-century Duke,

he's also keen Chatsworth should face the future.

Amanda and I were determined to make this a place which people

know if they come to, they'll see the wonderful old collection

but also, they are likely to find some thrilling new exhibition

about something which perhaps they haven't encountered before.

It's a passion the Duke inherited from his father.

I'd be boasting if I called myself a collector.

I have bought one or two things.

I had this very good racecourse and she won a lot of money

and I did spend some of it on buying pictures

but the 6th Duke made a collection

and Georgiana, way back in the 18th century, made a collection

and I have added considerably to that.

My father and mother also liked contemporary things

and it was thanks to their enthusiasm we had this

quite interesting collection,

a group of family portraits by Lucian Freud.

And here are the Freuds.

My wife, my mother, my son, my sister, my other sister and myself.

I don't know why I had them done.

I certainly wouldn't have had them done

if Lucian hadn't have been a friend.

If you told me that I was having my family painted

by someone who was going to become really famous,

I just wouldn't have believed to it.

Mind you, by the time he'd finished, he was getting better known

but when we started, I don't think anyone had heard of him.

And the current Duke keeps the collections bang up-to-date.

And none without controversy.

-It's very realistic.

-It's very...

Macabre, in a way, I think.

I don't think I do like it, actually.

It wouldn't be my favourite.

Standing in the chapel, skinned alive,

it's Damien Hirst's St Bartholomew.

It's such a shocking sculpture. I was a bit taken aback.

I thought it was appalling.

As far as I'm concerned, it's out of place.

It didn't fit.

The first impression of it is tough

because it's a very tough subject.

He was skinned alive for his Christian faith and martyred

and became a saint.

And it's not inappropriate that that should be in a chapel.

We didn't think too hard about what other people would think,

which sounds, perhaps it sounds a little bit arrogant,

but on the other hand, if you are always going to be trying

to second-guess what other people want,

with so many people coming here, everyone wants something different.

I'm very pleased with it.

If you need something practical doing at Chatsworth,

chances are you need one of the 17 housemen.

From helping with the restoration...

..to changing the bins, it's a one-stop-shop.

When I came I didn't realise

how much of it was actually toilets and litter and things.

I knew Chatsworth was a good place

to sort of get my foot in the door and hopefully progress

but I have been here four years now and it's not happening.

I mean, I've worked in sort of factories

and on building sites and been stood in your own little area all day.

But here, this is my office, as it were.

This is my factory floor.

Thank you.

So I really enjoy just being outside and in this area.

And Darren is hoping to one day emulate his supervisor Andy.

This is sort of a priority job for the day.

As a supervisor, I don't expect anybody to do something I wouldn't.

You know, nobody can turn around and say, you wouldn't do it,

because I have done it all.

I do like it when there are loads of wasps around as well -

it always makes it more fun.

Dancing around like Michael Jackson, lovely.

That is what I like, the glamour of it.

Right, I think we are done in here. Let's go.

And when the housemen have been, done it and gone,

here come the housekeepers to clean up after them.

Changing the towels in the men's mess room.

We do it two or three times a week

because they have dirty jobs sometimes.

They wash their hands and then wipe it on the towel.

They don't rinse them in between.

Lurking downstairs in the bowels of Chatsworth, the men's mess room.

There should be a health warning on here!

Look at the state of the cups and table!

Because they kept losing the teaspoon,

we put it on there.

I don't think it's ever washed.

It's a wonder they don't get the plague!

Upstairs, the Duke and Duchess pride themselves

on running a modern, forward-looking house.

Downstairs, it's privilege and hierarchy.

This is the hub.

This is where everything gets discussed.

Off record, pecking-order down the table,

as you would probably find at sort of the Duke's table, maybe.

We've got Trevor. This is Trevor's seat. He is...

I think it goes on how loud you are.

Trevor, Irishman. This is his seat.

He's Dad, head of the table.

Four and a half years ago,

Prince William spent two weeks at Chatsworth

and while he was here, he spent half a day with the maintenance team.

He came in for lunch and we had, I had to go to the local chippie

and bring back fish and chips.

And he sat in that corner, enjoying his fish and chips.

