The Big Build - Loughborough DIY SOS

I think, like any parent, we were upset

because, you know, your child isn't perfect. You know, there was

something wrong and something that was going to affect them negatively.

The world is not adapted to smaller people -

it's adapted to average-height people.

But, you know, we said we'll learn to deal with it

which is what we've done.

Bringing up children with special needs is a battle at the best

of times, but when fate's against you,

it becomes a fight on more than one front.

When you meet him, you'd never know how ill he is.

This last year, he's been bedridden for several months at a time

cos he really has been in so much pain.

Those girls, they look up to him, they just think he's amazing.

They've been my three little inspirations.

Because of them, I am determined to make sure

I'm sticking around for a long time to come.

And that's why we're here to help,

to build this family a home to face their future together.

These little 'uns need somewhere safe where they can grow up

and get about and do normal things.

-You up for doing that for them?

-ALL: Yeah!

We have just nine days to carry out the job.

That is textbook orthopaedic carpentry.

And all the usual suspects are here.

He's a woodgy-woodgy-woodgy-woo!

-Well, I say that, where's Billy?

-He's gone to get help.

Here he is!

This is DIY SOS: The Big Build!

THEY CHEER

College lecturer Mark Corns

and full-time mum Jenny met as holiday reps.

We met in the Greek island of Rhodes in the summer of 2003.

I thought she was really nice, you know, pretty hot,

I thought at the time, still do.

They married in 2009

and now live in Loughborough with their three amazing daughters,

three-year-old Abigail and their two-year-old twins Emelia and Katie.

But having a family at all has been a monumental effort.

I've wanted children, erm, for as long as I can remember.

I knew from quite a few years ago that there was going to be

problems conceiving naturally.

After a long series of fertility treatments

and several failed attempts, in 2011, Abigail was born.

When Abigail arrived, just elation

and relief that we'd actually succeeded.

Seven-year trip, wasn't it, really, to try and get there?

And, you know, the fact that we'd got a little girl was just amazing.

And their luck didn't stop there.

Within months, Jenny became pregnant again, and this time with twins.

But they came two months early, suddenly, on the bathroom floor.

Before we knew what was happening, erm, Katie came out,

but wasn't really moving. There was no movement,

she wasn't pinking up. She just looked asleep, almost.

Obviously I was giving birth to Emelia -

I couldn't physically give her CPR.

I was covering the month, covering the nose at the same time,

using two fingers to do the chest compression, erm,

and she started to come round a little bit.

Had Mark not been there, Katie would not have survived -

it's quite simple.

Katie and Emelia were alive

but over the next two months in hospital, they were diagnosed

with a condition called Achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.

I think, like any parent, we were upset because, you know,

your child isn't perfect. You know, there was something wrong and

something that was going to affect them negatively and that upset us.

They will obviously be short

but there's a lot more to it than just being short,

cos it's short limbs that causes a lot of the problems

because it's disproportionate.

So their...their reach for their arm length is shorter.

Walking distances will always been an issue

because every step we take is three or four steps for them.

Hold on tight! Oops.

The world is not adapted to smaller people -

it's adapted to average-height people.

That way. Where's Daddy?

As well as being small, the twins have an endless list of health

problems from bone deformities to breathing difficulties.

Well done, good girl.

Their airwaves are a lot narrower than an average child.

You can hear the breathing's quite heavy...

TWINS RASP ..and sleep apnoea kicks in as well,

they can stop breathing in the night, so oxygen's required.

They've literally just nodded off now

so I really could do with getting the cannulas and putting them on,

really, so they can get the oxygen that they need.

Mark and Jenny are constantly on the alert.

Recently they were given another nasty reminder

of the tightrope they tread when Katie suddenly fell ill.

-She went downhill in the space of an hour, didn't she?

-She did.

She went from playing with her cousins

and sisters to being on the floor really struggling to breathe.

With a small chest cavity as well, her lung collapsed,

so it basically just gave up.

Sadly these life-threatening events are not unusual

and all the essential medical kit needed to keep the twins healthy

fills every spare corner of the house.

Home life now is...is just chaos. As the girls are getting older,

there's just not enough space for everything for them.

We've got their chairs for feeding, their bath seats,

we have six large oxygen cylinders and two small,

the physio mats, the physio bench... They're wanting to be

running about and there's just no space for them to do that.

Cos of their larger heads and their disproportionate limbs,

it makes balance a bit more of an issue.

They do fall a lot and you just can't be there all the time

with them, you know what I mean? And the lack of space is a danger

almost to them with the imbalance when they're walking around.

But as difficult as it is at times, we've got a family

and, erm, you know, we love those girls more than life itself.

At the end of the day, we're not the ones with Achondroplasia,

it's them that's going to have to deal with that as they grow up,

and all we're trying to do is facilitate them growing up

and trying to make things as easy as possible for them,

and we'll bend over backwards to give it to them.

Despite their resolve, they are crammed into a house that was

never meant for a family of five,

let alone one with so many extra needs.

Let's talk about the house cos it seems like quite a nice house,

it's just... Why isn't it working for you?

It's a space factor, more than anything, for the equipment,

for the safety of the girls as well.

It's the thing we really need help with.

Things like the bathroom. It's perfectly adequate

for a family of five if you didn't need extra equipment in it.

They need proper steps and things to hold on to

to be able to get onto the toilet, use the sink,

so you start adding things in there, suddenly there'd be no room to move.

How do you feel about us coming along?

Because it's weird to have a whole load of people turn up

and oust you out of your own home.

-There aren't enough words, are there?

-No.

-To be able to say

thank you to what's going to happen over the next eight days.

Well, we haven't done anything yet - it might be rubbish.

Do your worst and it will be better than what we've got.

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

It's all about space and adaptation and over the next nine days,

that's exactly what these guys are here to give them.

You've been absolutely brilliant already

just for turning up this morning.

Whatever you can do to give us that space is ever so much appreciated.

-You up for doing that for them?

-ALL:

-Yeah!

We'll get you under way, then, if that's all right.

