Earnscleugh Castle co-owner Ryan Sanders said he and partner Marco Creemers were hosting a black-tie dinner with "lots of Champagne" to herald tomorrow’s launch of Grand Designs New Zealand when the Central Otago "cast" would take centre stage.
They had not seen the completed programme and, after three and a-half years of filming, expected to be surprised with things they had forgotten, he said.
"It’s part of reality TV.
"We don’t have any sign-off or any narrative control or any form of kind of pre-seeing the show.
"So, we have literally seen nothing. Which a lot of people are quite surprised at, to be honest,"
Interest has been huge in the home the couple restored and completed to the original Victorian/Edwardian/Jacobean-style plans designed by architect Edmund Anscombe for Stephen Spain.
In conjunction with the Clyde Lions Club they are offering tours of the property next weekend.
The $22,000 from ticket sales was to be shared by the Clyde Volunteer Fire Brigade and Animal Rehab Central, he said.
The historic property, once left to crumble amid stories of family disputes, has been revived as a labour of love.
It features a ballroom, a pool and sauna, a seven-foot entranceway chandelier, a library with a sliding ladder and even a special room with heated floors for the household’s beloved French bulldogs.
Tomorrow the Grand Designs screening would be celebrated in style, Mr Sanders said.
"So there’s 18 of us. They’re coming round for dinner at 4.30. It’s black tie. Everyone’s getting dressed up — formal. There’ll be lots of Champagne.
"I’m going to cook them dinner, to say ‘thank you’, [which will be served] in the big formal dining room. And then we’ll be having a few drinks and then coming into the main TV area to watch it at 7.30."
