Radio Times: Review by:; Alison Graham

Sandford House is an Arts and Crafts mansion in Fife that is both lovely and unloved. But Ralph and Evelyn and their £300,000 pot of restoration money want to cherish it back to life.

They are a cheerful couple who are unfazed by the challenges involved (they bought the house for £560,000) and by the fact that they will be doing a lot of the donkey-work themselves.

Sandford House hasn’t been a family home since the 1960s and spent the latter part of its life as a hotel, but it has beautiful bones, including the most gorgeous sunken lounge with a spectacular bay window, acres of leaded glass and an ingenious inglenook fireplace.

About this programme

2/6. Caroline Quentin meets a couple trying to convert Sandford House near Dundee into a family home. Designed by architect MH Baillie Scott, a member of the Arts and Crafts movement, the property was built in 1902 as a family home, and spent several years being used as a hotel before falling into disrepair. Its new owners first knew the building as their local pub and are determined to save it, but the restoration puts a severe strain on their finances. Meanwhile, researchers discover the property has an unexpected link to Queen Victoria.