Homes for Veterans, Part 1 DIY SOS

John Borge is a dad who loves nothing better than spending time

with his little boy.

Noah is what keeps him going.

John is a military veteran.

Every day, he fights a harrowing mental battle

against post-traumatic stress.

'Nothing can prepare you for what you see or do out there.'

I've seen children just been hit by an IED and stuff like that

and nothing prepares you for it.

John is just one of tens of thousands of servicemen

and women who have served our country in war zones across the planet.

For some, the emotional and physical scars of battle are life-changing.

It's one of them jobs where, every step

you could basically get blown up.

I was devastated because I thought that I'm done.

But when leaving the military, these brave veterans

face the battle of adapting back into civilian life.

I've spent all my time in the Army with somebody watching my back

all the time, but to be here now on your own, it is scary.

What these veterans need is a community where they feel secure,

supported. A place that will allow them to start again in civvy street.

And that's where we come in.

This street in Manchester will soon become the biggest build

DIY SOS has ever taken on because we're here to turn

empty houses into homes for veterans.

The plan is to create a veterans' village

over two special episodes, bringing back to life the entire street,

creating homes, a support centre,

and a place to live while veterans retrain.

It's an epic build and it's

so important, it's even received a Royal seal of approval.

-Nice to see you.

-Sausage?

-Royal sausage.

-Royal sausage.

LAUGHTER

To be honest, not a bad painter.

Perfect. That looks absolutely immaculate.

This is the first time you've done this, isn't it?

With just 12 days to complete our mission...

OMG.

-..this really will push us all to the edge...

-Argh!

..and maybe even over it.

This is the first time ever that we've gone over the allocated

time for us in the 16 years we've been doing this.

But it will be worth it if we can help veterans rebuild their lives.

We only have a short period of time in which to finish the entire street.

-All the usual suspects are here.

-Especially me.

-Why the airs and graces?

-Look who it is.

-Oh, yes, we have a couple of special helpers,

-Prince William and Prince Harry.

-Are they lookalikes?

No, they're not lookalikes. Shut up. This is DIY SOS, the biggest ever, ever, ever build.

CHEERING

John Borge served in the Army for 13 years with the Queen's Royal Lancers.

As a tank commander, he fought on the front line in Afghanistan.

Before that, he met his wife, Emma.

He was so laid-back. Like chalk and cheese, we were.

I was really uptight and things had to be done in a certain way

and he was just, "Let it go." We balanced each other out.

We could laugh quite easily. We could laugh at each other.

And we were really close.

But three years ago Emma, started to see a dramatic change in John's personality.

Emma and John didn't know it at the time,

but he was suffering from a mental illness called post-traumatic stress disorder,

brought on by the terrible things he'd witnessed.

Nothing prepares you for seeing body parts of your mates...

And, again, like, I've seen children just been hit by an IED

and stuff like that, and nothing prepares you for it.

Just seeing that pure horror of what war is actually like.

John's post-traumatic stress manifests itself in severe anxiety

and flashbacks triggered by everyday sights, smells and sounds.

EXPLOSION

GUNFIRE

'For 15, 20 seconds or so, it's like I'm just transported back there.

'And you're reliving something that's happened to you.'

It's just like living in a constant fear of being haunted by things

that you've seen and done.

It does take its toll on you.

John's mental state has also taken a toll on his marriage.

You start questioning yourself. Is it something I have done wrong?

Why can't this person talk to me?

Whereas before, we were really open about everything.

He would wander off.

He would say something and then he would go and he'd be gone for three days

and I wouldn't know where he was.

There was days where I thought he was dead

and I was waiting for the police to knock on the door

to tell me that he had been found, that he had committed suicide.

I just withdrew from myself.

I couldn't talk to Emma and it started causing arguments.

Sadly, Emma and John decided it was best to separate.

And I still love him. And I'll always love him.

And he feels guilty for the things that he has done to us, as a family.

And it's not him. It's not him as a person.

He's not the person who I met, who's doing all that.

John left the family home

and spent six weeks looking for somewhere to live.

Now, back in Manchester, he spends as much time as possible

with their three-year-old son, Noah.

The only times that I relax properly is when I'm with my son.

'He's just such a bright, intelligent and happy boy.'

He just lifts me up all the time.

John's current home is holding back his recovery.

What is it that when you're in this flat,

what is it that triggers those flashbacks, memories?

All the surrounding noise.

I feel...quite isolated here.

The area itself, I feel completely threatened by, all the time.

Just even drunks walking past at night-time.

That just will wake me up instantly and that's it, I'll be on edge.

And I'll just be waiting for something to happen.

-You sleep on the sofa a lot.

-Yeah.

-Why is that?

I just don't feel comfortable in the other room.

This is the only room that I feel comfortable and safe in.

I want to be able to live a normal life.

Do you believe you can mend things with Emma and Noah?

I hope so.

I'm one of those people that just never wants to give up.

Where would you be now if you didn't have Noah?

HE SIGHS

I'd be in the grave. Definitely.

I can't begin to imagine what you have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, I really can't.

But what I can do is motivate people who

want to help and give them an opportunity to help.

It's not unbeatable.

John is determined to conquer his illness and rebuild his life with Noah.

It's for veterans like John that we are attempting to build

a supportive community,

and this rundown street in Manchester is where it's all going to happen.

But we've got our work cut out. This street was once condemned.

Come over here. Look up through the hole in the ceiling

and you'll see there's a hole in the roof there,

which means water's been coming in and those roof beams will be rotten as well.

The scale of this renovation in these places is just ridiculous.

There's nothing left to work with, really, other than the outside walls.

It's a daunting prospect.

Normally, we just take on one property, not a whole street.

Our mission over two episodes is to build three family homes,

a support centre that will provide counselling,

and what we're calling a retraining house, where veterans live

whilst learning skills to build a new career.

In this episode, we're attempting to create a new home where John Borge

can spend time with his son Noah, and that all-important retraining house.

