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The Worst Episodes of Grand Designs

Every episode of Grand Designs ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Grand Designs!

The Worst Episodes of Grand Designs

British television series which features unusual and often elaborate architectural homebuilding projects.
  1. Background image for Inverted V Roof, Buckinghamshire
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    #1 - Inverted V Roof, Buckinghamshire

    S3:E5

    Tom and Judy wanted more than just a home for themselves and their two children. On a site of outstanding natural beauty in Buckinghamshire, they set out to build an ambitious house - a symphony of angles, glass walls and exposed steel, with a dramatic inverted roof. Tom made himself site manager and main contractor. He had no experience but he liked a challenge - and, after all, how difficult could it be?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for The Former Electricity Sub-Station: Revisited
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    #2 - The Former Electricity Sub-Station: Revisited

    S3:E11

    Kevin McCloud catches up with a couple he met some years when they set about the task of converting a disused electricity substation in Sunderland into a four-bed family home

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Yorkshire: The 14th Century Castle
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    #3 - Yorkshire: The 14th Century Castle

    S7:E1

    Every Englishman’s home is his castle but for Francis Shaw this is quite literally true. He and his wife, Karen, and their two young daughters, bought the ruins of a 14th Century castle in Yorkshire and took on the remarkable challenge of turning a pile of stones into a beautiful home. Surrounded by rolling green fields, the location is idyllic; however, the castle itself was little more than four crumbling walls.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Thatched Cottage, Hampshire
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    #4 - Thatched Cottage, Hampshire

    S7:E2

    Eight years ago Alex and Cheryl Reay left London for a new life in the New Forest. They bought a run down medieval thatched cottage and lovingly brought it back to life. Then just before Christmas, with Cheryl pregnant, disaster struck. A fault in the chimney caused a massive fire which destroyed the entire building. Overnight Alex and Cheryl had lost almost £400,000. Whilst most people would have walked away from this, Alex and Cheryl couldn’t let go of their dream. Nine months after the fire, they decided to start all over again and rebuild the cottage, bigger and better than before.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Eco-barge, Medway
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    #5 - Eco-barge, Medway

    S7:E3

    Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Lai lived in a tiny flat in East London with their two children Alexion and Tayszea. It was very tight for space and as the kids grew they really felt in need of more room. Chris and Sze are both social workers on low incomes and they have very little in the way of savings.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for The Bournemouth Penthouse
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    #6 - The Bournemouth Penthouse

    S7:E4

    James and Katrin Gray live in Bournemouth on the south coast. James runs his own book distribution business and Katrin works for an investment bank. They used to live in an apartment on the second floor of a former Victorian hotel. But three years ago, James bought the top floor flat. It was originally built as a solarium for the hotel in the 1920’s where holiday-makers could soak up the sun. Now James and Katrin plan to convert it into a modern, luxury penthouse

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for The Eco-House: Revisited
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    #7 - The Eco-House: Revisited

    S7:E5

    Kevin revisits Andrew and Lowri Davies who embarked on a project to build an environmentally friendly farmhouse in rural Wales. Encouraged by their architect, they opt for some state-of-the-art experimental building materials; but do their builders know how to use them? As the budget spirals out of control, they find it increasingly difficult to balance the budget with their desire for a sustainable home.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Birmingham: The Birmingham Church
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    #8 - Birmingham: The Birmingham Church

    S7:E6

    Dean Marks has dreamt of living in a church for as long as he can remember. After searching for the right building for years, he came across St Martin’s near Birmingham, a huge 18th century grade II listed church which looks more like a mausoleum. The church wanted £25,000 for it but Dean knocked them down to £12,500. Now, after fighting for planning permission for four years, Dean and his wife, Hilary, are about to transform this derelict monstrosity into a family home.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Guildford: The Art Deco House
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    #9 - Guildford: The Art Deco House

    S7:E7

    When Pilots Andrew Berry and his wife Helen bought their cottage near Guildford in Surrey 7 years ago they always planned to add a small extension. But over the last few years the modest extension has evolved so much that retaining any of the original cottage simply wasn’t practical. Now it’s being completely demolished to make way for a new five bedroom Art Deco style house.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Revisited: The Sliding Glass Roof House, Peckham
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    #10 - Revisited: The Sliding Glass Roof House, Peckham

    S7:E8

    Monty Ravenscroft and Clare Loewe bought a plot of land in Peckham to build their own home - only to be told it was too small for a traditional house. Engineering expert Monty designed a space-age property with a sliding glass roof and mezzanine bedroom pods, and as they grapple with unexpected obstacles, Kevin McCloud visits them to discover how the ambitious project has progressed.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Revisited: The Oak-Framed House, Argyll
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    #11 - Revisited: The Oak-Framed House, Argyll