APPLAUSE

Bags packed and off to Mum and Dad's.

We're left behind to do battle with the house.

More than 60 of Loughborough's finest trades have given up

their time for nothing to turn around our family's fortunes.

So, where do we start?

CRASH

Oh!

Just the boiler coming down the stairs!

NICK LAUGHS

As good a place as any, I suppose.

What we need is a plan.

-Morning.

-Good morning.

-How are you today?

-I'm very well. Look at what I've got.

-A set of plans?

Day one, you always ask me what you're doing...

And, and, it's got your name on it.

-They're mine.

-So, what are we doing?

-I don't know yet.

-Oh.

He hasn't had time to look at them!

It's a bit early! I mean, come on.

I mean, I've got them, that's a start.

You know, it's not such a hard job taking out some of the walls,

as most of them seem to have been made of little more than egg boxes.

That was it, that was the support.

-It was two sheets of plasterboard onto that.

-Yeah.

They put it up in panels - 1970s.

Good riddance to the '70s.

Luckily it's new for old here as we've got the far more

substantial modern version - a pre-made timber frame

for a massive two-storey extension - nice!

So, how far do you think you're going to get with that build in a day?

-Up to the roof?

-Yeah.

-Go for it.

As long as you keep me in bacon butties.

Don't you worry, they're coming in.

It's all hugs and bacon butties now, but this is a tall order.

As ever, our unsung heroes, the ground workers,

have been in ahead of time to build the foundations and give us

half a chance of doing the whole lot in just nine days.

We really appreciate it.

Well, we don't really... I don't suppose any of us appreciate

good health until you see somebody who's much less fortunate than us.

We take it for granted, don't we, our good health?

He's made much more sense in two minutes

than you've made in 16 years.

You must be used to the camera cos you're putting sentences together.

-Ah, well.

-Something I've...erm... Forgot what the word is.

Yeah, case in point. You see, Bill's not a wordsmith,

he's an electrician. Well, I say electrician...

Anyway, here to shed her own wisdom

and light on the whole proceedings is our resident perfectionist

and darling of design, Gabrielle Blackman.

Well, it's just got to be perfect, darling, you know.

We started off in one place

and we went on a journey then we've ended up in this amazing place.

Yes, darling.

What's your overarching theme on this one?

It's pretty complicated, this build, because we don't have any

definite heights to work with.

You know, we don't know how tall these girls are going to be,

there's no exact science so we've had to guess a lot of stuff

and of course, Mark is 6'7", so everything is complicated

and everything needs to be bespoke. I just want this to be simple,

beautiful and homely but that is... That is easier to say than to do.

Yes, well, you talk about bespoke

and of course people panic with bespoke because they think

it's difficult to get people to do bespoke stuff,

but what we find as we go around is that our average trades -

who are anything but average -

have extraordinary depths of talent, don't they?

Yeah, the guys here can make anything happen.

Let's hope so, darling, because we've raised the bar yet again.

Two storeys, in fact, with a double-height side extension to give

Mark and Jenny the essential space they desperately need.

So, on the ground floor there'll be a washroom for the girls

and a utility room with extra storage for medical equipment.

There'll also be room for a huge kitchen/diner

with low-level worktops for the kids to play safely

and plenty of room for high chairs.

And the open-plan lay out flows through to the living room

so Mum and Dad can keep an eye on the girls.

By extending upstairs, the twins will get a large bedroom

where they can each have their own space

and plenty more storage for their medical kit.

Abigail will move into the front bedroom

and get her own built-in bed with yet more storage and Mum and Dad

get the enlarged back bedroom - a sanctuary where they can relax.

And, finally, a family bathroom with a step-in bath

and low-level sinks that will help the girls grow up independently.

Impressive, isn't it?

Gabrielle seems to have it all covered

but I still feel there's room for a little bit of collaboration.

Now, listen, you know you always say to me

-I shouldn't get involved with like, design things?

-Yes.

Because I don't actually have the level of expertise to be able

-to deal with those...

-Yes, we know this, yes.

-I agree with you...

-What have you done?

I've thought about it and I agree with you.

So that we can talk to each other as equals,

I've done an intensive craft weekend course.

-Right.

-So I can do, like, shell boxes and, erm, wicker.

Darling, what...? Is this a craft course from the 1980s?

I think we can talk as equals.

Is that insulting in any way or sort of...?

To me?

To me!

It's like me going up to, I don't know, one of these guys

and saying I've done a two-day course in pipe cleaner arrangements

and I can put up that scaffolding. It's more complicated.

But they're proper trades.

Yeah, but... Goddammit!

-You pleased to be back, by the way?

-No!

I've only just met you and you've insulted my hair

and my profession and I don't even like you.

She does like me a little bit.

There'll be time for my new-found craft skills, I bet.

For the moment, it's brute force and craftsmanship as

the timber frame team get to grips with the first floor extension.

Look at these boys. Look, it's almost a full extension.

Look, last bit slotting in there.

They're really, really going for it, aren't they?

-Diddy, how's it going?

-It's going all right.

Nice.

Another ten minutes, we'll be done.

-He's a good lad, isn't he?

-He's a great man, Diddy.

Yeah! So, we're extending this dormer.

Yes, we can stitch the new dormer on there.

We've got a new doorway coming through.

Where that window is, you can see that's going to punch through

-and become a doorway.

-But we've got to re-support all this,

move the roof over here in the new trusses, connect it all in,

re-insulate it, get it tiled and make it work in eight days.

Look at that!

That's proper builder's bum.

Look at that, that's quality that is.

That's a beauty.

Can we just congratulate you on the finest builder's bum

we've actually seen on this series?

I inherited that from my father.

Did you?

Was he good CRAIC?

THEY LAUGH

That was very good, very good.

That was good, wasn't it? Yeah.

So, the extension will give them the extra space

and bespoke furniture will make it adaptable...

That's if Gabrielle can sweet-talk someone into building it.

Mat, we've got everything here

but I'm really concerned we're giving you a lot of work.

