What screens is a slightly shorter version of the original episode, plus a nine-minute segment where McCloud swings by two years after the couple moved in. It follows the usual Grand Designs formula of Grand Vision, Everyone's Excited, McCloud Has Reservations, Major Hurdle and The Finished Product, but with a new Test of Time preceding a new Profound Closing Comment.
Grand Designs uses more or less the same formula each episode, but that's because it works so well - and McCloud keeps things fresh and interesting. In this episode, we see him build a strong, unforced rapport with the couple, trading dry quips with "Linc" and ribbing Lisa over the cow-poo-and-yoghurt cladding. I like McCloud's focus on the people behind the buildings: their needs, pressures, stress, relationships, compromises and how, after they shape the house, the house shapes them. I also like that he's no passive commentator but an active participant who's keen to muck in.
Over 14 years, we've seen McCloud's frown lines deepen and seen his hair thin. He's still strangely sexy and immensely likeable, partly because he takes the show seriously, but not himself.
After 140-odd episodes, he still gets excited about every project. At the same time, he's always upfront with the owners about any concerns - and can say a lot with a pause or eyebrow raise - but is happy to be proved wrong. Who else would make little models from cardboard, sellotape, blu-tack or whatever's at hand to explain complex concepts?
He's the best in the biz.