    S7:E9

    Musicians Tony and Jo Moffat began building a spectacular modern home on a plot with a view to die for on the west coast of Scotland. They decided on a very experimental design which combined a medieval cruck oak frame with stainless steel and concrete, based on a Norwegian Longhouse. Kevin McCloud returns to find out if this remarkable avant garde house is a success and whether Tony and Jo can afford to keep it.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Cambridge: The Cambridgeshire Eco Home
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    #12 - Cambridge: The Cambridgeshire Eco Home

    S7:E10

    Kelly and Masoko Neville set about building not just a spectacular oak frame and straw bale house, but a whole new way of life in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Kelly is a carpenter by trade and has always dreamed of building an eco friendly home with his own hands. This highly sustainable house, sitting in harmony with nature and its surroundings, will become the base for Kelly and Masoko's new self-sufficient life where they will produce their own food and energy from the land.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Revisited: The Tuscany Castle, Tuscany, Italy
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    #13 - Revisited: The Tuscany Castle, Tuscany, Italy

    S7:E11

    Janne and Howard planned to convert a ruin in the Tuscan hills into a luxurious home. Kevin returns a few years later to check on how it has gone.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for London: The Glass and Timber House
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    #14 - London: The Glass and Timber House

    S7:E12

    In this episode Kevin meets master carpenter Bill Bradley and his wife Sarah, whose plan is to build two identical timber houses in south London, selling one to finance the building of the other.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for The Tree House: Revisited
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    #15 - The Tree House: Revisited

    S12:E9

    Architectural designer Lincoln Miles and his wife found an uninspiring 70s bungalow on the Isle of Wight on a prime piece of land surrounded by unspoilt ancient woodland. Did their unconvential techniques and alternative materials pay off?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for The Disco Home: Revisited
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    #16 - The Disco Home: Revisited

    S12:E10

    In 2010 Claire Farrow and Ian Hogarth embarked on a wild journey to build the ultimate fun family home, right in the heart of London, including a dance floor, DJ booth and sauna.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for The Large Timber-Framed Barn: Revisited
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    #17 - The Large Timber-Framed Barn: Revisited

    S12:E11

    Freddie Robins and Ben Coode-Adams left their cramped two bedroom London flat and took on the conversion of a huge Grade II listed timber framed barn in the Essex countryside. Seven times the size of an average three bedroom house, turning this 500-year-old building into a home was a big project. A year after they finished the house, Kevin returns to discover how Ben and Freddy are adjusting to rural life.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for The Co-Op: 2nd Revisiting
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    #18 - The Co-Op: 2nd Revisiting

    S12:E12

    On the first series of `Grand Designs', a younger Kevin McCloud witnessed as a co-operative of ten families built their own homes on the edge of Brighton. Unpaid, they slogged away for over two years on this pioneering venture, based on designs from architect Walter Segal. A decade later, Kevin returns to see if the houses, and the families that built them, have stood the test of time, and finds himself genuinely inspired.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Revisited – Somerset: Cow Shed
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    #19 - Revisited – Somerset: Cow Shed

    S17:E9

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Harringey, London: Victorian Gatehouse
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    #20 - Harringey, London: Victorian Gatehouse

    S18:E2

    Kevin McCloud meets neurologists Penny Talelli and Mark Edwards, who plan to combine their love of old and contemporary architecture as they transform a derelict Victorian gatehouse in North London. However, the pair soon find themselves struggling to balance their busy working lives alongside project managing the build.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Bolton Revisit
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    #21 - Bolton Revisit

    S23:E10

    In 2015, Paul and Carol's plans to build a fortress-like home on the edge of the wild West Pennine Moors were thwarted when they ran out of money and time. Have they finally finished it?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Devon Revisit
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    #22 - Devon Revisit

    S23:E11

    In the longest revisit in Grand Designs history, Kevin McCloud returns to Devon to see if Sue and Martin's renovation of two ancient barns has finally come to fruition, two decades on.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Northamptonshire 2024
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    #23 - Northamptonshire 2024

    S25:E5

    In Northamptonshire, Adam and Tassy convert a 20-metre-high water tower into a fun family home with curved walls, slides, secret rooms, a firefighter's pole, swimming pool and a sky garden

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Newhaven Revisit 2024
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    #24 - Newhaven Revisit 2024

    S25:E6

    On a nostalgic revisit to the first ever Grand Design, from back in 1999, Kevin finds out if Tim and Jules are still flying high in their timber-framed home on the cliffs above Newhaven

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Worthing 2025
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    #25 - Worthing 2025

    S26:E1

    Howard and Sarah build a radical metallic floating home designed to look like a boat, nestled within an idiosyncratic houseboat community on a tidal estuary near Worthing. But will it sink or swim?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Worst Episodes Summary

"Inverted V Roof, Buckinghamshire" is the worst rated episode of "Grand Designs". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 3/12/2003. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Former Electricity Sub-Station: Revisited".