I got a bit carried away here.

It's not a great opening pitch, really, is it?

Downstairs, I'm thinking storage that looks really grown-up and chic.

We've got Abigail's special amazing bed

and I've also annoyingly put drawers in - extra work.

-This needs to be the coolest bed in Loughborough.

-OK.

This, the bulkhead - nightmare.

That's why we thought to build in this chest of drawers,

-but that is a really complicated piece of furniture.

-Good idea.

And we need a really, really special desk.

Is that all right, darling?

And I need it sort of by... By next week. Is that all right?

-Next week?

-Yeah.

Note the use of "darling".

You've got to give it to her - she's a charmer, isn't she?

Darling Richard is completely creative and fabulous.

She's used the "darling" again.

-We never end up getting chrome, darling, do we?

-No, I know...

So let's not even go down that road.

Has she been calling you darling on the phone?

She has today, yeah.

That's the weapon she uses. It's a weapon...

-It works, it works.

-Does it?

You've been really sucked in by it.

Well, Luke did!

Inside, walls are disappearing, holes are being cut

and the house is taking on a completely different lay out.

There you go, first floor access to our extension already.

The fact that we've actually got a first floor is pretty impressive.

Are we winning up there, team?

Certainly are.

All we need now is the roof.

Is there anything in the building that doesn't arrive

on the back of a lorry?

It's pretty tricky, this roof...

HIGH-PITCHED VOICE: ..because it's actually quite a high-pitched roof.

This one. See, there's a gag in there.

There's not many building jokes but that's one of them.

HIGH-PITCHED VOICE: It's a very high-pitched roof.

It would be foolish at this point to say that we're virtually

through day one and nothing has gone wrong, so I won't.

Hang on, hang on, too late.

Ooh... Ooh!

What's going on?

-Well, I was scooping...

-Don't scoop!

-Don't scoop again.

..some chippings out of the wheelbarrow and I've put my back out.

-What, properly put your back out?

-Ooh!

Sorry! There?

There, yeah.

-Do you want to sit down?

-I can't straighten up.

I'll get you a chair.

Shall we see if we can find a physio for you?

I think we might have to.

Ooh, that feels bad.

With our resident man mountain out of action, it's a good job

that our team of builders have been all over this like a rash

and the house looks nothing like the one we arrived in

just ten hours ago.

Amazingly, this is the only room in the house that is the same shape

as when we walked in this morning.

This one has changed considerably - it has new windows

but also has a whole new opening into the extension.

And if you travel into the backroom, you'll see not only are there

new windows there but there's a new opening as well.

As you move through it, you move into the new extension

and you can see the size of it now, which already has a truss roof on.

Downstairs, a new opening has been made and the ceiling

is being held up with acrow props

because we need to get a new steel in there,

and if you move through more acrow props into the new extension,

you can see the full extent of the extra rooms

that we're putting in downstairs too.

What I'm saying is this is an exceptional build in just one day.

Look at it - two-storey extension, no problem.

MUSIC: That's Not Really Funny by Eels

The music is very groovy, isn't it?

But we can't afford to sit back and relax -

two storeys means we've got double the usual amount

of bricklaying and as we're going right up to ridge level,

we've got the added challenge of tying in the new roof with the old.

I'm worried that you appear to be stripping the roof.

I thought we were at the stage where we were starting

to put the roof back together.

The reason for that is we're trying to get the tiles matched in on

the front so that it is completely seamless, so when you look from

the road you can't really tell that the extension has even been built.

I see, so you take the weathered tiles from the back

and put it on here, and the back that nobody sees you can put

-the new tiles on until they've weathered in and...

-Exactly, yeah.

See? Up there for thinking, down there for dancing.

Clever, these lads. You'd think they'd done it before.

The extension will give Mark and Jenny the essential space

they need to cater for all the kids' special needs,

a job which 18 months ago was made doubly hard

after Mark was sent to hospital in severe pain.

The doctor was quite chilled out about everything beforehand.

You know, cos obviously I said was concerned -

the doctor had mentioned cancer. He said, you know,

"The chances of you getting it so young", he said, "where it is",

he said, "highly unlikely."

The camera went in and straight away we saw the tumour.

Daddy!

They did some...a lot of testing and we were quite concerned

because it was very advanced

so it had broken through the lining of the bowel, the intestine.

Up to this point Mark and Jenny had always managed together,

but over the last year Mark has undergone gruelling chemotherapy

and surgery to remove the tumour in his bowel.

You had a lot to deal with whilst you were trying to

fight your cancer. Where are you at the moment with your prognosis?

My oncologist tells me

the type of cancer that it was is more aggressive the younger you are,

so I've got 50/50 chance, but I'll take those odds.

I'm all right with that because if it means that I'm with the children

and I'm with Jen, I wouldn't swap any of it, if that's what it means.

If it's, "Mark you could be cancer-free but you wouldn't

"have your girls and you wouldn't have Jen", I'd take the cancer.

Because the twins have the difficulties they have,

does that help you in terms of determination to get better

or does it hinder you to get better because of the worries?

You shouldn't be worried, you shouldn't have stress when you're...

No, the children in no way have hindered my recovery.

They've aided it, without a doubt.

It's... It's because of them that I have been determined.

The thought of cancer getting the better of me...

It's just not going to happen.

They've been my three little inspirations

and I see the adversity that they've gone through.

That traumatic birth, the way they've developed and grown,

the illnesses that they've overcome, the hospital appointments,

the prodding, the poking... You know, they cry

and get upset about it but they just bounce right back.

I've always liked to think that I've had a positive attitude

but they've shown me how to get over things and crack on with it.

You've seen them, you've seen their smiley faces, and they're just

so joyful about everything. It's about what they've been through.

I'll fight all I can to make sure I'm sticking around

-for a long time to come.

-Was it frustrating, though,

knowing that you couldn't help Jen with the kids?

To see the stress that Jen's been under has been...

It's been heart-breaking.

You know, she's immense, she's awesome,

and I couldn't have asked for a better mum for my children.