To give us a fighting chance of tackling the entire street,

basic ground works have been going on for a couple of months.

One thing's for sure. To pull this off, we're going to need organisation...

-Right, I want you to look after them. Be nice to them.

-I'm always nice.

-Hello.

-..communication...

-Hello. They're all working.

-..and positivity.

If I'm being perfectly honest, I feel we've bitten off more than we can chew.

We haven't got any floors and we've only got half the roofs on all

the properties, so we're a week behind

where we would normally start.

He gets on my nerves sometimes. OK, so we're behind before we even begin.

We were expecting the basics to be in place. But on the plus side,

we've been advertising for volunteer builders

and this lot are raring to go.

MUSIC: Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo

There's basically 120 years of soot and muck

and rubbish coming out of the intestines of this house.

And it's being cleared all out so we can get a clean,

fresh start with just the shell, but it's a really ugly job in there

and these guys are doing a fantastic job.

Not what I expected, being an electrician.

I'm a painter and decorator.

So I should be getting the clean jobs, but there you go.

Now, admittedly maths isn't my strongest subject,

but looking around, this build just isn't adding up.

I only count about 120 people. I thought we were expecting 350 people?

We were. They haven't turned up.

We haven't got the numbers...

-But this is the numbers that we have just for a standard SOS.

-I know. This is what...

-One house.

-We're not doing one house. We're doing a whole street.

-I'll get Julian in a sandwich board.

We need to get the word out there. People haven't turned up. I'm sorry.

All right. If you get Julian in a sandwich board he'll eat it.

I'm going to talk to the news.

'Because it's our biggest ever build - did I mention that? - there's been a lot of media interest

'and I want them to help us get more people.'

We need a screed company to come on board, we need

a flat roofing system, bricklayers, joiners, general labour and landscapers.

We are not going to finish this, so come on, UK, come out and help us.

That's it, call to arms.

There's loads of people down here already, but they really do need more people to come along.

What we need are 200 more people like this man, Tony,

a builder from South Wales.

Why would you drive all the way from Swansea to Manchester

and take your own time off work, unpaid, to come and work yourself to death in a place like this?

Anybody who signed up for the forces at any time

is one bit of paper away from being posted to a battlefront.

And the people we are doing this for have seen things that we

haven't...we will never comprehend, we will never see.

And they have to live with that afterwards.

So if it means me having two weeks off to give something back to those

who've given so much for the country, that's a small price, in my book.

Do you fancy presenting the show, because you've said that better

than I have ever been able to say it in the entire thing so far? Mate.

Thank you. Thank you.

I feel very emotional now.

He's right, they do deserve it,

and with that kind of spirit, we are going to complete this community.

-We have John's house to do.

-Yeah.

And there are very specific things with his PTSD that we need to

-think about.

-Yeah.

-Can you help that with design?

-Definitely, definitely.

It's all about thinking about the hyper vigilance

and the anxiety that he's going through all the time, so we've got

to completely change the layout so he can always be looking at the exits.

-Right.

-Because they really stress...

He would never want to sit with his back to a door.

He's always got to be sort of aware of what is going on.

You've got to think about natural light,

getting his sleep patterns back into some semblance of normality.

-So John has just not been sleeping at all.

-Yeah.

That is my main worry for him. We've got to get him back sleeping

-and be able to actually just feel comfortable in his house.

-And safe?

And safe, yeah.

On the ground floor, we'll remove the chimney breast so that John's

furniture can be arranged to give him line of sight to the door.

The existing kitchen will be converted into a walk-through study

with a bathroom, and an extension will be built

for the new bespoke kitchen, which will overlook the garden.

Whilst upstairs, the two bedrooms will have their chimney breasts

removed to make a room for John and one for Noah, to let him stay over.

But when you are knocking Victorian houses about, there's things you just can't plan for.

Look at this. It's like a box of broken biscuits behind you, isn't it?

It looks like your kind of work.

My kind of work?!

And why are we having to hold the back of the house on with

-a big strapped beam?

-Basically...

-Oh, God.

..there was a little extension here, a little lean-to, and we took it away.

-Yes, it came up to here, on this bit here.

-It came out to here on that.

So when we took it away, and before the slab was in here,

-this outer skin of the house just moved slightly this way.

-Right.

-So what we've done is...

-It does appear to be disintegrating whilst

you're standing there, which is quite interesting as well.

Most of the street is coming down around our ears.

The council might have stepped in and if we hadn't have got here they'd probably have

-knocked the streets down.

-That was always a danger.

The local residents were saying it was sad that that was probably the only thing that could be done

-up until we turned up. So that's nice.

-Yes.

-Rescue a piece of Manchester

history like this.

You know, people coming out of their houses and saying hello,

and the people who stood up in the Blitz. Wartime blitz spirit.

People chatting to each other. Jumpers for goalposts.

I'm waffling, aren't I? There's no time to be sentimental.

These properties are more dilapidated than any of us thought.

Both those walls must be made structurally sound before we can

forge ahead with our plans for John and Noah's home.

It's just been horrendous, hasn't it? It's amazingly horrendous to even think you're going to

get it done in 14 days or whatever it is.

'It's 12 days, Billy. In fact, 11-and-a-half now.'

How come they've got free ends?

HE LAUGHS

-'Some things never change, do they?'

-No wonder it don't work.

What happened there, then?

Well, there is some construction underway.

The retraining home is being made watertight and at the back, the extension is going up.

The retraining home is key to this new community.

War veterans can find it tough to gain employment

but here, there will be accommodation for four veterans

as they undertake courses at the local college. Homes and jobs.

I haven't had a chance to ask you today.

What do you make of what we're doing in here?

Can you ask me that in a couple of weeks' time?

I know what we're doing and I know why and it's an amazing job.

And once we are successful

and finishing it, other councils throughout Great Britain can

take heed, take note, and look and say,

"Wow, if they can do it, we can do it for our troops."

