A former Longwood couple will be shown on TV trying to build a house for just £100,000.

On tomorrow's BBC Two programme ‘The House That £100k Built’ retired couple Derek Wright and Christine Burford are seen relocating from their home in Huddersfield to Kent.

But they can’t afford the house prices down south and decide the solution is to build their own.

Derek, 73, is a roadie turned power station engineer, and Christine, 69, ran a recruitment business
Derek, 73, is a roadie turned power station engineer, and Christine, 69, ran a recruitment business

Derek, 73, a roadie turned power station engineer, and Christine, 69, who ran a recruitment business, are seen leaving their lives in Longwood behind and moving south.

The programme follows them as they build their first house from scratch, having bought a plot on the Kent/Sussex border for £162,500 and spending £95,000 to build the house.

Everything goes fairly smoothly until they realise they may have built the house in the wrong place.

So after a year working on the project, will they have to knock it down and start again? Viewers will find out on tomorrow.

The couple stumbled upon a few house building issues along the way, but Derek said: "It was nothing we couldn't work around."
The couple stumbled upon a few house building issues along the way, but Derek said: "It was nothing we couldn't work around."

Derek said: “We only lived in Huddersfield a short while. We lived in Lancashire and did a house exchange so found ourselves in Huddersfield.

“It was a great place to live, a beautiful area with lovely walks along the canal, but two of our sons live in London and we have friends down here so wanted to move.

“The idea to build came from me and from watching similar programmes. We wanted to move but couldn't afford it so we decided to build our own and save 20-25% of the cost.

“Having a blank canvas was great. I did two years at the Open University studying about the environment and wanted an environmentally-friendly house, so starting with a clean sheet of paper meant it was easier to achieve that.

“We've no heating. The house is heated purely by insulation.”

The couple stumbled upon a few issues along the way, but Derek said “it was nothing we couldn't work around.”

So would he do it again?

“That’s not an easy question. We said we’d be here 10 years but that will take me to 82 and I’m not going to build one at that age. If it was 20 years ago, definitely.”

Architect Piers Taylor is on hand to offer advice and encourage them to swap the living and sleeping space around
Architect Piers Taylor is on hand to offer advice and encourage them to swap the living and sleeping space around

Following their every move is architect Piers Taylor and Kieran Long, an architecture and design expert, who offer advice and encourage them to swap the living and sleeping space around.

The House That £100k Built is on BBC Two Wednesday March 1 at 8pm.