That's the best way I can describe her - she's incredible.

You can see it, she's kind of unstoppable.

She's a force of nature.

She's the cornerstone of our family without a shadow of a doubt.

She's the foundations which we're built upon, that's the truth.

She's incredible.

Mark's recovery is, of course, one more thing to worry about

on top of the children's needs.

Creating a sense of calm and relaxation at home will really help

and one place we can do that is in the rear garden.

What are we going to do with this garden, then?

It's a little square piece of unloved earth, isn't it?

What are we going to do to make it a loved, usable area?

Exactly, we've got to pack loads of stuff in here

that's going to entertain the kids because at the moment,

what's worrying me is that Mark has been so ill,

Jenny is just at the end of her tether

and we need to make this garden a place which is going to

keep the kids occupied but also safe and not produce any further stress.

The ambitious plan for the garden is to create an outside space

with a patio and seating at two different levels

for Mark and the children.

Planting around the borders will lead to a water feature,

new shed and a soft landscape play area

with a wigwam-come-Wendy house for the girls.

At the end, there'll be loads to keep all three girls happy.

Not sure about the wigwam, though.

Well, I'm not.

And something made of shells?

No! No, Nick, there are going to be no...

And don't you sneak any shell grotto type action in here.

I'll be very angry.

-Everybody likes a shell grotto.

-They do not!

'I think they do.

'The shells might have to wait. There's a tonne of stuff to do

'before we can even get to the garden.'

We have something of a pinch point, don't we?

We have a little pinch point, yes, we do.

We need to get started on the back garden

but we can't take the scaffold down until the roof

and the brickies have finished.

We need the scaffolding down by tomorrow lunchtime.

It still makes it a bit tight, doesn't it?

I think as long as the weather holds...

If it rains after that and we miss, you know, that will mess us up

but if the weather holds, we'll be all right.

-Good news.

-What is it?

-It's going to rain all day tomorrow.

-No!

-That's nice(!)

With the pressure on to get the bricks laid and the house

watertight, it's a huge bonus that the extension went up so fast.

But now the steels to hold up the new open-plan kitchen/diner

have arrived - two pieces that need to be bolted together.

It seems we've got ahead of ourselves, though.

No, hang on, whoa, whoa, whoa!

How are we going to get the bolts in?

He's talking about the bolts to bolt it together.

We haven't left enough space to fit them.

Cos the trouble is, on the other side of this beam you've got all of

the plumbing, all the electrics, all the gas - everything's strapped

to the back of there, so it will be a nightmare to take it all down.

If that wasn't in the way, we'd have this.

The trouble is actually getting the bolts through, isn't it?

OK, what if you get the steels up to the height that you want them...

-Yes.

-..and then matching where those are, you drill...you use

a woodscrew to drill a hole through the beam

so you can feed the bolt in from this side of the beam to

all of them and push it all the way through and then bolt it?

-Yes. He's earned his keep today.

-Yes?

Yes. Like that, that's perfect.

Right, we're in. Right, we're good.

It's generally accepted that on any build

I have one good idea during the course of it. This might be it.

I'm not sure my talents are really appreciated.

Of course, the guys really doing the graft here are Loughborough's elite.

It never ceases to amaze me not only that they turn up,

but also that it actually seems to work.

Thank you, gentlemen.

It's kind of mad how it happens, though, isn't it?

It is, about 300mph, yeah.

Even though there's like 50 blokes on-site all day,

it's just... I don't know, it's hard to explain it. It just flows.

People just get out of the way of each other and it just happens.

-Are you glad you joined in, though?

-Yeah.

-Oh, definitely.

Do it again. Definitely.

You're not being paid, but you're getting something out of this?

Some sleep, cos I'm knackered by the time I get home.

Well, they've earned a decent kip and they'll need it

if we're going to move on into the next week.

As day three looms, so does the weather.

We had a drop of the old rain last night.

Yeah.

Some bloke drowned in that wheelbarrow last night.

It's a good job that was covered up, wasn't it?

Yeah, otherwise I think it would have been

a bit of a mess this morning to sort out.

You've just got the last run to go now, haven't you?

Just the last bit, yeah, about two metres or so.

Are they bringing the breakfast down to us again...?

You haven't started work yet and you're asking where breakfast is!

How do you think that poor bloke feels?

He's not going to have any breakfast today, is he?

THEY LAUGH

An army marches on its stomach and the army seems to have grown.

The plasterers have taken over the house.

Basically, cos we've altered every room, every room needs plastering,

so we're going to get it all boarded today

and have a go at skimming last thing tonight.

It'll be good.

Outside, Jules is doing his best to make himself useful with a bad back.

NICK LAUGHS

It's essentially a management role.

Right, let's get the shed down, boys, let's move!

There we go, lovely.

Ha-ha! He's Buster Keaton.

Hey, there's no time to sit down on the job, though, Jules!

Hang on, how does he always manage that?

His back's killing him so we thought we'd get him a job with a seat.

This is heaven to me. Absolute heaven.

He does like a digger or a tractor.

It's the brickies who face the biggest problems.

They're doing their best to carry on under cover and though they are

up to the second floor, last night's rain hasn't done them any favours.

At the minute, we're struggling a little bit.

We're aiming for lunchtime to be finished

so we can get the joiners up here to fix the bargeboards

and soffits, but the wet brick situation is not helping.

You can see we're having to put the tissue in to try

and absorb the water that's coming out of the mix.

You can see it sinking, look, pushing down the one above

and the joint's coming out of that one there.

When you scrape it all off, look. See all the water in it coming out?

We're just hoping that we can dry them enough

to go on, cos obviously the further up you go,

the more weight going down on the wet mix.

If you don't smile, it won't change anything.

You've got to keep smiling.

You know, that's a philosophy that Mark

and Jenny understand better than most.

Despite all their worries, they have always stayed positive right back

to the difficulties of having children in the first place.

After seven years of trying,

the fact that the children are even here at all is little short

of a miracle, and something Gabrielle wants to celebrate.

