Dick Strawbridge shuts down 'complete nonsense' and sets record straight

insisted that claims of just £20,000 being spent on renovations for their chateau were "complete nonsense".

While that might have been the budget they intended to spend at the start, the situation had quickly spiralled out of control. "They say we had 20,000 pounds," wife exclaimed.

Dick dismissed: "On the television they said it would take £20,000 to do it up. Obviously not - you can't do it on £20,000." At that point, the antiquated plumbing system in the 152-year-old chateau was wreaking havoc - and residents from times gone by had simply accepted sewage flowing into their moat.

While Dick was a dab hand at DIY, clearly they couldn't rely on his efforts alone - and they would need serious funding to transform the dilapidated chateau into their home. Dick joked: "We sat down and had a really romantic evening... coming up with all sorts of different ways of making money."

The pair had been keen to host weddings and invite Francophile holiday-makers to rent rooms in the chateau for long weekends - although that would mean potentially "thousands of people" descending on their home.

Meanwhile, Dick had been on numerous TV shows since closing the door on his military career, including Channel 4 show Scrapheap Challenge.

Back then, his trademark look had been a "fake moustache" - which ironically looked quite French - and he had presented each episode of the show, overseeing teams of contestants while they attempted to build a working machine out of nothing but junk.

The only materials they had access to were ones found in a scrapyard - and they'd be competing against Dick's very own home team, Dick's Diamonds, to become the winner.

Could he now, years on, harness his history in television and apply it to what he was doing with Angel - trying to make his hugely expensive new home an income-generating business?

"We'd filmed for nigh on a year, and we had no idea if it was gonna be on television - we had no idea if anyone would even watch it!" Angel told the hooked audience at the Palladium.

"It was eight months before it actually did go on television [and] obviously we did not have any money!"

In total, they ended up parting with £780,353 for the renovations required - quite a formidable sum for a couple who originally had just £20,000 disposable income to spend.

Needless to say, their TV venture had worked - and there's a far more detailed story than that to be told at every show.

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