We've got a photograph up there.

You can see Prince William and there's me.

The mug he used, you can see him just there,

we've got him to sign it and we've put it in this cupboard.

I would love to get my gloves on and give it a really good...

-Jet washing!

-It does!

-THEY LAUGH

-They like it like that.

-Oh, men do. Yeah.

This became the maintenance team's mess room, I think, 1947,

when the house was reorganised after the war.

And this is where the men used to sit to have their break.

Then, the maintenance team was three times the size of what it is now.

And they had a shelf that ran around the outside of the room

and they always used to sit facing the wall

and not talk to each other for reasons unbeknown.

Everyone wants their space to go and have their lunch and their break.

-Talk about stuff.

-Talk about stuff.

-Blow off steam.

-Come on Jane, come and have your tea.

-Lovely, isn't it.

-Mats.

-Oh, yes.

-There's some around here.

And we have got a very large life-size photograph

-of some girl in the corner.

-Used to be off Baywatch.

-Is it?

I don't care where she comes from.

She sort of enhances that corner of the room.

I went to the Guild at the weekend and they had an open day

and they had this charity there and they make bags.

Isn't that lovely?

They've got the name of the person on it

and inside was the groundsman and he'd made it!

-THEY LAUGH

-Nice.

I think it's good that gentlemen can make things as well as the ladies.

No, nobody cares where they are sat.

I don't think it's fair to say we have our own seat, no.

How can you lie like that?

If anybody else goes in that seat...

THEY LAUGH

Normally, this end of the table is more football orientated.

And the far end of the table, most of them aren't here today,

is Land Rover orientated!

I think that's fair to say.

Dotted round Chatsworth are three villages.

Edensor, Beeley, and Pilsley.

They were built centuries ago, as tied housing.

where the people working on the house and on the estate

could live rent free.

A tradition that continues today.

I've lived in this house for ten years.

Yes, ten years.

For houseman Andy, it's a mixed blessing.

Having a house with the job, you're secure,

but in other ways you're not so secure, you know.

It's not your house, and should anything go wrong with your job,

that's it, you're out on your ear.

Whereas other people, you've got the house and you can change,

you want to change your job.

To us it's a bigger thing to change,

because you've got to change your job and your house.

So, you know, it's quite a big thing for us.

So one outrules the other one, doesn't it, really.

You don't get a house now when you join Chatsworth.

Years ago you joined Chatsworth as a 16-year-old,

and you'd retire at 65, and then you'd have your house for life.

That was one of the things, when you got a house here,

you never wanted to go anywhere else, really.

But times are changing.

Many of the tied houses are being renovated

and turned into holiday lets.

The latest is Park Cottage.

It was lived in by a tenant, and when he became too old

to go on living here on his own, it became vacant.

So now we've decided it's going to become a holiday cottage.

-Oh, it's charming.

-It really is.

-It's such a charming little cottage.

-It's got so much character.

As far as we know, it was built in the 1500s.

We have 17 on the estate,

but this is a rather special one, because it's so charming.

So once it's ready we'll let it.

-It's got a nice feel to it.

-It's like a fairytale.

You imagine Goldilocks is going to appear, or Hansel and Gretel.

You never know!

The makeover means more work for builders and the housemen.

And a chance for some creative recycling.

I'm just putting these pieces of rhododendron on the foot of the bed.

When I pick a piece of this wood up, I've got to make it fit somehow,

so I end up with a pile of pieces that I can't use.

I get that one in that fork.

I can attach this to the leg of the bed and the bed foot.

Increasingly, more and more estate cottages are being either let,

or used for holiday accommodation,

because less and less estate workers are being housed these days.

I can understand it from a business point of view,

but estate workers are not notoriously well paid,

so it's something that historically was taken for granted,

that you might be housed.

But that seems to be something that's going into the past now.

We need a cloth choice for...

..we have the sofa and the armchair still outstanding.

Chatsworth's head of textiles, Susie Stokoe, has been called in

to advise on fabric and soft furnishings.

I like this one very much.

The upstairs bedroom is great,

and I think Dave's going on quite well with the bed.