And that's how I look at it.

That's the most... That is the most... I can't even speak.

That was concise, that was to the point, that was heartfelt.

-It made sense.

-Is there something wrong, then, with me?

I can't speak... I can't... I don't know...

By the end of the first day, we still haven't finished ripping out.

-You've got just a little bit of dirt on your cheek there.

-Gone?

That's it. It's gone.

THEY LAUGH

On a normal big build, we'd be ready for plasterboarding, but here,

we've still to remove chimney breasts before we can create the new layout.

Hoorah! No messing.

Don't get gloves like that or nowt, boys!

Look at them gloves. Holes in them and everything.

Spirits are obviously high, but I'm seriously worried

because without the 350 volunteers we need each day, we are not going

to achieve everything we want to.

I mean, it's just so vast.

It's day two and I'm so anxious I've barely slept. Honestly.

I'm desperate to see if my calls for help have been answered.

There is some interesting man here.

Yeah, is it me? I think it is. Don't you?

Yeah, but worryingly, numbers are down. Just 75 today.

Barely enough to do one house, let alone a whole street.

And it's not just the numbers issue.

I've got decorators turning up.

I've got decorators turning up. I can't decorate these houses!

We can't wire them yet either.

It's just circumstances has put us behind

and that's frustrating for you lads.

You're losing money because you could be out there working.

But this is the nature of this one.

Everyone's got to get in when they can.

Half are standing around like lemons.

They're all... Argh! We need to get in.

It's really difficult refurbing old properties.

These are absolutely falling apart. They're in such a mess.

There is real fear in those eyes and I'm feeling it too.

There are more props here than the Rugby World Cup.

And we are not just tackling houses, we've promised gardens too.

I've roped in my good mate, landscape designer Adam Frost.

# How many kinds of sweet flowers grow

# In an English country garden?

# I bet Adam knows, he's won seven golds at Chelsea. #

Oh, yes(!) No... Adam, this is why we got you in.

I can see what you are aiming for(!)

-It's like an urban shabby chic, isn't it?

-It's all in here. It just needs to be on here.

Adam will be creating a verdant masterpiece at the back of the retraining home.

-And the back of John's place.

-This is John's garden.

Talking to John, it was really about...he wanted somewhere for the little one,

-somewhere where the kid can just engage with nature.

-Nice.

Whereas the top of the garden, cooking area, nice seating. An extension of that house.

And I think people get gardening

and connect with it, it literally can change their lives.

And I think John is going to be...

I really think he will be one of them people.

Adam's plan majors on hard landscaping. Bit of a problem, that.

I can tell you they do the whole drama thing.

You watch this programme and you think, "They are making it up."

I have literally no landscapers whatsoever.

I just need human beings.

Yeah, I can't promise humans, but if Jules and Chris can pass their

heavy machinery exam, they can level the gardens and lay the foundations.

MUSIC: Chicken Man (Grange Hill) By Alan Hawkshaw

-This is actually for real.

-It's like being back at school.

-What's an articulated lock?

-You could cut the tension in here with a knife.

-When did you last take a written exam?

-Probably May 1986.

HE CHUCKLES

-What?

-When I was at school, I never took any exams.

-At all?

-At all.

-I took four.

-I left... I left before the exams started because they said, "Don't bother."

So I just left.

So this is officially the only exam I've ever taken. At 45 years old.

-And how's he'd done?

-He got...

-96!

-Whoa!

-Result!

In the retraining home, there's also been some progress. These two properties are now one.

Come and talk to me. What's your plan of attack here?

-Your steels have arrived.

-My steels have arrived.

-What's your plan of attack?

We're going to get as many men as we can to get these steels in.

This is momentous for the retraining home. It's the first step in creating the open living space where

veterans can relax together whilst they're retraining for their new careers.

One of the first residents will be former corporal, Jack.

Up until now, he's been relying on his family

and long-term girlfriend, Jennifer.

He was the loud guy that everyone knew the most.

You know when you've got those popular kids in school?

He was that one that everyone knew about.

From a child, he was going in the Army.

I think that was looking at his dad and he wanted to do the same.

Jack followed his father into the 3rd Battalion The Rifles.

In 2012, he was posted to Afghanistan with the dangerous role

of detecting improvised explosive devices.

It's one of those jobs where every step you could basically get blown up.

It's all about you giving your life

and that's why... being a soldier, I'm proud of.

And that's how I think every soldier thinks at the end of the day.

You feel nervous and apprehensive

and you think, "Are they going to come home?"

You try your best to cope

and just get by and hope that everything will be OK.

But not long into his tour, everything stopped being OK.

One evening, Jack was on sentry duty and he was shot by a Taliban sniper.

I could feel my face hurting.

All I can remember is someone shouting, "He's dead.

"He's been shot in the head."

And I think that's what made us come back around.

It gave us that adrenaline boost. I knew I was injured.

I knew my life had changed, but I was alive.

A lot of people don't get that lucky.

The bullet had gone right through Jack's left arm

and into the back of his eye, leaving him badly injured.

My brain doesn't function the same. It slurs my speech.

Sometimes I struggle to get words out. It's hard to think.

As well as the physical injuries, Jack, like John, suffers

from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and is only able

to sleep a couple of hours between nightmares and hallucinations.

He'd be asleep and I'd gently touch him

because once I touched him, he sort of freaked out on the bed.

And I thought, "I've just woken him and he must have been

"in a nightmare." And I was trying to calm him and say, "It's just your mum.

"I'm not here to hurt you, son. It's just your mum."

In the Army, it's man up and crack on. If you've twisted your ankle,

man up and crack on.

But not with PTSD. You don't man up about things like that.

It's not just Jack who is living with PTSD. It's everyone close to him.

It's emotionally and mentally draining. And then you've got...

