A homeowner on Grand Designs broke down in tears minutes into the new series as she spoke about her daughter's health.
The Channel 4 design series has returned with a first episode airing on Wednesday, September 16. Host Kevin McCloud joined couple Bryony and Matt in Cornwall, where they were hoping to finish their California-chic home with sea views within a year on a budget of £820,000.
As they opened up about their renovation plans, mum-of-two Bryony discussed her daughter's health condition and how she was once told the child may not be able to walk.
The episode introduced the couple, who live in Cornwall. Matt, the CFO of a renewable energy company, commutes to central London once a week for two days in the office. Described as an "extreme commuter," he explained: "There are obviously days when you wonder if it's worth it but this is the big trade-off of living down in Cornwall, the commute to London."
At home, his two children and Bryony enjoy spending time by the coast, living near the beach where Bryony herself came as a child. "Being able to raise my own children here is just perfect," she said. The couple moved from Manchester to Cornwall in 2019.
Opening up about motherhood and her daughter, Bryony continued: "We know that she has got developmental delay. I don't know what her journey looks like, all I know is what it looks like today."
Breaking down in tears, she went on: "I love being a mum so much, but it's been full-on. You go all-in, they've become everything to me, but then it's like, who are you personally at the end of that?"
Wiping back her tears, she added: "I wasn't expecting to cry." She continued: "The house is an adventure in a new way, and what I'm actually really loving is the opportunity to rediscover passions and interests."
Talking about building their home, Bryony told Kevin: "This is like our next baby and I'm nervous about, we know how tough that was, we had our kids quite close together in age, and I feel like we're about to do it again with this house."
Later in the episode, she told Kevin how much she loved living in Cornwall and raising their children there. Talking about her daughter, she said: "When she was only about six months, they thought that she might never walk, she might not talk. And I'm looking at this completely perfect, gorgeous little baby girl, thinking, how is that even true?"
She added: "I'm definitely not the first woman in the world to feel a bit lost after going through that process." Reflecting on the challenges of motherhood while undertaking the house project, she said: "There was definitely a point where I thought, I just don't want to do this house, and that was such a bizarre point to reach because I've thought about this house for as long as I can remember."
Sharing an update on her daughter, she added: "She's doing so well. Obviously I love her to bits because she's mine but she is the happiest little girl ever, she's never in a bad mood. She's a little bundle of determined joy, and I just can't get enough of her."
Ahead of the new series airing, host Kevin had shared: "It is always a joy to get a series of Grand Designs complete and ready for broadcast – especially when it can run alongside its sister series, House of the Year. Together they celebrate the very best in British architecture and remind me of the extraordinary imaginative and resilient potential of human beings. This year is no exception: there are some astonishing stories and homes to discover."
Viewers had previously shared their excitement for the new series. One said: "Super exciting to see this!" Another wrote: "YES…. This is gold!" Someone else added: "Yay looking forward to this."
Grand Designs is available to watch on Channel 4.
Grand Designs Cornwall Homeowner Tearful Over Daughter’s Health