-I'm longing to see how he's got on. Have you seen it?

-I haven't.

It's all got to go up through the trap door.

It'll look fabulous.

The staircase is tiny. You can't get it in that way.

Once it's up there, it's trapped.

I was thinking, when it was in the workshop,

it was going to be a bit on the large side.

Now it's up here, you can see there's a considerable bit of height

in this room, and there's plenty of space upwards for it to go.

But it's going to be quite an imposing piece of furniture when it's in here.

I just hope there'll be enough space for everything else.

If anybody wants an old-fashioned holiday cottage,

you're not going to get better than this one,

with all the beams and everything in the top room.

It's fantastic.

I think Park Cottage is absolutely gorgeous.

It's your quintessential English cottage.

Lovely private garden, hollyhocks in the front, beautiful thatch.

It's a very romantic, private spot.

I wouldn't mind a place like that, to be brutally honest.

It would have suited me. Just about the right size.

But there we go.

I may go and stay in it, who knows?

In peak season, that would set Susie back £933...

a week.

As the biggest employer in the area,

a job at Chatsworth can be a chance for youngsters to start a career.

Originally, I'm a Londoner. I've been up here now about five years.

I only got Chatsworth as a little tie-over job,

while I thought about what I wanted to do with my life, as a career.

I ended up enjoying it so much, I've stayed here for four years.

If you can fill these in and make it look very beautiful.

At the end you can keep that.

There we are.

I'll get you some menus, so you can look at what tea you'd like.

No worries.

CHILD CRIES

Lewis is on the fast track for management.

I'm 22, so I'm still in my prime for partying,

but I'm also in the prime of making a good career.

So, yeah, it's a healthy balance.

-Are they OK for you then?

-Very nice.

He's lovely, you know, and the customers say to me how nice he is.

He does take on board the importance of serving properly.

I do apologise about the wait. The mayonnaise will be here soon.

I'll replenish your water.

I've been given quite a bit of responsibility now.

I thank Chatsworth for giving me the responsibility,

to be able to really shine, which I have, hence the trainee supervisor.

So yeah, I'm so chuffed about that.

He's just got to keep focused on what he's doing.

Can't go thinking about what he's doing tonight or last night.

Ideally, it would be brilliant if I did a little cocktail course.

It would be pretty swift to do all this stuff with the bottles.

I can do a little...

The future of Chatsworth is in safe hands.

His trainee supervisor duties include overseeing wedding receptions,

and today is Helen and Gavin's big day.

-You look very smart.

-Oh, don't!

Measure out the first one.

With up to 40 ceremonies a year,

Chatsworth's wedding and events manager Kay

often faces unusual requests from couples.

Next year they want a ballerina in a dome.

-No problem at all.

-That's what I said!

-They haven't had the ceremony yet?

-No, no. We haven't got a bride yet.

You can't have it without the bride. She hasn't arrived.

Everyone likes to watch weddings. It's wonderful, so romantic.

Is she arriving in some amazing machine?

Blimey, that was definitely worth waiting for!

I want to see the dress.

How lovely.

I need the toilet but I can't go!

Ready? If you just want to face in, and we'll get your dress.

We're just getting all the table cloths on so we can start laying.

We're getting there now.

When the bride comes in, we want her to be absolutely, wow.

Although we're on a tight time schedule,

everything does have to be perfect.

Chatsworth style.

To be faithful...

I'd get married here, definitely.

If I was getting married any time soon!

First opportunity to kiss your wife!

APPLAUSE

It's attention to detail.

See there's a finger mark on that knife.

That's what makes the difference.

If we make sure that every single bit of cutlery is polished to the best we can,

that way, when they come in, the bride and groom and all the guests

will see how amazing everything looks

and hopefully that's what makes the difference,

that's why everyone wants to come and get married at Chatsworth.

So, I'll get this knife swapped.

Do not fall off!

Basically, I'm going to knock this champagne glass

as if I'm about to make a speech to get everyone's attention.

Then I'll say in a nice, loud voice, "ladies and gentlemen,

boys and girls, if you'd all stand for the new Mr and Mrs Bailey."

On that, they'll walk in and everyone will be stunned.

