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Grand Designs UK presenter Kevin McCloud gets his first view of the completed Dutch barn-style house in the Fens - with an annex for the grandparents.
REVIEW: The Dutch barn-house build on
Grand Designs UK is astonishing for lots of reasons, not least for its size, and the fact three generations will be living here – Nathan is not only building a home for his wife and child, but also an annex for his mum and stepdad, who have lived in a trailer for 13 years. But when this show screened in the UK earlier this year, many viewers could only talk about it being a deathtrap for a toddler, and the fact it looked like a giant crematorium. Which is pretty sad.
Guaranteeing at least a giggle or three,
Patriot Brains (Wednesday, April 7, 8.30pm, TVNZ2) is an all-new panel show pitting comics from both sides of the Tasman against each other. Who knows the most about their own country? Who will be named and shamed as uneducated patriots? A regular guest on panel shows back in his own country of Great Britain, good-natured host Bill Bailey will moderate this age-old rivalry. Spoilt for laughs, the following evening sees the returns the return of two favourites.
7 Days (Thursday, April 8, 8.30pm, Three) needs no introduction, it’s become a staple in the national diet, not only providing periodic relief, but also a platform from which local comedians can launch careers. One example is good-natured volunteer journalist Guy Williams, who now hosts
Kevin McCloud returns to showcase more distinctive homes in a new season of Grand Designs UK.
Grand Designs UK kicks off a new season on our screens this Thursday, so we thought this was a good time to recap a few highlights and lowlights of the last couple of years. Because drama is a given on this show – not on every build, but there’s enough pathos to make you wonder why anyone would ever want to build a home unusual or large enough to feature on this show. While the local version has come under attack recently for manufacturing drama, it seems this is rarely necessary in the UK. These people do it all by themselves.