I've got to work, so I've got to carry on with day-to-day life,

be strong for myself, be strong for him, go to work and pretend

everything is fine. People will say, "You're so young, why do this?

"You've still got so much going for you, so much life."

And I think, you don't just give up on people. What's the point?

You'll get nowhere if you just give up on everyone in life.

With the support of his girlfriend and family, Jack's health is starting

to improve and he feels ready - in fact, eager - to get back to work.

He wants to move into the street to retrain for a new career.

Now I've got this opportunity coming, it's going to be motivational

because I've got something to do.

So the impact's going to lessen with this and that's why it's a perfect opportunity.

I've got to get on with my life.

With a place to stay, thanks to the retraining house, this pioneering

project could be life-changing for hundreds of war veterans like Jack.

That's why we've taken on our biggest ever build.

On site, there is a sense of Blitz spirit, even though we're only

fighting over the buns.

-That's yours.

-You check, I've got my name on there. One for me. One for Ron. Later on.

Here come our Devon boys. Super intelligent they are, too.

MUSIC: Combine Harvester (Brand New Key) by The Wurzels

Go on!

The boy over there looks very intense but if I was to ask him,

-"Are you happy?"

-He'd melt.

-He'd melt with happiness.

-Yes.

-Because?

-He is behind the controls of a wheel digger.

-I see. Jules!

Everyone's beaming. There's wooden beams, steel beams, even moonbeams.

But on this site, any joy is short-lived.

-Are we going to get round to firming up the back of this house?

-Yes.

-Who's going to firm up the back of this house?

-The bricklayers tomorrow.

-Yeah, but... There is only one that I could find.

-Do you know what?

If we had the right amount of people on here doing the jobs we needed

to do in the sequence that was laid out, we'd be fine.

We've dropped on people so we've got one problem after the other.

Are you saying...? So one issue is bumping into the next

and into the next and then to the next?

Yes. And it's quite hard to keep up with it.

So you're not doing your comedy, "I'm stressed" or your TV, "I'm stressed" face?

-You're actually stressed.

-I'm actually... Yeah, I am properly stressed.

-Yes.

It's not surprising we're all frazzled

because what we haven't shown you is that at the same time we are

converting a further five properties into homes

and building a support office and doing up the street.

-Oh, dear. We've got to clear that as well.

-Argh!

Yes, this veterans' project is enormous and we couldn't have even

attempted it without the support of the local council and the generosity

of the construction companies, to the tune of millions of pounds.

It's extraordinary. 12 days - no wonder we are under pressure.

We just have to stay calm.

I need help. Help. Help me.

Yes, that's the way(!) Over the next few days, numbers are up.

Not quite the 350 we had hoped for,

but if everyone puts in a double shift...

We could pull this back now with the amount of people we've got on site.

This is incredible. We need a big push now. Thank you all very much.

APPLAUSE

CHATTER

This is inspiring, really, to be honest.

There are so many people on site.

They are all skilled workmen and they've come from all over the country.

We've had people driving up from Swansea, down from Glasgow, across from Hull, up from Kent.

This is now a fully nationwide effort to get this street turned around for us.

It's good. At least we're moving now. We'll get there. We'll do it.

Today, I want to get John's raised beds in,

get that prepped for paving,

so that's ready to go, get this dividing wall in.

And then get these footings all the way through for the back wall.

With more people on site, at last, the back of John's house has been

propped and it's ready to be knocked out, but we've still got to reinforce

those broken biscuits

and I'm not quite sure why there is only a lone ranger on the new

supporting wall when there's a whole army in the garden.

Apparently, I've stole the bricklayers. I think, in reality...

I don't think the bricklayers want to go in there.

-I think that's the truth.

-Understandable, really.

But there are plenty of other trades inside,

many of them former military, including Daz, the plumber. He, maybe more than most,

understands the importance of this veterans' village.

When I came out of the Army, I must admit I had...

I would say I had a certain degree of PTSD.

There's always something in the back of your head, like a demon

that just seems to pop up every so often.

You could be walking down the street and just something, a bang,

or a backfire of a car, or anything, it could just trigger something.

Do you think people who come out and maybe are dealing with PTSD

and things, do you think they still know that people care about them?

No. This is why we are here. We've gave up two weeks' work because this is what it's for.

The support and empathy here on site is overwhelming.

I've never experienced an atmosphere like it.

But unfortunately, for thousands of war veterans like John,

life with post-traumatic stress disorder can be a lonely one.

John is helped by a charity to cope with his PTSD

and he finds spending time at an equestrian centre therapeutic.

When I do have my dark days, I just escape

and this is one of the places I come to escape.

Just to be around the horses...

They know straight away that something is not right.

What was the toughest time, going through this process?

Just the days when I've just felt completely alone.

And to be able to keep reminding myself of Noah and Emma,

they were definitely the toughest.

-Your wife has gone through a lot over the last few years.

-Yeah.

With me and Emma, it got to the point where she literally had

to physically force me to A & E to try and get help.

She knew something was wrong. And...

..I put up a massive fight.

I didn't want to do it. I couldn't accept it within myself. And I'm grateful for that now.

Do you think you're seeing light at the end of the tunnel now, with

the street and the house and having a community of other veterans around?

Yeah. Definitely. I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere.

And what do you think of all the folks that are down there,

-that are working to build the street?

-Completely blown away.

Just really never expected that many people would want...

Or had that respect for veterans.

People do care. I've got 250 people a day on site at the moment making it very clear they care.

The people working on our site who are veterans are saying,

"Just cos you're out of the Army doesn't mean you're out of the family."

And they feel like they are building our house for a family member.

You know, and you're obviously not alone, because people do care,

whether they're veterans or not,

they're all on site working really hard.

You've kept them safe.

Now it's their turn to use their skills to keep you safe.

We're over halfway through our biggest ever build,

although you wouldn't know it. We should've been plastering days ago.