It will be my first time for announcing

but hey, I've got a loud voice, I'm made for the stage,

so hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,

if you'd all like to stand for your new Mrs and Mrs Bailey.

APPLAUSE

Mrs and Mrs Bailey!

Of course, yeah. Oh well.

Mister!

Another summer's day at Chatsworth.

And some old friends are paying a visit.

My father commissioned a number of portrait busts by Angela Conner,

and they accumulated over quite a lot of years

and we decided to put them on plinths in the garden.

We'll give them labels so people know who they are.

That's just a lovely thing to have.

Have you any idea who these are?

No, they all look the same to me. I've got no idea.

I'll need an note of who they are, that's all that matters.

Everybody has photographs,

either of family or friends on the mantelpiece.

That's what it is about. It's an extension of that.

It's called art but it's really just a reminder of old friends.

We thought we'd put them in this nice quiet place

and see what we thought.

Moving the Duke's old friends into place is a job for the gardeners.

Everything is virtually in place now and it should be done and dusted.

We've got plenty of other work we've got to get on with,

to be quite honest with you.

It would be great if we can get it sorted out today.

We've got to decide exactly what angle the heads are looking.

We're going to try and make it a bit

as if they were standing, perhaps talking.

I don't know what it's going to look like.

Can you turn it a bit away from you so it's looking straight at me?

What do you think?

It wasn't too bad deciding roughly

where we wanted them here within this area

but which way they face is much more difficult.

I like the idea of Macmillan and the Prince being next to each other.

-Angle them more towards the Queen, don't you think?

-Yes.

Can you turn it a bit more round?

-What about having this one there as well?

-OK. OK.

So that's easy to change it round.

Put in that way. Can go back to the second position?

At one stage, my hand went to sleep when I was up there

but I might have fallen asleep anyhow.

-Are you all right?

-My right arm has gone to sleep!

-I'm not surprised!

At one stage, I got both hands round the Duke's neck!

We were thinking, this is not right

but there was no other way to get it in that position.

I think we need to have it this way a bit.

I think of these as objects, really, rather than people, funnily enough.

I don't know about you?

I don't know, I think they're people, to me.

Oh yes.

And they're so interesting because it's your parents

and friends, it's their life.

I regard it almost like an abstract composition

which happened to be made of human heads by one artist.

I feel quite differently actually.

We'll wait to decide how long it's going to take to get the heads in

and then we'll nip up and just have another session.

It'll only take a little while, won't it?

That will be, I hope, the final stage.

Can we try that turning towards my father?

Yes, this way, around this way a bit, please.

Like everything at Chatsworth,

to be truthful, you feel like you're nearly there, and it might not be,

but in terms of motivation,

I think we're doing all right at the minute.

Worth getting a soaking for.

That... I think that's spot-on, actually.

I mean, it may not be in the end, but...

The £14 million renovation is almost finished

and for the Duchess,

a last chance to get up close and see where the money has gone.

What we're finding is the stone that Chatsworth is built of

is incredibly hard sandstone.

-Yeah.

-This is why it's lasted so long.

When we cleaned the Inner Court, 200 years old, it's brand-new.

-It's hardly damaged at all.

-Yes, yes.

They're so much bigger than I thought, when you get up here.

-And then when that's all done, they start gilding the tops.

-Yes.

23.5 carat gold, purest you can get in leaf form.

The gold is about the thickness of a cobweb.

All the top finials on the roof

and then every window.

There's 50 windows to be gilded.

-This is probably the biggest gilding job I've been on.

-Yeah.

I mean, this will last... years.

Certainly, we won't be doing it again in our lifetime.

100 years ago, or however long ago,

these would have been all gilded

and the windows would have been all gilded, so...

Yeah, I think they do like a bit of bling though, you know. They like

their gold, but the thing is, it can take it.

The house can actually take it.

Yeah, let's go to the top.

Thank you.

There she is. I can't believe I'm touching her.

Amazing.

Fantastic, right on the top. Look, here she is.

She looks very happy up here, I think.

Through wind and weather, she sticks it out.

How fascinating.

It's just amazing. It's just staggering to see.

