We splashed out £450k on rotting cinema to create Grand Designs masterpiece – Kevin McCloud’s verdict left us devastated
A COUPLE with no building experience splashed out £450,000 on a rotting 1920s cinema to create their dream Grand Designs home.
Chaos ensued on Grand Designs when one couple’s dream renovation turned into a nightmare – and Kevin McCloud wasn’t shy about saying so.
Gwyn and Kate, from Thorne, Doncaster, thought they’d struck gold when they snapped up a crumbling 1920s cinema for just £90,000.
With grand plans to turn the rotting old building into a modernist family home, they set a budget of £350,000 for the project.
But as any Grand Designs fan knows, things rarely go to plan.
The couple decided to bulldoze the decaying auditorium entirely, aiming to create a stunning new home while keeping the cinema’s classic facade.
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But as the costs started to spiral out of control, the couple found themselves shelling out an eye-watering £450,000 – £100,000 over budget.
When Kevin McCloud arrived on the scene, he didn’t mince his words, surveying the state of the derelict cinema.
He said: “It’s a cinema. Or it… was a cinema. What a state. You can’t make a hash of this. It couldn’t look any worse.” - Ouch.
The presenter’s damning assessment was a bitter pill for the couple, who had hoped to raise their two children in the completed home.
Kevin went on to describe the property as “unloved,” a heart-breaking blow for Gwyn and Kate, who had poured their savings – and their hearts – into the project.
Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. With the help of Gwyn’s old school friend, London-based building designer Jeremy Southgate, the pair managed to pull off a stunning transformation.
The result was a sleek modernist-style home that still pays tribute to its cinematic past.
The revamped property features an open-plan living room that flows seamlessly into the garden – which was once the cinema’s auditorium.
Despite the complete overhaul, the couple stayed true to their original vision, maintaining the iconic facade while adding new windows and doors.
Gwyn explained their initial inspiration, she said: “We have a nice home on Queen Street, but it’s got a tiny garden, and our two lads are growing up fast.
"We noticed that the old abandoned nightclub (as we knew it) was up for sale, and we enquired into the possibility of knocking it down and building a nice family home on the plot.”
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Gwyn and Kate, who had no previous experience in construction, were well out of their depth.
They told The Sunday Times: “We knew nothing about architecture, nothing about modernism, and Kate wanted something traditional.
"We had never done a building project before.”
In the end, though, Gwyn and Kate’s determination paid off, and they now have a unique, stylish home to show for their efforts – even if Kevin McCloud wasn’t impressed at first.
As for the £450,000 price tag, some might say that’s the cost of a Grand Designs dream.
Grand Design disasters
By Emer Scully
There have been a number of Grand Designs build which have gone so wrong that it's left people worse off from when they started.
Saddest episode ever:
It took Edward Short, 53, a decade to build his lighthouse-inspired home in Croyde, Devon.
It cost him £6million and his marriage to ex-wife Hazel.
Vandalised houseboat:
Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Lai's 2007 episode followed their renovation of a two-storey houseboat using only recycled materials.
The couple dreamed of escaping their small London flat.
But the project cost £80,000 before it failed and the 100ft barge was left unfinished in the Thames estuary near Southend, Essex.
Flaming disaster:
A design nicknamed "Britain's Cheapest Home" went up in flames in Pembrokeshire on New Year's Day in 2018.
An electrical fire reduced the £27,000-build to ashes as fire crews battled for six hours.
Neighbour row:
Architect and owner Robert Gaukroger ploughed £1million and two years of his life into his seven-bedroom "Dome House" above Bowness-in-Windermere.
But he and his wife Milla reportedly fell into a vicious £55,000 battle with a neighbour after the couple was accused of encroaching on their land.
Meanwhile, it's not just this couple that left with a huge hole in their pockets pursuing their Grand Design dreams.
The star of Grand Designs ‘saddest ever’ show claimed his dream home left him a ‘minus millionaire’ as he revealed the jaw-dropping hidden fees.
His dreams quickly turned into a nightmare when he was left in crippling debt.
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McCloud was quick to share his concerns for the shows 'saddest ever star'.
Elsewhere, Its not just this couple that have warranted McCloud's brutal criticism, it turns out the presenter has quite the list of pet peeves as he revealed 'what upsets him more than anything else'.