Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud left shocked as he revisits show’s ‘most heartbreaking house’ after two years – but it’s come at a huge cost

Kevin McCloud was left gobsmacked as he revisited the ‘most heartbreaking’ house ever to be documented on Grand Designs in its 25 seasons.  

In tonight’s episode of the Channel 4 show, the TV presenter, 65, reunited with Graeme and Melanie, who appeared in the 2023 season with the hopes of turning their garage plot in Hackney into a three storey, three-bedroom house.  

Designed by Graeme, the home needed to have enough space for Mel’s daughter Indie, and Graeme’s daughter Isla, to each have their own room – all on a budget of £450,000. 

The pair, who met in tragic circumstances following the deaths of their former partners, hoped to build a ‘modern’ home with an ‘upside down’ design – including a bedroom for Isla in the basement. 

But marred by a multitude of setbacks – including costly repairs needed in the basement – the property was still unfinished by 2023, with viewers at the time branding it the ‘most heartbreaking’ house the shown had ever seen. 

However – ahead of the new season, Kevin let slip in an interview with OK! last month that the distinctive red house had finally completed, much to the relief of the show’s loyal viewers.

In the latest episode, Kevin paid a visit to the property 18 months after the heartbroken couple admitted they were having to consider selling the house in the face of unprecedented costs.

He was left astounded by the progress on the property, noting the addition of fencing and it’s distinctive red cladding, calling the house ‘an exquisite triumph’. 

The two revealed that due to Brexit, Covid and other price hikes, their initial hope of spending just £450,000 had been quickly quashed, and they ended up spending an additional £100,000, totalling £550,000. 

Luckily, they’d been able to complete the basement thanks their contractors, who offered repairs on the walls for free. 

Speaking in the new episode, Mel said the house ‘gives space to make sense of the past’, adding that there are still memories of each of the couple’s former lives embedded in the property. 

Beaming with delight, Graeme and Mel were able to reveal that the basement wasn’t just ‘a hole in the ground’ and but a ‘hub of tranquility’ for the family.

Mel said she was ‘relieved and elated and rejoicing in the fact that the house works’.

The finished home radiated the personalities of their blended and modern family, with stunning mosaics from Marrakesh lining the floor at the entrance of the house.

Elsewhere, a spiral staircase stood as a magnificent pillar connecting each of the four floors of the house. 

Both Isla and Indie now had their own bedrooms, having previously been forced to share one room with nothing bit a flimsy curtain to separate their private spaces. 

Their new bedrooms both featured a light well to let in natural sunshine, fitting in with the bright and open design of the rest of the house.   

Kevin also noted ‘the perfect cocoon of a courtyard’, complete with a cherry tree.

Asking the couple how they resolved the issue of the basement, Graeme explained that after a legal dispute with contractors, it was decided that they would need to repair the walls in the basement – all at no cost.

‘We didn’t pay for the repair of the basement. We came out of it on top,’ he added. 

Avoiding the extortionate repairs needed on the basement walls, the couple were able to proceed with the construction and narrowly escape the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to sell.

Once things were back on track, the two were able to make their final flourishes on the property, including adding in a spacious mezzanine. 

Back in 2023, Graeme and Mel captivated viewers with their heart-wrenching back story. 

The original episode ended on a cliffhanger, with the couple having run out of money and faced with the prospect of having to sell the unfinished build. 

The couple, from East London, met in tragic circumstances, having both lost their partners before finding love again together.   

After both girls lost a parent (Isla’s mother passed away within weeks of Indie’s father’s death) Graeme stressed the need for the new family home to be a fresh start and a ‘statement’ for the family. 

Speaking on the latest episode of the show, the couple’s daughters said the mood amongst the family was noticeably lighter now their parents were dealing ‘with this massive burden’.

‘I still can’t believe I live here,’ said one.    

Back in 2021, Graham and Mel hoped to build a family-sized house on just a tiny scrap of land.

They purchased two garages that were just 60 square metres for £275,000 in the hopes of building a ‘sculptural form’ house that they planned to paint a vibrant red.

Graeme and Mel planned to build a ‘shamelessly modern upside down’ house to match their ‘modern’ family, with living spaces on the top floor and bedrooms situated in the basement of the property.

Mel stressed that the two were doing their best to build new family traditions but also keeping the old families’ memories alive.  

The project was off to a good start when the couple realised they had slightly more space than they had initially anticipated.

They had initially paid £35,000 for the land on another garage plot adjacent to where they hoped to build the house, which would allow them space for a garden.

But after an initial stroke of luck, the couple ran into problems with the basement, with their initial contractor having pulled out of the project – which had been agreed at a price of £150,000. 

They eventually found another contractor to dig on the site and build the basement, but it came at a cost of £20,000 more than their original budget for that part of the build.

And once the dig started, the team ran into plenty of issues, with both the supply chain and the plot of land.

As they dug below the surface, contractors discovered several pipes that ‘weren’t supposed to be there’, adding that it would become a ‘major challenge’ because there was ‘no space whatsoever’.

The basement became the couple’s biggest project, with the entire feat taking a total of six months.

But with the finish line in sight, things began to go pear shaped again, with weak concrete walls threatening to make the project significantly pricier.

Despite their best efforts to create their own ‘autobiographical’ house, completion of the house seemed a world away, with ongoing problems in the basement threatening to make their dream ever a reality.

Kevin’s final visit to the couple’s home in September 2023 revealed the house was built and watertight, covered in red cladding and making a statement compared to the other houses on the street.

However, due to skyrocketing costs and ever emerging problems with the basement, the lower section of the property remained incomplete by the time Kevin paid his last visit.

Although the couple were overall pleased with the house, Graeme admitted the unfinished basement was the ‘void’.

Graeme revealed the total cost of the project has exceeded their initial budget of £450,000, a figure which quickly ended up becoming closer to £550,000.

Without the money to fix up the basement, the couple would be forced to sell the incomplete garage conversion, which they said would be ‘heartbreaking’. 

The latest series of Grand Designs airs at 9pm on Wednesday on Channel 4.