-What a fantastic view.

-It's incredible.

Chatsworth is the inspiration for Pemberley -

Mr Darcy's house in Pride and Prejudice.

The 2005 film was shot here.

We're doing our wedding shoot today.

It's Pride and Prejudice themed but, basically,

it's for promotional purposes so we can use it on the website,

any literature we produce, or leaflets, or anything.

Surprisingly enough, some people still don't know we do weddings,

so, for us, this is a great opportunity.

And to bring in the Pride and Prejudice theme, Pemberley,

you know, that's great for us. It's a hook.

-Right, guys.

-You're in.

-Come on through.

One of the leading roles in this version

is played by an up-and-coming trainee supervisor.

But his movie star good looks are a bit more rugged than usual.

Basically, we was out on a night out,

there was a bit of trouble at the club, so we all left

and as we left, they followed us out and they jumped us.

Well, mainly me.

I mean, that's what they did to me.

Mainly, it was a bit of a swollen eye and swollen face,

but the main thing is they cracked the two front teeth off my gums,

so at the moment, they're still in, but they'll be pulled out tomorrow.

Looks like his swelling has gone down

and he's got a friend of his mum's who's a make-up artist

who's made him up for us this morning or covered his bruises,

although I do think he looks a bit like Lily Savage,

but we'll tone that down.

We've got the make-up artist here. So maybe take off the lip gloss.

It's fine. Just a little bit of touching up.

It feels so surreal getting people to do your make-up.

Not that I wear it normally.

I did have some really good lip balm and it's what bees use

when they go into the beehive, they wipe their feet on it.

And it's got antiseptic things.

It says on the bottle "Healing powers",

-but it's actually done my lip justice.

-Yeah.

I only started using it last couple of days

and my lip was a big scab a couple of days ago

so, yeah, it's come down a lot.

Mad.

-It's not just a little bit, is it?

-Probably fit another bride in there.

Like a proper courgette. I mean, a Corvette.

A corset, that's it.

I was saying courgette and Corvette. They're cars and vegetables.

Supplied by the Chatsworth textile department,

some of the costumes are the real thing.

We are looking, at the moment, at some of the old livery we have.

This buff colour was made for the Devonshire house ball,

so it's original Devonshire livery.

-You're going to have to do both arms.

-Yes, I'll go like that.

Don't let it get wet, by any circumstance.

And be very careful of handling the pockets because

-it could rip down there and start bagging there.

-I see.

Keep your hands out.

All I need to do now is find myself a beautiful lady.

I'm playing Mr Bingley.

In Pride and Prejudice, he gets the most beautifullest sister, so...

with a little bit of luck, I'll get...

the prettiest one, although they are all very beautiful girls today.

Just need to make sure the trousers and the ancient coat doesn't get...

-Ancient!

-..doesn't get ruined.

-This mediaeval coat!

Right.

That's beautiful.

This is it.

LAUGHTER

That looks good.

They're all working really well.

-Lewis, look at Grace. You're having a conversation.

-Yeah.

That's nice, there we go.

That's nice, Lewis.

The girl I'm about to do this shoot with, she's very beautiful.

She's got very nice hair.

And, um...

I'd like something with the house in the background,

if we can, with Lewis and Grace in there.

-As lovers?

-Yeah.

-Right, guys.

-OK, then.

-No pressure.

-Almost touch lips.

-Right.

-Deep breath.

-Watch his lips, cos they're broken.

Yeah, actually, I've got a bit of a...

Look all powerful and Mr Bingleyish. Oh!

That's hard. Look towards there.

-A bit more looking up. That's it. PHOTOGRAPHER:

-There, that's it, don't move.

That's lovely.

SHE LAUGHS

Just a shame about my tooth, really, because it's quite restricting

the way I move my lips and the way I smile and whatnot.

And I've knocked already a few times and I've got no painkillers,

so I'm getting a bit of gyp from my tooth,

but other from that, it's...it's good.

-So, you're looking at each other, yeah?

-Yeah.

I'm going to do the kiss shot as well.

It's that one to start with.

Lewis, you're getting into role. You looking very masterful,

so, chest out. Looking good.