Downstairs, we're only just boarding and, upstairs,

some bedrooms don't even have walls. The Prince of Darkness

and team of sparkies are only just getting stuck in.

There, so everything's got to come down behind that beam.

And, with most of the brickies being used in the garden

and not on John's dodgy wall,

his kitchen/dining extension has ground to a halt.

This is supposed to be a real room, with lovely things in it and... Oh!

It's the room of doom!

I can't... I can't even look at it.

'We're supposed to hand this over in a few days! How would that work?'

So, John... Do you like what we've done with the place?

Yeah, we thought we'd go for the, er, sort of behind-the-scene look,

so you can get a sort of feel of the effort

of the guys putting the plaster on the wall.

'I can feel this whole build unravelling in front of my eyes.'

Let's keep it real.

We'll leave the scaffolding and the roofers there

and, er...I'd like to think we've thought of everything we need.

You know, ventilation - very important in a room.

Um... And lots of it.

-This is ridiculous!

-Yeah, I know.

-How many have we got in here bricklaying?

-Two, Mark.

-Two?

-Yous will get that up, won't you?

-Yeah.

Look, we'll push through it as hard as we can today.

The boys will get this wall up for you.

-It...

-It'll be sorted, Gabbers.

-This whole house...

-I know!

-..is hinging on this flipping brick wall!

-I know, I know.

-And it's...

Not just the brick wall. This wall here as well.

-We are so far behind on this house.

-I know.

-I know.

This is weeks away from being finished and this whole house...

-'It's actually unravelling.'

-It's just... Look!

Everywhere you look, there's just things to finish off everywhere!

You know, I'm trying... I'm trying to be positive.

But I can't.

'And now, Mother Nature has turned against us.'

This has been the most worrying for me.

I thought Peterborough last year was the most worrying,

but this is the most worrying.

And because I've been banging on for ages about, er,

how we can do it and, um...

Like for a year! ..about how we can do this.

So, um, it's slightly worrying that we're now hurtling towards,

the end of our allocated time

and it's not looking like we're going to pull it off.

I mean, not for want of trying and not for want of effort,

but it's just, you know, we just got such a bad start,

it's been very difficult to make up that time.

'With the wet weather slowing us down and morale hitting a low,

'there's only one thing for it - a crisis talk.'

This hasn't been done before,

and there's a very good reason it hasn't been done before -

because it's pretty near impossible.

This is the first time it's ever been where we haven't finished on time

and we can only move this once, we can't move and then move again,

so how many days more do we need?

-We need three days to finish the interiors of those houses.

-Yeah.

-That means we don't reveal till Monday?

-Oh!

We have got to get the interior up to speed.

If we have to push another four days,

we'll have to change all the insurance, the catering,

the storage, the cabins, everything.

I've run out of pants.

SHE SNORTS, OVERLAPPING CHATTER

LAUGHTER

Unbelievable, ain't he?

So that's settled, then -

an extra 72 hours for us and a 40-degree wash for Mark's smalls.

We're now 10 days in and, despite the extra work ahead,

the spirit of the volunteers is up, up, up!

Woohoo!

You see, with the extra three days,

everyone believes we can complete this community for war veterans.

-Tell me you're coming back tomorrow?

-We're coming back tomorrow.

-Definitely?

-Definitely.

-Excellent.

Excellent! Excellent!

The Army kitchen has been working nonstop.

They've rustled up over 7,500 butties!

We've got through a sea of ketchup

and we're rivalling Italy's consumption of pasta!

-What's the food been like?

-Absolutely spot on!

And, at last, Gabby can unleash her interior design!

-Wall! The wall!

-I know!

Thank you so much!

I love this wall now. It's been a bad wall, but now it's lovely.

This is your time!

This is your moment!

That makes me more stressed! You know that makes me more stressed!

Only you can mess it up now.

No, that's the worst thing you could possibly say!

-It's a motivational speech.

-No, no, but you...

You know this makes me worse! How am I going to sleep now?

-I'm not going to sleep now at all until we finish.

-No time for sleep.

'No-one's sleeping. The volunteers have been working all hours

'to try and keep the build on track.

'No wonder emotions are running high.'

This room, this is going to be...

John's kitchen. And at the moment, he doesn't even have a table to...

-To be honest...

-..be with his son. This is going to be so important.

Some of the people I've seen on here, it's upsetting.

The people who're coming in, it's upsetting.

-How do you mean?

-Because of what they've been through.

And what they've got.

-Excuse me.

-Oh, darling!

-No, it's...it's upsetting.

-Are you all right?

-That's why I'm doing it.

I'm sorry.

-It is.

-You'll get me going now!

-Sorry.

-You're such a lovely man, Paul. Thank you very much.

No, it's not that. It's...it's not about me. It's about these...

-That's right.

-What you crying for?

-I know! You've messed up my make-up now!

-HE LAUGHS:

-Go on, I'm all right.

-All right, darling.

The dedication here is amazing. Everyone's feeling it.

Everyone's pushing on to help the veterans that will benefit,

and the importance of the project has now extended

way beyond the boundaries of the site.

For the first time ever, we're being visited by royalty.

The servicemen themselves, the Duke of Cambridge

and Prince Harry have asked to see Veteran Street with their own eyes.

-Oh, there's Nick.

-Good morning, Nick.

Good morning, your Royal Highnesses, I think is appropriate.

-Is that right? How are you?

-Yeah, very well, thanks, very well.

-Thanks for coming. Can I introduce you to my team?

-Yeah.

Then we'll get started on filming and chatting as we go along.

-Smashing!

-You don't look like you've been working hard.

LAUGHTER Everyone says that and it's like...

We've gone from people who actually work

into people who are now managing over 300 people a day,

-so you just spend all day on a radio, organising.

-All right? Oh, yeah?

But... No, well, that's my excuse. LAUGHTER

Come and say hello.

'I've briefed the team on Royal etiquette.'

-Mark Millar.

-Hi.

