ESTATE IN A STATE...
A ROYAL GRAND DESIGN
ITV, 9pm
THE grandest design of all, this fascinating film – 10 years in the making – tells how King Charles carried out an incredibly ambitious plan to save a dilapidated 18th century stately home and turn it into a self-sufficient, community gem.
“It was an appalling risk,” says the monarch. “I wanted to see if at the same time as saving a house I could make a difference to the local area.”
Dumfries House and its 2,000-acre estate, located 27 miles south of Glasgow in the most rundown area of the UK, was a massive gamble for his royal highness. However, he led a consortium that paid £45m for the crumbling estate.
Not only did he plan to restore the house and the original 18th-century furniture – made by Thomas Chippendale – but there were grand plans for the grounds.
As well as bringing back to life a walled garden, he planned a horticultural and education centre, a cookery school, a textiles and heritage centre, an outdoor adventure centre, a teaching farm, a STEM complex, an artists’ studio and an architectural centre.
From an 11th-hour save of the furniture – halted on the motorway at 1am on route to be auctioned off – to the moment the late Queen Elizabeth II opened the walled garden, this is a heartwarming tale of a real passion project.
HRH says: “It was such a special place. I knew if we hadn’t stepped in and saved it, it would have joined the list of more derelict country houses.”
CORONATION STREET
ITV, 8pm
A desperate Stephen calls Six Fellas, the fast food company, and begs them to give him his job back. Making out to Gail that the call is about a business meeting, he hurries off, unaware he’s dropped his phone.
Maria meets with Munir and Daryan to discuss the refugee centre but they are horrified to be confronted by Griff and his entourage.
Summer and Aaron exchange guilty looks as Mike and Esther tell Summer they’ve redecorated the spare room for her.