Crack open the champagne! Christmas episode of Escape to the Chateau sees Dick and Angel – the couple who swapped an Essex flat for a French country house – celebrate their year’s successes
- EXCLUSIVE: Special Christmas episode will be shown on Channel 4 this Sunday at 8pm
- It will see Dick Strawbridge and his wife Angel celebrate this year’s work at the chateau with a Christmas party
- We catch-up with the lovable couple before the final episode of the fifth series
Four years ago, the lovable stars of Escape to the Chateau were sat having Christmas dinner in their two-bedroom flat in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.
Fast forward to Christmas 2018 and they will be sitting down to turkey and pigs in blankets in a grand dining room at their 55-room chateau in France.
It is has been a truly transformative journey for Dick Strawbridge and his wife Angel, who swapped the Essex flat for the French chateau, where they now live with their two children and Angel’s parents. It is also the base for their successful weddings and ‘glamping’ business.
They purchased the fairytale property for €390,000, the equivalent today of £350,000 – bought in 2015.
Their journey is being celebrated with a special Christmas party for their staff in what is the last episode of the current series on Sunday at 8pm.
Dick Strawbridge and his wife Angel swapped their two-bed flat in Essex for a 55-room chateau
When the couple arrived at the chateau nearly four years ago, it was just themselves doing the renovation work and setting up their events business that includes weddings and glamping – glamorous camping.
Now, they have a team of 14 helping them and the last episode sees them celebrating the team’s efforts with a staff Christmas party.
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Dick – a retired lieutenant colonel – exclusively told MailOnline Property: ‘We couldn’t do it just by ourselves. The Christmas episode is about our team and the successes we’ve had – the glamping, the weddings and the support of Angel’s parents.
‘Like any business, when it grows, there are more jobs and admin. We need a team so we can get all the rooms prepared and everything else done,’ he added.
‘And every person at our weddings has said how lovely our team is, and this episode has been a celebration of them.’
The final episode of the series will see the couple celebrate with a Christmas party
Handmade decorations of the family adorn the Christmas tree at the chateau
A designer touch! The special decorations take a special place on the Christmas tree
So what will the next four years bring for Dick and Angel?
The couple have already filmed a new series of Escape to the Chateau: DIY – the sister series to the Escape to the Chateau that sees Dick and Angel Strawbridge help other British people who run a chateau in France.
And there are expected to be more adventures at their own chateau.
The couple would also like to write more books, following the publication of ‘The Chateau: The Beginning’, while Angel will be launching a new range of soft furnishings.
It comes after Angel designed some of the wallpaper used in parts of the renovated chateau.
Angel said: ‘There are so many directions that Dick and I can go in with the chateau, and the soft furnishings range is one of them.’
The chateau has been decorated throughout in preparation for the festive period
Angel has added her own designer touch to the Christmas decorations at the chateau
There is plenty of Christmas foliage on display at the chateau, including above the fireplaces
In the meantime, there is redcurrent jelly and vin de noir – walnut wine – to consume during Christmas dinner. Both were made during the summer at the chateau.
‘We have been preparing for Christmas throughout the year, with some of the food coming from our walled garden,’ explained Dick.
Sunday’s episode brings the fifth series of the popular Channel 4 show to an end, which has seen the hard-working couple strike a more comfortable work-life balance after spending almost four years renovating the chateau in Pays de Loire.
This year, the chateau’s basement was turned into an elegant boot room
The renovated boot room includes some original touches, such as the logo on the cinema chairs
Dick designed a unique boot rack for one of the walls in the boot room in the c
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