-Hi, Mark, nice to meet you.

-Adam Frost, doing the landscapes.

-The gardening fellow?

-I am.

-Chelsea Flower Show?

-Yeah!

-Yes?

-LAUGHTER

-BILLY:

-Lovely to meet you, Sausage!

-Looking forward...

-Sausage?

-Your Royal Sausage!

-Royal Sausage?

Sorry, no, he calls everyone... That's not rude! That's, er...

-He calls...he calls...

-That's a compliment?

-Yeah, he calls everyone Sausage, so.

-When I walk down the street,

instead of Billy, they say, "All right, Sausage?"

-Right, OK.

-And I just say, "Be lucky."

-LAUGHTER Yes.

-But this is amazing!

It's going to be a long day if you keep calling me Sausage.

LAUGHTER

'Trust Billy! You can't change him. Trust me, we've tried.'

-There's a lot of people not doing much here.

-You're causing a stir,

but I'm hoping that'll settle down once we get into it.

'Yeah, fat chance!'

CHEERING

-I've never seen so many happy people on a site.

-They are.

-Unbelievable.

-No-one's fallen out yet.

-Exactly!

-It might on the last day.

-Yeah.

-What is this? This is 620,000 homes, someone told me...

-Oh, yeah.

..that are empty around the UK and we've got a housing issue anyway.

-People need to come together and go, "Right, what can we do?"

-Yeah.

Look at Manchester, they've done it.

Let's start getting these places up and running again!

This community's already built, they already sort of exist.

-Think of the street parties you can have down here.

-That's it.

-You know.

'But the princes don't just want to look! They want to get stuck in.'

-We're going in this one, I think.

-Yeah?

-This one?

'I'm taking the Duke of Cambridge into the retraining home

-'to help with a missed coat.' How are we doing, lads?

-Hi, guys.

-How are you? Hi, there.

-Gentlemen, how are we doing?

'Prince Harry is being set to work in John's garden.'

-Harry, I'd like you in here and on slagging.

-Yeah.

Get you on there and, um, get in here with Julian and Adam.

What do you want me to do?

-Once I've gone, will you rip this up and start again or not?

-Grab this!

-Of course not!

-You can't, cos you're up against the time limit.

-Grab that.

-No, I have ripped a few things up.

You boys should actually be working!

LAUGHTER We are!

I'm sure you've seen a prince lay a paving stone before! Go on!

-Get back to work!

-We're learning! We're learning!

If you want to learn, then stay and watch!

I now know why you're three days behind as well!

Right, come on.

Not a bad painter, to be honest.

Better than me, which is slightly embarrassing.

-Nick, I think yours is a bit weak.

-What?

-There are holes there.

-No...

Look at this, that's perfect. That looks absolutely immaculate.

-What's going on there?

-I can't believe it!

-Ha-ha!

-Unbelievable!

-This is the first time you've done this, isn't it?

-But...like...

Like, as if I don't get enough from you lot,

as soon as we get a VIP in, I'm getting it as well.

'I think we got over the incident where Billy called Harry "Sausage".'

-Sorry, Saus, just coming through.

-You going through? Where you off to?

-Outside, we've got lots of garden lights to go in and deal with.

-OK.

We've just got the boys to have a look at 'em and get 'em done.

-Fantastic, good.

-And the light that's going underneath...

-Very nice.

-..the cabinets.

-Yeah? Good.

-We've got the same name.

-Ha-ha!

-Tell them what our name is.

-Prince of Darkness.

-There you go!

LAUGHTER

Love you! Love you, William!

-Er...

-Yeah, sorry about that.

-No, not at all.

-He's different.

-He's lovely.

-Yeah.

Nice to meet you. How you doing? What's your role on here?

-Plumbing and heating engineer.

-OK.

-Are you helping out for free or...?

-Yes.

-You are?

-Yeah.

-Why?

-Because it's the right thing to do, innit?

-Cool.

These people have literally put their lives on the line for us.

-Yeah.

-And it's a chance for the rest of us to say...

Do you know something? this is the least we can do for them! The least.

Good incentive to everybody else, that if you...

if you work hard and honour your country,

then you'll get looked after afterwards.

If you're not going to get looked after afterwards,

what kind of a country are we, you know, proving to be?

-As you said, it's the right thing to do.

-Yeah.

-Good on you. Nice to meet you.

-Very pleased to meet you, sir.

-Nice one.

Right, Harry, let's get this one in.

-Come on, then.

-You take that end.

-This is as big as you.

-It is, almost!

I know that both you and your brother have been

very keen on this community idea.

Yeah, having that, um, that brotherhood, that family feel,

means an awful lot to the guys, because it's very alien

being out on your own in the middle of nowhere.

-Yeah.

-Um, and a lot of people don't understand what you've been through.

And some of the guys, as you pointed out earlier,

have been through very traumatic times.

They don't want to share that sort of nastiness with people

who don't really get it or haven't lived that, because it's not...

They don't do that, it's not that easy to do.

-And also, our military personnel are very proud.

-Yeah.

-And rightly so.

So it's very hard that, if the service isn't there,

they're not the kind of guys to go and complain about it.

They suck it up and they get on with it and they deal with it,

but they don't complain, you know, they're the most sort of modest,

kind of upstanding people you'd ever want to meet.

'Those sentiments are shared by the veterans on site.'

Maybe in two years' time, we'll have then of these.

-That would be fantastic.

-That's what it needs.

There doesn't seem to be an awful lot of work going on in there!

-He's got his hands in his pockets!

-NICK: Are you talking about us?

Get your hands out of your pockets! That's better!

-He's got his hands in his pockets?!

-Get on with it!

-Yeah, look, look!

It's because we're finished! Because we're finished.

'You can't question the future King's DIY skills, can you?!'

-Would you be happy with that?

-No, obviously not!

I wouldn't want to live here with that!

I'll tell you what, I'll finish his bad job.

