To The Manor Bowen (2007)

It’s all change for the Llewelyn-Bowen family. After almost 20 years of ‘London Living’ Laurence has a problem. His wife Jackie wants the two of them and their daughters Cecile (11) and Hermione (8) to up sticks and move to the country. She’s always dreamed of a huge house to entertain friends and family in, and an acre or two of land in which to create an exquisite garden. Now in her 40s, she wants Laurence to turn that dream into reality. The only trouble is Laurence is not convinced, he loves the city and they already have a perfectly lovely London town house. But Jackie wins Laurence around and goes to view her first house, a 20 roomed manor house in Gloucestershire. She falls in love with the 400 year old manor house and before you can say Lady Llewellyn Bowen, she’s put in an offer of £1.3 million – and it’s accepted. Now all she has to do is sell it to Laurence!

Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen’s has moved Laurence, Cecile (11) and Hermione (8) to a 400 year old manor house in Gloucestershire, to escape the rat race and live the rural dream. It’s Laurence’s job to turn the 20 tatty rooms he now owns into a 21st century designer residence. Laurence wants to make it the ultimate expression of Llewelyn-Bowen design, but first he has to get round the local planning department. His 17th Century home is Grade 11 listed, so celebrity designer or not, Laurence’s scheme needs their thumbs up before he can start work. Not only does the scheme prove tricky with the authorities it also gives Jackie’s budget a bit of a bashing when the estimate comes back with a whopping 50,000 grand over what she has in the bank. But Jackie has her own financial weak spot, the garden and while Laurence’s interiors are stalled, she gets on with hiring some muscled men to do her bidding in the flowerbeds. Laurence has already had to pay to move his design team, Jackie’s office, Jackie’s PA and family, out to Gloucestershire and is feeling the pressure. Faced with spiralling costs, he starts dreaming up other moneymaking schemes to get him out of their financial hole. What about a haunted tour to visit the resident ghost? All he has to do is find one, and he calls in Johnny Depp’s physic to do just that!

Laurence and Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen have moved out of London to a 400 year old manor house in the country with their daughters Cecile (11) and Hermione (8) to escape the pressures of celebrity life and live the rural dream. Laurence is planning to remodel the entire house while the family are living there, meaning they are preparing for at least 6 months of living with the builders. As the builders arrive to rip the guts out of the house Laurence escapes to a celebrity appearance leaving Jackie holding the fort. But when Jackie escapes to London leaving Laurence in charge – disaster! Laurence double books Sunday with two big photo-shoots, and when Lady Llewellyn-Bowen returns to find she has a working weekend everyone takes cover! Looks like celebrity pressures just followed them to the countryside. The Llewellyn Bowen’s kiss and make up just in time for a romantic night at the Ritz to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary.

It’s four months since the Lewelyn-Bowen’s turned their back on London for a new life in the country, but instead of rural tranquillity all they’ve had is dust, noise and builder stress. Even Laurence is feeling uncharacteristically down. “I almost feel like someone has decided to pay me back for all those years of doing this to other people’s houses.” As the building work reaches its dirtiest and noisiest stage, their 20 room house seems more like a war zone than a designer pad. Tempers fray as Laurence reveals the colour for his groovy retro kitchen – guacamole. Jackie sees red (or green!) and throws a whole pot of it over the long-cuffed creative. To lift spirits, Jackie decides to throw a summer party – a joint celebration of Jackie’s, Cecile and Hermione’s birthdays. However the party is double the size of an average wedding, and for a family living out of suitcases and cooking in a shoebox it’s one hell of an undertaking. Everything is going to plan until with just one week to go, Gloucestershire is hit by the worst floods on record. Will Jackie’s mammoth party have to take a rain check?

