Grand Designs - Season 5

April Marr and Reuben Welch. Kevin McCloud revisits a thrill-seeking couple who bought a derelict 19th-century stone house in Edinburgh with the aim of restoring it to its former glory. He hopes to discover whether their lack of building experience hindered their ambitious project or if their energy and enthusiasm managed to pull them through.

Here we see an extraordinary and inventive project in South London. This house proves that even in the most crowded areas of our cities, there is potential for Grand Designs. When Monty Ravenscroft and Clare Loewe began looking for a house to buy in London they soon realised that the only affordable option was to build one themselves. They snapped up a dirt cheap slither of land in Peckham at an auction only to be told it was too small to put a house on. Undeterred, three years ago, engineering whiz Monty began building an extraordinary experimental bungalow that filled the site to bursting point.

When lawyers Jeremy and Louise Brown walked into Upthorpe Farm in Gloucester, they couldn't believe their eyes. It was like stepping back in time. Apart from a few minor alterations, the Grade II listed 16th-century farmhouse had barely been touched for over 400 years and was completely unmodernised with lots of original features. Now that they've purchased the property their ambitious design plan is to bring the farmhouse into the 21st century, blending the original historic features with modern simplicity and luxury. Kevin watches on intrigued as they tackle the challenge of reconciling the very old and the very contemporary.

John Cadney and Marnie Moon have never had a permanent home. So John, a carpenter, has rolled up his sleeves and decided to build a house for his family with his bare hands. For 16 years, John, Marnie and their children have camped on land owned by Marnie's parents, because they could never afford to buy a house in the area where they live. So now they're building their own place. After much searching for the right kind of house they settled on an environmentally friendly four-bedroom log cabin. The whole thing was imported from Finland as hundreds of pre-cut bits of wood. All John had to do is figure out how this kit house fits together!

Kevin McCloud revisits John Flood and Eleni Skordaki, who completely gutted their Victorian terraced house in Hackney, London, to create an open, light, modern space. He discovers whether the struggle to modernise their home while dealing with an Anglo-German conflict between the builders was worth it.

An update on Louise and Milko Ostendorf, who embarked on a project to convert an old violin factory in London into a luxury home. The work was threatened by a battle with their orchestral neighbours over a jointly owned wall, and Kevin McCloud returns three years later to find out whether their dispute has been settled.

For the last 20 years, Pat Becker has been living in a large Georgian family house overlooking the sea in Devon. Now that her family have flown the nest and the house has grown too big for her, she's decided to build a new home at the bottom of the garden. Shaped like a curvy seashell, the new house has concrete and polystyrene walls, which spiral down from the central staircase. Her architect has promised it will take only six months to build but constructing a round house is never straightforward!

Kevin McCloud returns to West Sussex to see how Ben Law's woodsman's cottage has changed. The house was built on a low budget, using methods dating back to the early medieval period with raw materials from the surrounding countryside. During the past 18 months the upstairs has been completed and the outside has been landscaped. Kevin also discovers how the property has changed Ben's life since the original programme was broadcast.

This is Belfast, one of the great cities of the industrial revolution, and home to Thomas and Dervla O'Hare. They've lived here for 18 years, and although they still love their tiny cottage for its compactness, they're about to build something much, much bigger. They're building a 21st century answer to the Roman villa, with a copper roof, glass and concrete walls and vast amounts of living space all arranged around a central courtyard. In order to cope with the incredibly steep slope the house was divided across three levels. At the base of the building there is a garage and all the utilities. Through the front door a double-width processional staircase leads up to the living and dining areas.

Kevin McCloud meets Julie and Mark Veysey, whose Grand Design is a stunning Miami-style beach house on a beachfront plot overlooking the south Devon coast. Julie and Mark have had several holidays in Miami, and Julie wanted to recreate the outdoor beachfront lifestyle back in England, living in a house full of light and sun, within easy reach of the waves. The house is very much Julie's vision and she is passionate about the design. It is a series of dazzling white interlocking boxes topped with a flat zinc roof.

Andrew and Lowri Davies embark on a project to build an environmentally friendly farmhouse in rural Wales. Encouraged by their architect, they opt for some state-of-the-art experimental building materials; but do their builders know how to use them? As the budget spirals out of control, they find it increasingly difficult to balance the budget with their desire for a sustainable home.