Good man, you finish it off for him.

-'Is he talking about mine or his brother's work?'

-Thanks very much.

LAUGHTER

What is it? If a job's worth doing...

All right, let that the dry, guys,

and then come back for a second coating, all right?

-What? No, no, I've gotta go.

-HE LAUGHS

That's it, I'm done! Knackered!

-We've got to push through.

-Cheers, guys.

-All the best.

'This visit has been a massive boost to the build.

'Knowing we have Royal support will spur us all on.

'Right, that was nice, but everyone back to work, please!

'We've still got loads to do. Loads!'

Darling, it looks absolutely gorgeous!

Noah is going to love this. Thank you so much.

It's complete and utter chaos at the moment,

but it actually looks like it's coming together.

'The volunteers have been relentless for two weeks

'and, no matter how hard we try...'

This is the to-do list.

This is what we've gotta do to get out of that house!

'..nothing can shake their spirit and determination,

'so keen is everyone to let our war veterans know we all care.'

-For our office, mate.

-'For the dartboard, obviously.'

-I love you, Nick Knowles.

-Aw, mate! I love you too, Billy Boom!

There's light at the end of the tunnel.

We're going to hand this over to the families and stuff.

But myself and an awful lot of other people here are completely broken,

to tell you the truth. I am.

-That's two faces that look very tired, innit?

-Yeah.

-Look.

'Yes, we might be going slightly bonkers, but we are at a milestone.'

Finally, we have two properties finished

and we can hand them over to veterans. Just 14 days ago,

these two Victorian terraced properties were uninhabitable.

But now, after knocking them into one, it's ready to serve

as a home for veterans who want to retrain in their careers.

The entrance hall and sumptuous living room is now double width,

where they can hang out after a day learning new skills,

rebuilding their lives.

The large walk-in wet room not only looks stunning,

but can be used by anyone.

The bedrooms are spacious and well-lit.

The kitchen's fully equipped to encourage cooking together

and its stylish dining area offers the veterans

a chance to bond over dinner.

And when the weather allows,

everyone can spill outside into our wheelchair-friendly garden.

The first veteran to move in will be Jack Lamb, who's recovering

from post-traumatic stress disorder and a bullet wound to the head.

I knew I was injured, I knew my life had changed,

but I was alive, you know?

A lot of people don't get that lucky.

He's going to stay here while he trains to become an electrician.

In his bedroom, we've decorated it

to be a cosy retreat for a positive future.

This is where Jack's new journey begins.

That's amazing, that.

It's a lot more than I expected.

Well, the thing is, if you are going to be here for a while

on a training course and, you know, spending some time,

you want it to feel like home.

It feels it, already, just walking in.

Having lived in the Army accommodation... Basically, we had

a locker and a bed and that's what I was expecting at first, so this...

You thought you were going to come in and see a line of lockers and beds.

Well, I knew it would be amazing

but I didn't think you could pull this off.

It's massively... I can't even put it into words.

-Do you want to have a look at the rest of it?

-Definitely.

It's lovely, that, like.

You've even got a photo of me and my girlfriend already.

Of course.

It's really nice and I can't thank anyone enough.

Again, you don't need to say thank you, mate,

it's about all of us saying thank you to you.

That just means everything.

I can't even put it into words, this. I can't believe it.

It's one of the nicest kitchens I've ever seen in my life.

Now I know, it's mostly all donated.

You don't know how kind of life-changing that can be.

Why is it so important to you that people have actually given this?

You go home and sometimes you feel like people don't care.

I know they do but this proves it.

This proves that people do actually support you.

It is a lovely deck, that's nice.

I will have to learn how to look after flowers now.

You really will, cos the guy who designed this

-is actually a world-famous garden landscape designer.

-Is he?

-And he says you can have this...

-Yeah.

-..as long as you commit

-to making sure it's all right.

-Oh, definitely.

I wanted my own independence.

I know I've got injuries. I know I've got a brain injury,

I know about my arm injury, but this is going to be me,

this is going to be my place.

It's going to make us human again

and that is what you set out to do, at the end of the day.

I think this is going to 100% give me an opportunity

to make the best of myself now.

Two weeks ago, we met John -

feeling isolated and unsafe,

trapped in a noisy flat, reliving nightmares.

It's just like living in a constant fear

and being haunted by things that you have seen and done.

But now, with the generosity of the building community,

we've created a home for John, somewhere he can bring his son, Noah.

The colours are muted and calm to help John feel safe and secure.

Just off the living room,

there is a private study area for John to retrain,

where his medals are now proudly displayed.

Noah loves bath-time, so the bathroom will be perfect for splashing fun.

The new kitchen will ensure John and Noah can bond over mealtimes.

And in the garden, to help John relax...

..we've added the sound of water, a stylish dining area and raised beds.

And for Noah, a kids zone to enjoy.

John has trouble sleeping, so we have soundproofed the walls

and turned his bedroom into a restful haven

so he can get the peace he needs.

And finally, Noah's bedroom - a room of his very own -

an Alpine-inspired wonderland to encourage play and fun.

I can't wait to show it to him.

How is it?

Completely blown away.

It's absolutely amazing.

It's just coming in and just seeing the picture of Noah

and just his face like that...

Take yourself over and sit in that chair over there

and I'll sit over here.

So there's a few things to point out.

-You want to see your exits?

-Yeah.

-That is important to you.

-Yeah.

-That's right.

-So, if you look to your left, you can see it there,

-front door there, window here.

-Laid out perfectly, yeah.

Also, listen.

-Quiet.

-The house has been really heavily soundproofed.

Really heavily soundproofed, so you shouldn't be affected

by noises in the street, or bangs and crashes

-when people are picking up bins or anything like that.

-Yeah.

That is the thing, it's like,

just the slightest bang, it just sets you off straightaway and

puts you really on edge and definitely, like, straightaway,

I just feel nice and relaxed.