Smile! Cheese.

Yeah, I think you're going to crop like that.

Just looking at your girls now... I mean, could you believe

three years ago that we'd be here?

Not at all, not at all.

I wouldn't have even thought we'd have a family let alone three

and being here now, seeing them smiling

and happy is just beyond our wildest dreams.

Do you like it?

- Yeah. - Yeah, give us a wave.

How do you feel about adaptation for the girls?

I mean, how far do you want me to go?

I want life to be easy for them at home

because home is the place to relax in. You know, they're going

to have enough struggles out in the big wide world which is not adapted

to smaller people - it's all about the average-height person out there.

Just be comfy at home and not have to struggle

and ask for help all the time.

And so... I mean, Mark seems to me

the kind of guy who never puts himself first.

-I mean, he seems like...

-He puts everybody else first.

When you meet him, you'd never know how ill he is.

This last year, he's been bedridden for several months at a time.

He really has been so poorly and in so much pain.

Every day he keeps telling me, "I'm not going anywhere."

I just can't bear the thought of life without him.

And those girls, they look up to him.

They just think he's amazing.

Well, he's so determined.

He is, he is.

He's what keeps me going. He gives me inner strength to keep

going with the girls and doing everything that they need

to keep them growing up as positive adults,

knowing they're amazing as they are.

Bringing up children for anyone can be an uphill struggle.

Jenny and Mark's hill is steeper than most

and they need each other to get to the top.

On-site, we've been climbing our own hill. The brickies have put up

a front against the weather and beaten the rain into submission.

Makes you feel better, a bit of sun on your back.

Unfortunately, Jules's back will need more than a bit of sun.

If you lift your arms up...

-Is that about where you want it?

-Is that comfortable?

-Not really.

-No?

That's your weaker side, so we've put a splint to brace it up

-so you should start...

-That will start straightening you up.

Have a little walk and see how that feels.

MUSIC: Thriller by Michael Jackson

-Yeah, he's moving better, isn't he?

-Yeah, oh, definitely.

You're looking a lot better.

-It doesn't look silly at all, does it?

-Not in the least, no.

That is textbook orthopaedic carpentry.

OK, it's not textbook treatment, and if you ever

do your back in, seek advice from a doctor - certainly not us.

And there's the final tile going on now.

Look at that, look at that.

That's the tiling done, the roof, the bricklaying's done,

get the scaffold down, get the scaffold out, get the garden in. Yes!

That is the last brick in the gable.

THEY CHEER

Over 3,000 bricks in three days is unbelievable.

As we pass the halfway stage, the scaff can at last come down to

reveal the seamless extension.

And Jules has risen from the dead...

I was S-shaped, beginning of the week...

..now I'm a T today.

..and can now show the levels of leadership we love him for.

Right, c'mon, lads, we need a little bit of a small army

out in this garden.

Need a little bit of a push on today, chaps.

We want materials. We're a bit short of materials. The main one is tea.

THEY LAUGH

We'll need more than tea

if we're going to get this done in less than four days.

Put the kettle on, someone!

We've had some damaged cables.

Perhaps no, then.

We've had a ring main that's been drilled through

and a cooker cable that's been drilled through.

The electricians are going in now, having to drill extra holes

to try and get in there to fix the problem, and then obviously

now we've got to wait to do the flooring, to get straight in

and do the utility bit, all because of this little nick in a wire.

Oh, it's all plastered and everything, ain't it?

Going to have to chop out down there.

You've got to. You've got to, ain't we?

Chris is going to be seriously upset.

At least there's one happy chappie out the front.

HE LAUGHS

If only we could all be as excited about a bit of tarmac.

It's quite nerve-racking.

She's loving it, ain't she?

She's coming over to the dark side.

It's kind of like extreme hoovering or something. It's really scary.

-Do you like it?

-I do, actually, weirdly like it.

And out the back they're playing catch-up,

laying the patio in the garden.

It's not the biggest space in the world,

but thanks to Richard and these guys. We need to fit

in room for the kids. Exercise for them is so important because

with Achondroplasia obesity can be a problem, so we really needed to cram

loads into this space and I'm really, really excited.

-It's looking good.

-Have you enjoyed yourself so far?

I mean, I know you're under pressure now but...

Yeah, you can't not enjoy it. It's great.

We've not got long left now to get it all down, but going all right.

He sounds a bit stressed, doesn't he?

-He's looking a bit tense now.

-You were looking calm

-when I spoke to you earlier on in the week.

-Just a bit more tense now

but, we've got a lot of good guys here, so by the end of today

we're hoping to have the turf down and it'll look like a garden.

You know, at this rate we might even beat the sparks.

We took a bit of plasterboard out

but we're going to tidy up obviously. But that's unlucky.

-Oh, my giddy...

-All right, sausage. We've, erm...

Smashed the wall to pieces.

Yeah.

To patch and repair that, minimum an hour, and it's going to be

soaking wet when that fridge goes in in front of it.

Yes, but you're the man to do it, Chris,

and whilst they wait for Chris to patch up Billy's trail

of destruction, the kitchen boys are adding more bespoke features,

simple things that will make the twins' lives so much easier.

This is a pull-out drawer for the girls so they can stand on it

and wash at the sink, and that's also non-slip as well,

so the girls don't trip.

A bespoke low-level worktop is going in

and Gabrielle's darling chippy is back with her list of demands.

I did the whole lot, just me on my own in my garage.

It took me two days, two long days.

Still worthwhile. I'll be looking forward to seeing it done.

With a bespoke fit-out like this, the devil is in the detail.

The workflow at the moment is if we were trying to build a tree,

which I know sounds crazy, but you know there's a sort of big

brushstrokes, there's the building the trunk and the branches

and getting those in place, and then we've got to stick each tiny leaf

on which is a really time-consuming and really crucial bit.

And that's where we can lose the time. I'm feeling quite tense today.

Who builds a tree?

What she needs is support and encouragement I think.

Are we going to dangle a low-hanging pendant over a table

that they might move one day,

leaving a weirdly hanging pendant in the middle of the room?

