Hailing from Kent, Dorran, 47, and Vereuschka, 50, set out to create an underground home within a Saxon hillfort. The five-year project is marked by the stunning moment the couple sacks their builders and takes control of the ambitious project themselves.

The high-tech property had the features of an infamous Grand Designs episode - running over-budget, delays, and a bit of catastrophe. Many fans, who panned the building process on social media, were nonetheless drawn into the drama.

The parents of three drained their savings for a complicated build deemed as "daring, demanding, and difficult" by presenter Kevin McCloud.

The project started in the summer of 2017 with an initial budget of £1 million. The aim was to carve out a home into the ancient site near Canterbury, but in typical Grand Designs fashion, there were setbacks.

Almost a year later - at the point the couple planned to move in - the home was still a "half-buried" building site. Further complicating plans was the couple's decision to fire their planners.

Kevin summed up the progress succinctly: "So far they have spent £400,000 on half a buried concrete structure. They were seduced by a high-tech design but building it themselves was never part of the plan."

Despite spending weeks working in the North Sea, Dorran takes up the mantle while onshore as his wife continues to work full-time in the pharmaceutical industry. The site later freezes over and, unable to find workers, the naval captain later quits his job to focus on the build.