Jackie and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen are living in their 400 year old manor house as it is remodelled around them into a Llewelyn-Bowen classic. The worst floods in living memory threatened to cancel their summer party but miraculously the waters drain away in time for 300 neighbours and friends to enjoy the Llewelyn-Bowen’s hospitality. As part of the celebrations, Laurence’s Auntie Val (a surrogate parent) presents him with a very special roll of wallpaper– the inspiration for his design career and not to be outdone, Jackie’s PA Donna presents her with a birthday flying lesson. Laurence is choked with jealousy as Jackie hangs out with the pilots and rechristens herself Top Mum! Meanwhile Cecile (12) and Hermione (9) have broken up from school, and with Jackie busy running the business, that leaves the celebrity Dad in charge. The girls and their friends fail to see eye to eye with Laurence on what makes a good day out – the farm bores Laurence senseless, but a day out at the quarry? Guess who’s enjoying himself now? Laurence also takes the girls to a very special event commemorating the work of Laurence’s father Trefor Llewellyn (CORRECT) Bowen, founder of a charity dedicated to helping special needs children. Trefor was a talented orthopaedic surgeon who tragically died of Leukaemia at the age of 42, when Laurence was only 9. The event sparks Cecile’s interest in the grandfather she never knew and the impact his death must have had on her dad. In the house the builders score top marks when they manage to complete Laurence’s kitchen in time for the scheduled photo-shoot and then find themselves starring in it as well! Laurence finally finds a trip to please everyone when he takes them to Blackpool. Laurence has been invited to design this summer’s illuminations and the whole family goes to watch him turn them on.

Laurence and Jackie left London five months ago but have almost been too busy to step outside their manorial gates since. But if Laurence wants to be part of village life he needs to pull his frilly-cuffed finger out! His first venture is organising the raffle for the local fete. Not only does Laurence blag prizes from his celebrity mates, he’s also raffling himself and Jackie by offering a special dinner in the winner’s own home with Laurence as butler and Jackie as chef. The charm offensive takes a step back when Jackie’s gardener Beth lights a smoky bonfire and Jackie turns the air blue! And the hairdresser in Cirencester gets knocked off their Christmas card list when Laurence goes for a trim and gets his famous locks lopped off into a mullet. A big push into the community sees Jackie giving the prizes at the WI and Laurence cleaning the church. The Llewelyn-Bowen’s are finally on the village map! The builders have their own big push trying to finish in time for the carpet fitters, if only the alarm didn’t keep going off, if only Laurence wouldn’t keep giving them more to do and if only the family wasn’t trying to live there!

It’s now 6 months since the Bowens first left London for a life away from the pressures of the city. But so far Manor house living has been anything but easy, especially when your house has resembled more of a demolition site than stately home. But finally the family are beginning to see light at the end of their building tunnel and as autumn approaches they get a chance to enjoy some of the pleasures of country life. Scrumping for apples and making cider with their neighbours – even testing out their country-life skills, with Jackie getting a chance to sit on a horse and fire a gun. Back at the house Laurence skilfully turns his hand to painting a very special mural on one of the guest bedroom’s walls; an opulent country scene that’s like “a football league of all the best bits of our landscape.” To celebrate progress the Bowens invite their first houseguests, including their photographer friend Nicky Johnston, to give their new home the test run. Finally after one last big push from the builders, the house is finished, beautifully transformed from a cold unloved house in to a sumptuous family home. But is it Laurence’s Magnum Opus and now that it’s finished will Jackie be in danger of getting itchy feet all over again?

It’s now 7 months since the Bowens first arrived in the village, which they’ve christened Poshington, and although rather broke, they have succeeded in transforming their tired run down manor house in to a very special family home. We look back at their momentous year and watch as they create some Christmas magic in the run up to the festive season. Laurence instructs the family on the finer intricacies of bauble decorating and Jackie provides the merriness, with her homemade sloe gin. We see the Bowens on their Christmas present trolley dash round Fortnum and Masons and Jackie succumbing to the stresses of festive preparations as she tries to involve the girls in baking Christmas tree decorations. Laurence also has a surprise for Jackie. He invites celebrated artist Sheree Valentine Daines to immortalise her in oil – so that the Manor house gets a matching pair of Llewelyn-Bowen portraits for its walls. To help the Bowen’s look back at the whirlwind that has been their existence since moving to the countryside – the builders, gardeners, raffle winners and friends reflect on the experiences that they’ve shared together. As the halls of the Manor get decked out in Christmas finery, the Bowens glam up as special guests of honour at a Christmas charity ball and the whole of Cirencester turns out in force to watch Laurence and family switch on the Christmas Lights. The series closes with one final intriguing Bowen twist, which will leave the viewers guessing.