Now you can go for it.

Touching noses.

CAMERA CLICKING She looks frightened to death, bless her.

Can't believe I'm getting paid for this!

To say I'm a catering trainee supervisor,

it's one hell of a morning.

I think it was all right.

I hope she didn't...

didn't think she was about to be kissed by an ogre.

I am single.

I do know if she is, though. I suppose it's something...

I need to find out. But, yeah, no,

I've yet to find the love of my life.

The Chatsworth Horticultural and Produce Show

was started under the previous Duke and Duchess 48 years ago.

It's been a fixture of estate life ever since.

For the people who live and work at Chatsworth, the event,

held at Cavendish Hall in Edensor, is still a highlight of their year.

Competing in the show for the last 30 years is gardener Tony Hubbock.

Chatsworth Horticultural Society is a local village society

where anybody who's worked at Chatsworth

can enter the vegetables once a year in competition

to work out who's grown the best veg, and it's friendly,

light-hearted competition,

but people still like to win, of course.

Several wins with tomatoes

two or three times in the past.

They look good this year. I might win this year, I don't know.

It just depends what Mr Turner's got up at Pilsley.

It's friendly rivalry, you could call it.

Farm manager Ian Turner is the man to beat.

Last year, he won Best Garden Flowers

and the much-coveted Best Tray of Vegetables.

These are my six hens. They lay some nice eggs every day.

They also provide the manure to do the garden.

Some silly fool mucks them out every two or three weeks,

it's usually me.

I don't use any other fertiliser whatsoever, just hen muck.

And Tony Hubbock has a secret weapon that's not to be sniffed at, either.

I'm collecting sheep manure to make into a fertiliser

to feed to the tomatoes and cucumbers because they like the feed.

It makes them taste better.

I mean, if I didn't pick these up,

they'd leach into the ground and make grass grow,

so if they make grass grow, they'll make tomatoes grow.

My father used to go in the park and collect deer droppings.

He thought that was better than sheep droppings.

A bit more upmarket, I suppose, I don't know,

but this is good enough for me.

Should be in a hessian sack but I haven't got one

so I borrowed one of the wife's pillow cases, so...

that's me in trouble later, I suppose, but there you go.

You got keep it tight

else it would all come out lose in the water

and then it'd muck your watering can up.

In it goes.

Finally, we put the lid on it because, believe me,

when it's fermented and ripe,

it don't half stink.

You don't want to be anywhere near it with that lid off.

Competing for just seven years, John Taylor is the new boy.

But he knows his onions.

I don't like cabbage, don't like caulis,

I don't like Brussels, I don't like kidney beans,

I don't like broad beans.

I like leeks, onions, peas...

Swede I love raw, but I don't like cooked.

Carrots I like.

And that's it.

You can't garden all the time, you see.

So we have to have a little something to do.

And we also have the basic essential...

HE TAPS A GLASS BOTTLE

..of any garden shed.

That is a necessity in the garden.

Keeps man's body and soul together.

When I first started,

there were a lot of elderly gentleman

showing and that sort of thing,

and thought they were the bee's knees

and I had a go and I thought, "Well, it's not bad, this."

You know, a bit of refining and learning how to do things,

like tying onions and that.

It's an art, isn't it?

And you have to learn these things

and they're all tricks of the trade when it comes to showing.

I hope to be him with everything, but it'll not be like that.

But I'll give him a good run for his money with tomatoes

and carrots, of course. And...

courgettes and marrows.

I shall never beat 'em. That's not defeatist.

I know I shan't beat 'em, but I shall keep having a go.

One year, they'll slip up.

When they do, I shall be right behind 'em, waiting.

Carrying the busts painstakingly positioned by the Duke,

all that gardeners Mick and Alan need to do is mount them.

Can you remember which...

-I've got a feeling that it was Macmillan.

-Yep.

-The Queen, Prince Charles.

-I would say you're correct.

Although it did change, so, should we go for Macmillan,

the Queen and Prince Charles?

-That's what we're going for.

-I think so.

-That's it.

That's...

Macmillan and Prince Charles in here, in this box.

It's not Elvis, I can tell you that.

