Grand Designs viewers were left in tears after a terminally ill accountant died before completing the dream home where she hoped to spend the ‘last chapter of her life’ with her partner.
Fans declared last night’s episode of the Channel 4 programme the ‘saddest’ one yet as they were introduced to Pep, an accountant who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2021.
At the beginning of the episode, it was revealed Pep had always wanted to design a Scandinavian-style home where she could grow old with her partner, Malene, on their five-acre plot of land in Cranleigh, Surrey.
However, the project took on a new urgency after the cancer diagnosis and Pep raced against the clock to build the three-bedroom Viking-inspired wooden longhouse.
‘Theoretically, I should be dead now, but that merely spurred us on to build the house,’ she told host Kevin McCloud at the start of the episode.
Despite Pep’s determination and rigorous schedule, her health deteriorated and she died before the house was completed.
Although she did not get to see the house in its later stages, the builders – who were touched by her story – carried Pep’s wicker coffin and placed her inside the home she invested her final months in.
Her spirit and bravery touched many viewers, with some social media users describing yesterday’s show as ‘very poignant’.
One X user wrote: ‘The saddest Grand Designs episode I’ve ever seen. In tears here. Rest in peace lovely, brave lady.’
Another penned: ‘Ooof. That hit hard. For whatever that may come next, let’s hope there’s many years of healing and new happy memories are created in that house.’
A third commented: ‘Nicely finished but I think it’s a little more than “just enough”. It was a large house for two, now there is only one [crying emoji].’
A fourth said: ‘Bloody hell, Grand Designs is very poignant tonight,’ while another added: ‘This is a tearjerker.’
In the early days of the project in 2024, Pep was onsite with builders and supervised their work while undergoing gruelling chemotherapy treatment.
The couple hoped to finish the build in nine months so that Pep would have ‘as much time to live in it as possible’.
Sadly, Pep passed away just a few months after the project began and her dream couldn’t be realised.
Ohne year later, Malene moved into the house and planted a ‘tree of life’ in the front garden to commemorate Pep.
‘It doesn’t feel like it’s my project, it feels like we are doing it together,’ she said.
Throughout the show, Kevin was visibly moved and impressed by Pep’s steely resolve to see the project through – even on challenging days.
In fact, Pep continued writing down instructions and plans for the property until four days before her death and even spoke about pipework in the final hours of her life.
‘When you’re given the diagnosis that I was given, it was all of a sudden things that did matter to me, like work and achieving and getting things done, they paled in significance,’ she told Kevin.
‘The diagnosis of cancer triggered me into saying, “Right, if I am going to build a house when I’m alive, I better get on with it now.”
‘We’ve had a very good life, and being in the house is the last chapter of our life together.’
‘It’s a bit of a nuisance sometimes, having to go off to actually sit and have the chemo for whatever it takes, an hour and a half, it has to be done along with a lot of other things,’ she continued.
In March 2024, the ground was prepared and ready for the foundations to be set; however, Pep was in the hospital after reacting badly to a course of chemotherapy.
Unwilling to let the diagnosis stop her, she then got back to her £550,000 project – which was partially funded by her life insurance – and was around to see the timber frames being installed for the structure of their perfect home.
Sadly, a scan then showed the disease was spreading, and within a couple of weeks, she was told by doctors that they would be stopping her treatment and moving her to palliative care.
In her final days, Pep, who is one of 11 siblings, spent her time indoors and was unable to watch the construction workers fasten the windows into place.
‘Obviously, her health is deteriorating; she’s less outside because she really feels the cold now. She gets up in the middle of the night and starts working on the computer,’ Malene said.
‘It will give Malene something to focus on beyond me being here and a home more than anything, somewhere of comfort for Malene,’ Pep added, explaining the significance of the project.
After Pep passed away, Malene sold their old house to fund the remaining construction and recruited a family friend to help complete the build.
Speaking of their former home, Malene – who temporarily moved into the stable – said: ‘We have so many happy memories here, we have been here for 18 years.
‘There are a lot of emotions, but it’s mainly good ones; it’s part of healing to go through the sad moments.
‘That’s why it feels like me and Pep are still doing the building together, it doesn’t feel like it’s my project, it feels like we are doing it together. It’s a comforting experience.’
Malene then decided to plant a tree in the garden in Pep’s honour.
The plaque resting on the trunk said: ‘Yggdrasil [scared tree], now feasting with the Gods at Valhalla [hall of the fallen].’
Malene showed Kevin around the impressive property, which was filled with Scandinavian-style furniture the couple had collected over the years.
‘When we designed the kitchen, Pep wanted a window seat so she could watch me cooking and have a glass of wine as a way to be together, so that’s why she is sitting at the window seat,’ she said, referring to a picture of her late partner.
Malene invited three of Pep’s sisters over to view the house for the first time, with one of them saying: ‘I think we are all very proud of what Pep and Malene have achieved.’
Another remarked: ‘Oh, I think Pep would be delighted. We are proud of Malene; it is a real testament to a Viking spirit.’
Although the pair had a strict budget of £550,000, Malene revealed that she spent just under £750,000 on building their house.
‘I felt that the project has kept me going and has given me a purpose,’ she said.
‘I feel immense pride in what Pep and I have achieved together.
‘I got a lot of strength of seeing Pep’s determination in the past few months of her life. You learn new things about each other in times of adversity.
‘The energy there is very special. It has changed me inside as a person in how I feel and I think that now the house is not going to be a home for us as a couple for the rest of our lives, I feel very strongly that it will become a space for feeling and a sanctuary, not just for me, but for Pep’s family. I think that’s really special.’
Kevin ended the emotional show by reading out an excerpt of Pep’s book, which she first wrote in three months after her terminal cancer diagnosis in December 2021.
‘Who would have ever known the passing of events since this beautiful bound book was gifted to me?’ Pep penned.
‘Often, writing books sit unwritten, but this one will not. My sister has suggested I fill it with all my aspirations, dreams and goals.
‘Well, I will use to write all of my ideas for one of my dreams and that is to build a home with a heart for Malene and I.’