Where else are they going to put their dining table,

the heart of their home, and that they really need?

OK, but let's have a party tonight. Let's invite everybody around,

let's move the table so that we can all have a little dancing space.

Great. Then all night he's like...

-That's not going to work, is it?

-You're making me feel tired.

Thanks for that. Here we go. Thanks very much. Look. So...

I don't think that's going to get in the way of a man

-that's six inches taller than me.

-Well, he'll see it, won't he?

See it? He'll be able to look over it!

Well, that's all right then, he won't hit it then, will he?

There's a kind of logic in there somewhere, isn't there?

With only a day and a half left, Gabrielle will need everyone

on site to make the house look extraordinary.

But her list of things to do seems to be getting longer.

I can instantly see that that's got a massive flaw in it.

Where's tea break one?

Where's ten o'clock snack?

Where's tea break two? Where's lunch?

I'd better get her out, she's done this all wrong.

Go on, Mark. You tell her, mate. This should be funny.

-Where's Gabbers?

-I'm here!

-See...

-What?

-Hello.

-Is that a list?

That's a list, yeah. I want to go through that list...

-with you.

-Why is there only two things crossed off it?

Just cross all these things off this list and then come back to me, OK?

See, not one "darling", not one "darling".

Time for tea break number one, then.

Look at this!

Does anybody remember Morph?

Oh, look at Mark with the headache.

Maureen, who brought us this amazing cake,

also happens to be the family friend who first told us

of Mark and Jenny's story.

Jenny especially, I think she's stayed so strong and she's had

so much to cope with looking after Mark as well as looking after

the children, but they're... I don't know if you've met them?

-Oh, they're amazing.

-Beautiful little girls.

-And lovely and...

-And happy.

-Yes.

So you write to us because you think they need the space and now

here you are and there's about 80 builders crawling all over it.

-Awesome.

-And all working so hard.

It's going to make such a difference to them, isn't it?

Oh, yes, just space for those little girls to live...

so thank you all very much.

You know everyone I've met who knows Jenny

and Mark talk of how positive they are, but how does Jenny,

with the world on her shoulders, manage to stay so strong?

On top of everything else you're having to deal with,

of course there's Mark's illness.

You must have got to a point where you just think, "Isn't that enough?"

We think that quite often. Anybody would, I think. "Why us?

"Surely this is the last thing. We can't have any more."

I am scared, very scared.

He's got to the point now where we think he's beaten it.

Mark seems very confident that it's not coming back.

I have to say that I'm not quite as confident.

So that's why we try not to think too much about that as an option.

-It's been a ridiculous avalanche of things...

-Yeah.

..falling on the family

but mostly falling on you because, of course you've had to look after

the twins, but you've also had to look after Mark with his illness.

I think that's what's upset him the most

is the fact that I've had to do more.

Emelia, she was so poorly in January, she was in intensive care

on a ventilator for eight days.

Honestly thought we were going to lose her,

and at that point I wanted to curl up in a corner.

And that was when I was thinking, "Mark can't leave me.

"I can't do this on my own."

That's why we try not to think too much down those lines

because that's just not going to happen. It's not allowed to happen.

We've been through a lot together over the last five or six years.

We can't let this defeat us.

Dealing with the unpredictability of cancer at the same time

as having to cope with the frailty of the twins

is an unthinkable situation,

but whatever future this family face,

we've got just one day left to deliver the sanctuary they need.

I'm thinking calming blues, tranquil greens.

What would we describe this colour as in here today? Battleship grey?

-No, no, it's blue.

-What about if we were to do one of the walls orange?

It would clash very badly with my hair.

You never decorate in the same colour as your skin or hair.

-Don't you?

-No.

-Don't you?

Otherwise it will look horrible and weird.

My house is a tribute to me.

Have you decorated the walls in your hair colour?

-In my hair, in my...

-Grecian 2,000.

-Yeah! Yeah.

Mahogany badger or whatever it is you wear.

Mahogany badger!

Other gents' hair colour products are available by the way.

I'm also a fox. The grey carries on in the garden too.

Goes with the fence, the posts and everything, breaks everything up.

Nice contrast with the garden. So now it's 50 sheds of grey, you know!

NICK LAUGHS

Nice to see a bit of greenery in there too though.

It's amazing what a bit of turf can do to brighten things up.

And don't you know it's what everyone's wearing this year?

-Look at that.

-Look at that.

-Look at that.

He's a woodgy-woodgy-woodgy-woo!

-He's a turf bear.

-THEY LAUGH

Turn anticlockwise a little bit. That's it. Perfect.

It's all coming together quite nicely, isn't it?

-Yes, it's looking good.

-Do you like the wigwam?

-I'm loving the wigwam.

I'm going to build one for my daughters, I think.

I like that. It's nice, ain't it?

They may have had only a few days but the garden could be the

crowning glory of the build, the sod on the turf bear's head so to speak.

It's complicated inside. Any space that the whole

family use will always be difficult

when the height range from daughter to Dad is several feet.

Dad is 6'7". Where does 6'7" go to?

Just there, so he's got about an inch.

-Above his head?

-Yeah, for the shower, so we'll have to take it up.

In the bathroom we're putting in steps for the bath

and low-level sinks for the girls.

Simple things that make all the difference.

These guys aren't taking any short-cuts.

You know, just to give a week of my time back to other people

that are unfortunate, it's brilliant.

I can walk away from here with my head held high knowing that

I've done something for somebody else which is good.

Yeah, blood, sweat and tears have gone into this place,

together with some considerable skill.

You know I took this craft course so that we could talk as equals,

and I've been working on something to go into the house,

-something special. I think you'll like this.

-Am I going to be upset?

# Ta-ra! #

-Look at that! Ain't it beautiful?

-Did you actually make that yourself?

I told you that you could make beautiful things with shells

and yet you pooh-poohed the idea and yet here before your very eyes...

-What do you think, Christopher?

-It's...beautiful.

-Reminds me of pirates. You know, going back to the sea.