I've put that to be 5'9" not 5'5".

Get it on the top.

Good enough.

Right.

You take your time while I...

-You need to lift that up.

-Don't rush yourself.

-I'm ready!

Are you? All right.

If it's not done right, we'll be the 15th and 16th,

with our heads stuck in the bushes somewhere.

That's deep enough, definitely.

Each one's slightly different.

Every one's just a bit tricky but we'll get it done.

Yup. Right.

Next one.

I think it's just Mick and...and Alan.

So, you've fixed them, have you?

-They're all fixed.

-Brilliant.

They look wonderful.

-You've done a fantastic job.

-Thank you.

-Really good, thank you very much.

-They look much more natural now.

-They look as though they've been here for a bit.

-Yeah.

And it's taken a long time, but because we've gone through it

carefully, step-by-step, it's turned out...

I think that's the right way forward.

It's a bit of fun.

-I think it looks fantastic.

-Yes, I think it's wonderful.

It may not be the right answer, but I think it's a good answer.

Cavendish Hall in Edensor is being prepared for the great event.

Evening, all.

-WOMAN: Oh, they look nice, Ian.

-Do you like my big carrots?

Very hopeful with that, very hopeful.

They can go straight in there, John.

Oh, yes, that's what they all say.

Are you going to get your big taters out, John?

-I'm going to get my big potatoes out.

-You get your big taters out.

Don't know how I'm going to put them on there.

That's class three.

Good carrots, I hope.

Look at them for carrots.

If I'd have known they were in your garden,

they wouldn't have got as far as here.

I would have put rabbits in.

Bloody hell. Look at that, Tony.

Ooh!

Oooh!

-Now, come on, we're going to have them different.

-Yep.

No beating about t'bush, I want to beat him,

but whether I shall or not...

..we shall find out.

You ask me tomorrow at this time and I shall know

whether I'm crying or laughing.

There's such lovely things in here. There's really, really nice plants...

The Duchess' renovations are complete

and Park Cottage is now ready for the Duke's seal of approval.

What do you think of the dresser?

-Wonderful.

-Isn't it? Isn't it charming?

-Yes, absolutely brilliant.

-Great teapot.

-Teapot? Yes.

Lovely flat, odd-shaped thing.

Lovely.

-Yes, it's wonderful.

-Thrilled.

I'm so pleased that we found one the right size to fit in here.

-Yes.

-Do you remember what it looked like?

-Yes, it was nothing.

-It's turned out to be a really nice room.

-Brilliant.

Very smart bedside table.

-Lovely.

-Yes. Yes!

Ooh, look!

Look at the bed! Hee-hee!

-Isn't that thrilling?

-Yes, that's amazing.

David is incredible.

-Oh, well done, David!

-David Spencer made that in, what... a month?

-Less? It's a great bit of recycling of rhododendron.

-Yes, it is.

-Brilliant.

-Yes.

You can imagine this in a very smart antique shop on the Pimlico Road,

-can't you?

-Yes!

There has been changes.

50 years ago there were no houses that were let out to

non-staff people.

Everybody was housed.

Now, more and more people want to have their own houses.

People come from further away. So it's changing.

I think we wanted to make sure the villages remain communities,

and if you filled up... say you turned eight cottages

-in Edensor into holiday cottages, it wouldn't be good.

-No, no.

-We wouldn't want to do that at all.

-No.

These villages are wonderful. The communities are very important.

At the Horticultural And Produce Show, it's judgement day.

Hoping for prizes,

the villagers' vegetables,

flowers,

baking,

brewing

and preserves.

Quiche and fruit cake.

They all look nice.

Head housekeeper, Christine, has been competing

since she started working at Chatsworth 36 years ago.

She began with carrots and peas,

and has ended up...on the gin!

I'm putting sloe gin in. Somebody else has put sloe gin in.

They both look a good colour.

It's a good brew, because I have sampled it.

Any other bread? It's got some dead flies in it!

Looking for the nice, brightened skin,

not cracked,

firm neck on the onion, nice shape,

basically looking for quality.

Right, sloe gin's next.