-You all right to go and see the rest of it?

-Yeah.

Oh, wow.

Oh, it's just awesome.

-Will this kitchen make a difference, then?

-Definitely.

I'll be trying to encourage people to come round to dinner parties

and stuff like that.

-Your bedroom.

-Oh, my God.

This is just amazing.

I'll definitely be sleeping in here.

It just looks so nice and cosy...

..and relaxing.

And silent.

-No more sleeping on the sofa?

-No.

No, no, I'll definitely be in here.

And here is the other thing,

-that you can't go back to going being who you were.

-No.

-You're a good man...

-Yeah.

-..and you need to start believing that yourself.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

And again, looking after myself, that's what I was saying.

Just...you get into a phase where you neglect yourself

and neglect where you are and stuff like that.

Yeah, again, that just helps.

I'll be very upset with you if you neglect yourself here.

I don't think I will be here, no way.

No, I'll be happy, and I'll just be proud.

-Do you want to see Noah's bedroom?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Come on.

My God!

This is just awesome.

Just great to have...for him to have his own room.

-Like a tepee sort of bed thing going on.

-Yeah, that is lush.

He's going to love it here.

He's really going to love it.

I really can't wait to see his face when he comes in here.

-Shall we go and get him, then?

-Yeah.

And in you go.

Off you go. Look at this.

-Look at this, Noah.

-Oh, wow.

-Little fishes.

-Look at the fishes.

-It's lovely, John.

-It's awesome, isn't it?

Yeah, it's really nice.

You want to go and see the rest?

-That's it.

-That's it...

-Go on in.

-..and in you go.

In you go.

Look at this, Noah.

Oh, wow.

-There's my car.

-Is that for you?

-Is this your new room?

-Yes, for me! And they are my cars.

Look at your bed.

Look at this bed.

Wow.

Are you going to be in there?

-And my fox.

-With your fox?

He's going to love going to sleep in that.

I want to get in!

-Shall we do some bedtime reading?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Have you noticed how much John is smiling?

-Yeah, yeah, a lot.

You said you hadn't seen that in a long time.

We've not seen it in a very long time. He is really happy.

Wow, look at this.

-Is this your new table for dinner time?

-Yeah.

-We can sit down and have dinner together.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

For washing the plates.

-Yeah, you can wash your plates.

-Yeah. And also...

-Don't touch it.

-No.

-Are you going to help Daddy wash the dishes when you come and stay?

-Yeah?

Out we come.

-Oh, wow.

-What do you think, Noah?

-Is this your new garden?

-Yeah.

-Digger!

-And you've got a digger.

Shall we go and see your little play area?

How is it, seeing Noah come into this house with John?

Oh, I think it's absolutely brilliant.

John already seems happier and Noah thinks it's absolutely fantastic.

And they can be a proper family together in the house,

whereas at the moment, I think John tries to get out of the flat

cos it's not a nice place to live.

You've had some very, very tough times together.

Yeah. You can see how this whole project has made a big change

to him. I think it's fantastic.

The thing we haven't been able to talk to people about is that,

when PTSD happens to a soldier, it doesn't only happen to a soldier,

-does it?

-No, no, it happens to the whole family.

It has a massive impact on the whole family,

and not just me and Noah, I'm talking about wider family as well.

It destroys lives. It does destroy lives.

We had hopes and dreams of what our future would be when we got married,

and none of that sort of come to light because of the PTSD.

It's just ripped the family apart.

But if the guys can get the support like they have here,

where they've got a community around them, you can see a brighter future?

Yeah, I see a brighter future, definitely.

He can relate to people and he's not isolated,

he's not on his own, he can go and get the help that he needs.

You all right, mate? I can see you listening.

Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Is it..?

-I just feel sorry for everything, really.

It's just completely ripped us apart.

Like Emma said, we had hopes and dreams of doing

lots of different things and then literally, I destroyed it all.

-No...

-You didn't destroy it, it is PTSD that destroyed it.

-I'm happy that you're happy.

-I am.

I'm just glad you're here.

I'm so glad you're happy.

Yeah. I'm just so sorry about everything.

-Thank you for being here.

-No, I support you.

-I know.

I support you.

I just feel guilty for everything.

MUSIC: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

-Noah's making a mess already!

-He's having fun.

Adam, who designed these gardens,

he'll be very upset he's digging it all out and putting it all over...

Look, already his digger's gone to work there. Look at this.

-He's digging up the plants...

-Yeah.

-..he's digging up the...

Let's sweep that back in before Adam sees it.

I'm already in trouble. EMMA LAUGHS

Thank you very much for everything that you've done.

Do you know what? There's been, like, hundreds of people

-that have come from all over the country to do this...

-Yeah.

-..cos people understand, you know?

-Yeah.

We just need more people to understand.

-Do you want to meet some of the people that built it?

-Definitely.

MUSIC: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You deserve the round of applause more than us.

-It must have been some effort, like.

-LAUGHTER

I would like to thank everything for what you have done.

It's an amazing job, like.

You've made England proud, you've made Britain

and the service proud.

CHEERING

What you've achieved in such a short space of time is just unbelievable.

I just can't thank you enough, and to see Noah's face when

he walked into his own room - to have his own room -

it just blew me away. It really did.

And he is just going to absolutely love it there now, aren't you?

It is a tough battle, isn't it, to come to terms with it?

The PTSD, it changed everything,

it changed the person who I married and today,

all the hard work that you guys have put in, it is a fresh start,

and it is a start of a chance for a new life for us.

And to build on that and to start again, it's just fantastic.

Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I mean it, thank you.

But we're only halfway through.

Next week, our biggest ever build continues.

The deadline has moved, it's not going to move again.

As we take on a house for Lamin, a soldier who has given

so much for his country.

I was devastated.

But we also need to build a support centre for our veterans.

Where is the floor?

And if that wasn't enough, we have the entire street to finish.

Cheers, thank you.