-Yes, yes.

Seriously, cider jug - seaside.

-That is...

-Jules, tell the truth. He needs to be stopped.

That is class.

That says England. It says...

It says midlife crisis with limpets

and we're not having it in the house, OK? I'm taking it away.

I'm going.

-Midlife crisis!

-What a fantastic exit.

THEY LAUGH

I'm trying to storm off and it went wrong

and I went in the wrong direction. I'm storming off in this way.

I think she got away with it, kind of, didn't she?

There's only a few hours left. Time to call in the troops.

TRUMPETLIKE PARPING

Getting all those last-minute details right is crucial,

but it is slowing us down.

We're still waiting.

Can you just go and get me a really lovely decorator up here?

There's a wardrobe that's materialised here

that's not finished.

52 cushions have been delivered.

How can we have 52 cushions and they're all wrong?

We mustn't let Nick know either.

He must not be allowed anywhere near me now cos I will cry.

With so many in the house we're falling over each other to finish.

How is it going in there cos I'm not being allowed in, am I?

No, you're not. We definitely don't need you at this point. We're fine.

Everything's fine so there's nothing to see.

Nothing to see? How's that going to work on telly?

And there is - from bathrooms to kitchens, bedrooms to gardens,

it's left to Loughborough's finest to hold it together

for the final push for the finish.

'We've been doing them for a few years now

'and it's still amazing how it all comes together and gets done.'

It started from a little acorn, didn't it?

And now it's mushroomed into a coconut.

Do they? No, they don't go into coconuts, do they, acorns?

THEY LAUGH

Let's face it, without this incredible team of heroes

we would never even have got past the front door,

let alone the back garden.

Isn't it gorgeous? Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?

But with them...

..it's job done.

Nine days ago we met a family crammed into a home

that could never meet their needs.

The world is not adapted to smaller people.

It's adapted to average-height people.

While they fought against their home to give their children independence,

Mark had to fight his own battle against cancer.

They've been my three little inspirations.

Because of them, I am determined to make sure that I'm sticking around

for a long time to come.

Whatever future they face,

they needed a home for the girls to grow up in

and one where Mark can have every chance of a full recovery.

So that's where these guys stepped in to help out.

We built a seamless two storey extension to give them

the extra space they so need.

Inside, we transformed their minuscule kitchen

and dining room into a light, bright, open-plan space

with special features for the whole family, tall and short alike.

We managed to put in a utility room where they can store medical kit

and even squeezed in a low-level toilet for the kids.

Their old cluttered living room has been transformed to make a warm and

inviting family space where the kids can be seen but their stuff can't.

Upstairs, we've turned Abigail's tiny box room into a large room

for the twins where they can each have their own space

with plenty of room for all their medical equipment.

It's a proper little girl's room, isn't it?

Mum and Dad have swapped with Abigail.

She now gets a beautiful bedroom

with a beautiful theatrical bed and storage.

In return, her old room has been enlarged to give Mum and Dad

a perfect sanctuary from the kids, and to help Mark's recovery.

Unlike the old one, the new bigger family bathroom is both luxurious

and practical with a step-in bath,

low-level shower controls, and accessible sink for the girls.

And outside is now a haven for the whole family,

where the kids can safely run amok.

Even the tepee is a triumph.

Nine days' work for a lifetime of enjoyment.

So, it's been a tough couple of years as we know,

and it's been kind of difficult to do the things you needed to

do in the house, so if you're ready, open your eyes.

HE GASPS

Wow.

Holy Moley! That is incredible.

Look at the pictures. That's beautiful.

-I can't even...

-Absolutely beautiful.

-How have you...? Wow.

I wanted to have some words but I just don't.

I've got nothing, I've got nothing. That is stunning.

That is going to be great for the girls. Look at that.

That is going to be amazing for the girls and it just fits in as well.

It doesn't look out of place or special. It's part of it.

There's lots of really clever tricks in here to make this house

completely future-proof for the girls.

As the girls get older the difficulty for them

is actually using the standard sink, so if we look,

what they've done is they've built-in a step at the bottom here

so they'll be able to step-up and use the sink properly.

-That's brill...

-That's clever.

That's their job from now on then.

We'll get them cracking on that as soon as we can!

Get them learning to do the washing up really quickly.

It's all about building independence, isn't it?

Yeah, that's exactly what we wanted for them, is for them

to be able to be independent and not struggle to do things.

Look at that little corner over there.

-That is just incredible.

-Love that little bench.

That's fantastic.

It's lovely, isn't it?

That is going to be great. "Do your homework, children!"

The height of that is set for children at the moment,

but is also set for the right size for the girls when they grow up

so they've always got somewhere to work that's the right level.

-That's fantastic.

-There's so much thought gone into this, I can't even...

-It has.

So come through and have a look at your living room as well.

That's beautiful. Oh, wow.

-It's like a real grown-up...

-It is. It's like...

It is beautiful. I love the way it all just goes through as well.

Bespoke made shelves. The woodwork throughout is just stunning.

-It is.

-Look at the design of the cabinet there.

-Yeah, that's beautiful.

-What's cute about this is, obviously this one is like storage.

-Uh-huh.

This one though...

BOTH: Oh!

-That's incredible.

-How amazing is that?

Yes, a little Wendy house for the girls to play with.

They are going to love that.

-So how have we done so far?

-Spot-on.

-Brilliant.

-Spot-on. It's amazing.

-Really?

-100 out of 10. Superb.

The work that's gone into this, I mean, to my untrained eye

I can just see the absolute quality just dripping everywhere.

It's like something out of a magazine or something. It's...

And the thought that's gone into it as well is phenomenal.

You've only seen half of it so far. Are you ready to go and have a look at some more?

-Yeah.

-OK, better get on. Come on.

-Oh, wow.

-Wow.

My goodness. Look at the steps going up to the bath.

But obviously a seven foot shower head for you, low level control for the kids.

-That is amazing.

-That is amazing.

I need a better vocabulary to just express what I'm feeling at the minute.