For Christine's home brew -

the exacting standards of the judge

and Ian Turner's experienced palate.

Sharp, cough-mediciny.

Oh!

-It's not my cup of tea, that, I'm afraid.

-No.

Look at this!

Story of your life, that!

Yeah, exactly!

A big soft 'un!

IAN CACKLES

Could I have everyone's attention, please?

I'd like to welcome you all to

the 48th Annual Show.

For winner of Class 36, tray of four vegetables...

-IAN:

-Oh, bloody hell!

-Ian Turner.

APPLAUSE

-Thanks very much.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

And the Most Points In The Flower Section - Ian Turner.

APPLAUSE

THEY EXCHANGE PLEASANTRIES

The old bugger's won again!

More to clean, Ian?

I know. Same two again.

Never mind, there's always next year.

Kay's photographs are back for the wedding brochure

and she's keen to see if her leading man made the cut.

-Hello, superstar.

-Hey!

Can you remember where we were? In the Rose Garden?

-Yes.

-There you are, your first one.

SHE LAUGHS

The very beautiful Grace.

Wicked! The quality of the camera is amazing.

Never mind the quality of camera, look at these beautiful,

gorgeous, sexy shots.

SHE GASPS

Oh, my lord!

SHE LAUGHS

I was a bit worried I was going to look like a 1700s drag queen.

With the make-up and everything.

Eyes look beautiful.

-You look really handsome, doesn't he?

-Aww!

And the slight, kind of, cut, on your lip

gives you a bit of a cad feel about you.

-That's one for Mum's fireplace, isn't it?

-Yes, that's it!

-Going in for the kill.

-The kiss, the kiss, the kiss.

Is that you kissing her again?

-I think I might.

-I think it is!

A little bit different to what we've seen around the other wedding venues.

-So, I'm really proud of them.

-Is a possible way

you can e-mail them to me, Louise?

Because that'd be brilliant. I want to show my mum.

You want to show your mum.

My mum's been on about looking at them for ages.

I can get you the link and we can get you some shots.

WATER RUSHES

BIRDSONG

After a year hidden behind scaffolding,

the great old house is finally ready to face the future.

EXCITED CHATTER

Is it nice to see the scaffolding down, Duchess?

-It's just amazing, isn't it? Fantastic.

-Beautiful.

I just think, wouldn't it be wonderful if the first Duke

could come back and see it as it is now?

I was just thinking the other night quietly, just thinking,

"I wonder what he'd think?"

I've just looked at the house for the first time, properly,

and it just looks magnificent. I should think when the sun's

shining on it, all the gold round the windows will glint

and it'll look really, really spectacular.

I love the house.

I've only ever been here with it having scaffolding over the top,

so, yeah, I've never really seen it like this,

and definitely not with the gold and I think it looks so stunning.

-You know the numbers were up in the end?

-The numbers were 700,000,

is that right?

About 6,000 up on last year, which is incredible.

It's very brave of the Duke to do what he's doing, because he's

chosen to rip Chatsworth to pieces,

put it all back into good order.

-I must say I'm thrilled.

-It's certainly bright, isn't it?

It's well worth the wait, I've been a long time

in the dark, I feel a bit like a mole, now.

There's an old saying that it was called the Palace Of The Peak,

and it does, it does look like a palace now.

You all know we had a fantastic year last year.

We broke the record again, which was brilliant, thanks to all of you.

Wonderful. More people, more people happy, I hope,

I think so, so that was very exciting.

Just the last two or three days were brilliant, even with YOU!

-Fantastic!

-Even me!

-Wonderful! We had a really storming last month.

-We did, we did.

It's been amazing. Christmas has been fantastic this year.

-So, we've done all that.

-For the farm shop, now it's looking forward.

I think with the gold and clean stone and finials brightly shining,

it's going to be a really fantastically good year.

-It is.

-I hope, I'm sure it will be. So, let's hope that...

what have we got to?

1998! What have we got to? 2012.

-Cheers!

-ALL: 2012!

18th-century bling, it's just the best thing.

-It's a dream come true for us, really is, isn't it?

-Yes.

It's just so exciting. It won't have to be done for a long time now.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd