Grand Designs Revisits
Sunday 18 June 7.30pm
Series 20, Episode 1 of 4 North Devon
In 2011 Edward and Hazel set out to build an art deco lighthouse on the North Devon coast. By 2019 they were almost bankrupt, the lighthouse just a rusting shell. Three years on, Kevin is back to see if anything has changed with this disastrous project.
Kevin McCloud returns to North Devon for the highly anticipated lighthouse revisit episode.
Back in 2011, Edward and Hazel set out to build a brand-new art deco lighthouse complex, complete with infinity pool, on an exclusive stretch of North Devon coastline. To create their dream, the couple had already spent £1.4 million on their plot and intended to spend another £1.8 million more on their giant, bright white four-storey lighthouse, all to be complete in 18 months.
But almost immediately their optimistic plan ran into trouble. The lender that had approved their huge £1.8 million loan pulled out and Edward was forced to radically re-think. A smaller second house was built on the side of the plot, the sale of which was meant to finance the main project, but to no avail.
Regardless, their old house on site was demolished and painstaking piling work began on the new lighthouse, instantly eating up their entire £200k contingency.Consumed by a spiral of borrowing and debt, by the end of 2019 Edward’s great gamble had him on the verge of bankruptcy. His marriage to Hazel was seemingly over, and the lighthouse itself was just an ugly rusting steel and concrete shell.
It was one of the saddest Grand Designs episodes ever.
But now 3 years on, Kevin is back to see if anything has been salvaged from this disastrous project. Have millions been found to finally complete the lighthouse and if so, who might be living there? Full of trepidation, Kevin is in Devon to find out…
Production credit: FremantleMedia Ltd t/a Naked West. Exec Producers: John Lonsdale and John Comerford.
Flyways – The Extraordinary Story of Migratory Shorebirds
Tuesday 20 June 8.30pm
Flyways tells the story of the world’s most incredible athletes – shorebirds – and documents the pressures placed on these birds by climate change and ever-expanding human development.
These birds travel vast distances during their epic, annual migration, flying from the Southern Hemisphere to the Arctic to breed. Yet new urban developments are threatening the birds as they make their return journey.
How do they navigate such mindboggling distances? How are they able to stay aloft for days without stopping to refuel? Seeking to answer these and other questions, the film revels in the beauty and wonder of migratory shorebirds.Documenting the pressures placed on these birds from climate change and ever-expanding human development, this film reveals uncomfortable truths but also shows us how to help save these tenacious birds from precipitous declines.
Production credit: A Storyland production for the ABC. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. Financed with support from ZED, Public Television Service Taiwan and Screen Queensland. Local distribution by Antidote. International sales by WNET Group and ZED. Producer/Director/EP Randall Wood, Producer Rebecca McElroy, Executive Producer Aline Jacques, Trish Lake, Odilla O’Boyle, David Elisco, Sean B. Carroll, Christine Le Goff, Manuel Catteau, Wuan-Ling Guo. ABC Commissioning Editor Stephen Oliver.
Classic 100 LIVE Symphony Gala
Saturday 24 June 7.30pm
Music lovers of all instruments unite!
ABC will showcase Australia’s most popular instruments with the Classic 100 in Concert, in partnership with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
ABC is partnering with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to bring to life this year’s Classic 100 search for Australia’s favourite instrument with a very special concert.
Premiering Saturday, 24 June, at 7.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview, the Classic 100 in Concert will give music lovers from across the nation a chance to celebrate their favourite instruments, as voted by them.
Hosted by ABC’s National Music Correspondent Zan Rowe, ABC Presenter Jeremy Fernandez and ABC Classic radio host Genevieve Lang, the concert will highlight the most popular instruments and what makes them so beloved.
Performed at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, under the baton of Principal Conductor in Residence and Creative Director Benjamin Northey, Australia’s best classical artists will showcase the sonic beauty of each instrument alongside an array of special guests.
Production credit: An ABC Production. Head Screen, Sport & Events Kath Earle. Manager Events & Content Partnerships Janet Gaeta. Content Manager ABC Classic & ABC Jazz, Kat McGuffie
