Grand Designs, TV review

Kevin McCloud was back with the 15th series of Grand Designs and this opener was the formula at its best. You need an entertaining subject (intentionally or otherwise), some mild peril that threatens the build, a decent-looking gaff at the end, and Kev on hand to help make sense of it all.

Last night's episode had it all. We met über-perfectionist, minimalism-lover Clinton Dall. His garage was so minimal it comprised just a car with a black box in the corner. God knows what was in it. "This could be an art gallery, frankly," said Kev.

The worry was that it was all just too bloody big. There was enough steel delivered for 10 houses; the living area had sufficient space for four fire engines, and Clinton had so many tiles he could have covered a small housing estate. You get the picture. And Kev was concerned it was going to feel about as homely as "walking into a luxury car commercial". He insisted that it needed to "appeal to the heart and the eye". I'm not sure about that, but the finished result might have given some a heart attack, considering it cost somewhere "around the 1.5 [million] mark". Clinton wasn't much of a perfectionist on the numbers front, it turned out. Anyway, it looked amazing, I think. Well, Kevin told me it did, so we'll stick with that.