Escape to the Chateau's ninth and final season: When does it air?
Six years since the effervescent Dick and Angel Strawbridge burst onto our small screens after purchasing their crumbling yet captivating French chateau, the couple has confirmed that Escape to the Chateau will be arriving soon for its ninth and final series.
The beloved show, which first aired on Channel 4 in 2016, followed the Strawbridge family - including Dick and Angel's children Arthur and Dorothy – as they upped sticks from their two bedroom London flat and moved into their towering, dilapidated castle boasting 45 bedrooms in western France's Pays de la Loire.
Over the course of the last seven years, the couple has renovated their chateau – which had no electricity, sewerage or heating when they moved in midwinter – into a stunning home and thriving business.
This Sunday, 30 October at 8pm, The Strawbridges will be returning to Channel 4 with their final season, which will feature more heart-warming family adventures, innovative renovations and spectacular celebrations.
Expect fireworks and plenty of heartfelt emotion as the family reminisce about how their life has changed since they their bold and successful move to France.
Here's everything else we know about the ninth and final season of Escape to the Chateau...
Escape to the Chateau series 9 – What can fans expect?
Escape to the Chateau will return to the Strawbridges' castle as it opens for business after two years of closure due to the global pandemic. The chateau will be bustling with weddings and special events, and the family is also setting up for its "biggest ever Christmas extravaganza to mark the end of an unforgettable era", according to the couple's official blog.
So fans can expect lavish celebrations with weddings and parties, but before then, there's still a lot of work to be done on the sprawling property.
Angel plans to convert part of the sous-sol – which was once The Chateau's cider store – into the The Wedding Workshop, where everything 'wedding' will be stored, organised and created.
Dick will be indulging in more engineering work, and his beloved Walled Garden reveals a secret room obscured by ivy, which the family turn into a wildlife observatory, and the focal point for family entertaining.
Dick and Angel will also be busy ensuring all essential jobs are finished before their friends and family descend in December for Christmas, and the 'extension' which Angel has joked about for years is set to take shape in the form of a winter garden on stilts. We're intrigued.
The replacement of the whopping 62 windows is finally underway too and the last remaining part of the attic is being turned into a family games room for Arthur and Dorothy.
Dick and Angel said in a statement: "Chateau will be airing soon on Channel 4 in the UK! It's the 'Year of the Celebration' and we have so much to share – weddings and parties, fun in the Walled Garden. It's also our finale of the classic Escape to the Chateau, it’s been an adventure of a lifetime and we could never have imagined what would unfold.
"The good, the bad and the ugly…we have cherished every second and love that we have a visual record to show Arthur and Dorothy when they're older. We are so grateful for all the love and support…and we promise to continue our adventures with you, just in a different way, as we venture outside the gates of the Chateau and explore the wonderful country we live in."
Dick also recently shared a behind-the-scenes video with his oldest son – chef, sustainable living expert and TV presenter James Strawbridge – as they filmed together for the upcoming series.
In the video, the father and son are planning a menu, and are about to pick herbs from their garden. Dick jokes that horseradish is too tough to pull from the ground, so he would be sending his son James to do all the hard work.
"Father & son time at The Chateau…be sure to watch the new series to see what these two have been up to," their caption read.
Dick was previously married to bee advocate and wildlife gardener Brigit, with whom he has three now fully grown adult children – James, Richard and Charlotte. The couple were married between 1982 and 2010.
Escape to the Chateau will be back on Channel 4, with eight hour-long episodes.
Escape to the Chateau series 9 release date
We now know Escape to the Chateau series 9 will be back on our screens on Sunday 30 October at 8pm.
While this will be the last in the series of Escape to the Chateau, the couple had some exciting news for fans of the show – Channel 4 has commissioned a spin-off Escape to the Chateau: Secret France which is due to air in 2023. This will feature Dick and Angel embarking on adventures across France as they reveal all their favourite places off the beaten track.
The Strawbridges previously released their spin-off Make Do and Mend, which they filmed themselves during the Covid pandemic, helping families across the UK tackle their design and DIY dilemmas. The family also fronted Escape to the Chateau: DIY, which saw the Dick and Angel helping other families embarking on a French adventure to restore chateaus.
Escape to the Chateau series 9 will air on Channel 4 soon.
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