-Want to see some bedrooms?

-Yes, please.

-Come with me.

HE LAUGHS

Look at the space. What an absolutely brilliant room

for them to grow up in. That is just...

-That is amazing.

-Yeah, I love the decor as well with the stars.

There's a couple of other nice, cute things as well which I'll

draw your attention to. First of all, a local lady makes costumes,

she specifically made the costumes for each of the girls.

But also in the cupboard here as well there's a low-level rail...

-Oh, that's clever.

-Yeah.

-..so that the girls can...

Pick their own clothes.

So that there's no sense of being out of reach of anything.

-Brilliant.

-Brilliant.

-What a superb bedroom for them.

-Happy?

-Yes.

-Next one?

-Yes, please.

-Abigail?

-Yeah.

-Let's come this way.

HE LAUGHS

Look at the bed!

-She's going to love it.

-She's going to adore that.

-That is a bedroom and a half, isn't it?

-It is, isn't it?

She is going to absolutely love it.

You need somewhere to be as well to relax, so come with me.

My goodness!

This is a grown-up's bedroom, isn't it?

It is, isn't it?

-This is just incredible.

-Like it?

-I love it, love the decor, love the...

-It's beautiful.

Who'd have thought we'd ever have a bedroom that was big enough

-to have a chair in it.

-Yeah.

-The word came through that

you wanted a little reading spot where you could go and read.

Important to recharge your batteries now and again.

It sounds like heaven. Yeah, it really does.

Without having the stress of,

-"What are we going to do about this house?"

-Yeah, absolutely.

The worry about the house about safety for the girls,

that's just gone and there's room for things like the physio

and the stuff that the girls need to do to make sure that they're

well enough to deal with everything that life's throwing at them.

From the girls walking into the house there's going to be things

that they can do that they weren't able to do in the old place.

-Talking of which, shall we find out?

-Yeah.

Wow! Doesn't it look different?

Going to sit at the table?

-Go and sit on the chair.

-Yeah.

-What do you think?

Will that be all right for chilling out in an evening?

Where's the bedrooms, Abigail?

Wow.

-Look at your new bedroom.

-Look at your new bedroom. This is yours.

Want to have a look?

Where do you think your bed is, Katie?

Look. Your new bed. What do you think?

SHE EXCLAIMS

Is it really nice? Want to try your new cot?

Look at those pretty dresses. Look at those.

What do you think of these pretty dresses?

Does Emelia like the look of those?

Oh, look how lovely they are.

-Yeah. Is that really nice? Does that suit you?

-I like them.

Oh, I think you'll like that, won't you?

I think they've selected those already.

Look. All sparkly. Isn't that beautiful?

This is your new room. Do you like it?

So this is your new bedroom. This is where you're going to

-sleep at night. Is that all right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Do you want to go and have a look?

MARK LAUGHS

Give us a wave.

SHE LAUGHS

This is more than what we hoped for for them. I mean, Abigail was

in that tiny little box room before. She's got space to play in here.

It has and it will just transform how the girls grow up.

Your turn.

'We've always had the philosophy that home is the place to relax'

and I think this has given them that place. They can come home and relax

without having the struggle that they have

when they're out and about.

It's like a dolls' house.

It has given them that independence,

the ability to do things for themselves, to learn how to do

things in a safe, warm, beautiful home

that is going to look after them.

-That's what's important to us, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Wow!

-Wow!

-Goodness me! Is that really our garden?

This is beautiful.

Look, there's a little waterfall.

There is, isn't there? That's nice.

Do you want to go down and have a look? Follow Mummy.

-Come and have a look in here.

-I love it. I want to go play in it!

Going to be able to get the girls with the green fingers going,

get them planting the flowers and the plants

and this is a perfect height for them. It's absolutely brilliant.

-What a lovely, lovely garden.

-It is. It's amazing.

I can't believe how hard people must have been working over these last nine days.

The hours they must have put in.

To have a whole group of people that we don't know step in to

change our house into this fantastic home, it's one of the most

humbling experiences I've ever had.

'We are just in awe of everybody that's helped us,

'and just want to say the biggest thank you to everybody.'

APPLAUSE

Wow! Here we go.

I think it's a good idea to get the little ones back inside.

It's a little bit much for them at the moment,

so where's Grandma and Grandad?

Wow!

That's all I've said all the way round the house is "Wow!"

This is amazing. This is incredible.

We've had so many people looking after us

over the last couple of years...

..and to see all of you guys here today...

-Sorry...

-Go on, Mark!

APPLAUSE

We can't tell you what it means to what you've done to our house.

You've created the most fabulous home for our girls to grow up in.

You are all superheroes.

We've always worried about the girls and having their independence

and being able to relax in their own home and it's given us

that peace of mind to know that that's going to happen for them.

So much thought has gone into everything to enable them

to do that, so this is beyond our wildest dreams.

What you've all done for us, it's just amazing.

Incredible, yeah. You rock.

APPLAUSE

You know always in the back of my mind is what the oncologist

has said is a 50-50 chance in the first year of the cancer coming back,

and if it does and the worst happens...

you guys have given them a home, you know, so thank you.

APPLAUSE

I need to remember every single face in here

because if you ever need a cup of tea...

LAUGHTER ..you just come knock on our door

and we'll have the kettle on for you in no time at all.

-Just not at the same time!

-I don't have that many cups!

Come up and say hello.

Come here. Group hug, come on, get in, get in. That's brilliant.

Well done.

Fate is a strange and cruel thing. Why do some families have

so many more trials and tribulations to face than others?

And of course you can't do anything about fate.

Sometimes the odds are just stacked against you.

What you can do though is help the people get through.

What these people have done is given the twins somewhere safe in which

to face the difficulties they're going to have as they grow up,

and maybe more importantly, given Mark peace of mind that his wife

and kids are going to be safe no matter how his personal battle goes.

So whilst you can't change fate, you can certainly even up the odds.

Maybe you know somebody who needs your help.

Thank you so much.

LAUGHTER AND CHAT