Grand Designs
Following the persistence of my lovely work colleagues, I reached out to Grand Designs NZ in August 2021 shortly before I took legal ownership of the property after a very long settlement period.
I was signed up following a brief phone call with the understanding that the episode may never air because the quota was full for the next 2 years. It was only near the end of the project that my episode was confirmed for the 2023 series and it then became a race to the finish line.
Some commonly asked questions
Did Grand Designs contact you or did you contact them?
I contacted them via the simple application form that can be found online. After a few weeks I received a call and had an informal chat about the project and the expectations around programme and budget.
Did you have to keep it a secret?
Yes absolutely. The contract was very clear about protecting the filming activity on the project site and ensuring the ‘reveal’ wasn’t compromised. It was quite difficult with so many trades onsite and on a property located in a built up area. However some things worked in my favour - like being tucked away behind a church and having no street presence. Plus we had only recently come out of Covid lock-downs, so nothing seemed ‘normal’ anymore.
How many times did Grand Designs visit for filming?
Their first 2 days of filming was in late November 2021 and I was a COMPLETE NUMPY in front of that ever looming lens! Thankfully Tom was pretty new to filming also…. so that made me feel a little bit better. There were 11 visits over 2 years - sometimes for a few hours, often a day and a couple of 2 and 3 day filming epics.
Did you get paid for the episode?
No I didn’t – that’s not actually a thing. I did get a couple of pies and some coffee tho. I also got the incredible support of the Grand Designs team who remain good friends. We all got on famously and they were very tolerant of what became a pretty non-existent construction programme and some super-frustrating, last minute cancellations of key building elements.
When did the Episode Air? And where can I see it?
The episode aired on TVNZ+ in New Zealand on the 7th of November 2023 and was the product of 2 years of filming. The episode then aired in Australia on the ABC channel in early 2024.
It can still be seen in New Zealand on TVNZ+ (on demand) and in Australia on ABC iView (on demand).
It is also available on some streaming channels.
Episode 3 (titled "Dunedin Glasshouse") of Grand Designs New Zealand Season 8 can be streamed for free in Canada on CBC Gem, or purchased via Apple TV. For viewers in select regions, it is also available on Plex and OSN+.
Currently also available on YOUTUBE however this often get’s taken down due to copyright rules
First day of filming - November 2021
Why did you name the big oak tree ‘Rex’?
When I bought the property – 50% of the appeal was the massive oak tree. This tree really had a presence on the site and I have enormous respect for the age and beauty of this grand old fella.
I named him Rex because he sits on the northern corner of the site which is also the only access point to the property. So, grand as he may be… he wrecks the site access, he wrecks the access to northern light and he wrecks the plans to get services to the building. He had already wrecked the existing path and he certainly wrecked a lot of the logical plans to develop the property.
So his name came from a simple ‘play on words’… and ‘wrecks’ became ‘Rex’ ….and he was and still is, vital to the success of the glasshouse regardless of the many hurdles we faced together. Rex was also my constant companion and sounding board (he’s a very good listener).
Lastly it was Rex who decided on the roof colour… as he routinely coated the existing roof in a fine mist of sap which then turned a mat black colour when the airborne goop stuck to it… so mat black was an easy decision moving forward. As I have always been a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to colour - I was extremely thankful for Rex’s input.
Some other fun facts about my Grand Designs NZ journey
• The episode was dubbed #1 favourite for 2023
• The production crew and director became very good friends
• The constant pressure of filming really helped me stay on track
• I had a very brief cameo appearance in the 2025 episode shot at Emersons Brewery
filming with Tom at Emerson’s Brewery for a 2024 episode
• There were hundreds of hours of footage cleverly cut into a 45min episode
• No I didn’t get to see the episode before it aired and yes that was very nerve racking
• The episode claimed I was the new Dunedin Hospital architect but I had resigned from that role shortly after purchasing the hall
• For some uncanny reason it was always freezing and raining when the film crew were onsite - they really suffered
• The crew gave me a lot of stick for my coffee order – “an almond milk latte with a teaspoon of honey please”
Some memorable lines from the episode
• “Have you met Rex? Come and meet Rex”
• “Fighting the urge to swear on holy soil “
• “this used to taste like a Chai latte - now it just tastes like… NOT WINE"
• “don’t distract the glass man”
• “I might go full Game of Thrones on that one guy… heads will roll”
• … there’s probably a few more