This is the moment a millennial couple realised they’d made a very awkward mistake while converting their tiny city car into a campervan to travel the world.
Doug, 32, and Alex, 30, from Oxfordshire appeared on the first episode of the new season of Channel 4‘s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces on Tuesday night.
They’d purchased a tiny 3.5×2.9m car for £900 for their travels – though host George commented it was ‘barely big enough for a family food shop’.
And the challenge was to prove especially difficult given Doug’s height at 6ft 2, and the fact they hoped to bring their young and rapidly growing dog, Tagger, along too.
For £2,000, Doug and Alex sought to transform their vehicle by adding a sliding bed section, double bed, kitchen, lighting, dog bed and solar-powered fridge – all to be finished within six weeks.
But with the interior nearly complete and risking ‘running out of time’ before starting their travels, the couple were forced into a last-minute change of plan.
Tagger, whom the couple rescued on a previous holiday, was growing so big she wasn’t able to sleep in the car as planned.
‘She can’t sleep under the bed,’ Doug said, explaining that she would have to sleep in the trailer instead.
During the latest episode of Channel 4’s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, a couple from Oxfordshire converted their tiny city car (above) into a campervan to travel the world
Doug, 32, and Alex, 30, completely reimagined the vehicle adding a sliding bed section, double bed, kitchen, lighting, dog bed and solar-powered fridge
However, as the six-week deadline loomed, they realised that their rescue dog Tagger (above) was growing so big she wasn’t able to sleep in the refurbished car as planned
Just seven days later the van was complete, and Tagger had a stylish dog bed of her own in the trailer.
Even George Clarke admitted he was ‘insanely jealous’ as the couple unveiled their plans to travel to the Arctic in their newly renovated van.
The ‘amazing’ transformation featured a tight and cozy interior, decked out with curtains, designer lighting and heritage green hardware.
They’d even managed a pull out kitchen space at the end, with a stovetop for cooking and making tea in the kettle.
The solar panels on the roof would mean the couple would be able to life off-grid for weeks at a time while on their travels.
‘That’s good! That’s really neat!’ George exclaimed, as he was shown inside the van.
Doug and Alex demonstrated how they would transform the seating area into a double bed in under a minute, tucking in the kitchen area, taking out the dog bed and adding extra cushions.
George said it was ‘mind-boggling’, particularly when 6ft2 Doug was able to lie down without a glitch.
But with the interiors nearly complete and the couple risking ‘running out of time’ before starting their travels, Doug and Alex were forced into a last-minute change of plan
By the end of the episode, Tagger had a stylish dog bed of her own in the trailer
Tagger meanwhile was filmed looking happy in her trailer, with a blanket, dog bed and water bowl.
‘Small really is beautiful in many ways, if you can make the space work,’ George explained. ‘Everything becomes more efficient.’
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces aims to ‘celebrate the nation’s small space trailblazers’ and prove that with skill, and a whole lot of heart, anything can be possible.
Elsewhere in the first episode of the new series, he met Oliver and Amber in the Cotswolds.
With Amber pregnant, the couple faced an extraordinary challenge as they sought to renovate a ‘big bland’ lorry into a travelling home and restaurant business.
By the end of the programme, the couple had achieved their ‘biggest dream’ – as chef and former circus star Oliver had created an amazing space for their family, including newborn Zeph.
Their restaurant, Josser, is currently in Moreton in Marsh and travels around the Cotswolds, hosting dinner nights and brunches for those nearby.
George also enjoyed an architectural trip to the hillside village of Monsanto, where villages are built into boulders and ‘traditional rustic architecture works in harmony with design’.
A view of Doug and Alex’s 3.5×2.9m car that they purchased for £900, before it was transformed
The ‘amazing’ remodel featured a tight and cozy interior, decked out with curtains, designer lighting and heritage green hardware
Even host George Clarke (right) admitted he was ‘insanely jealous’ as the couple unveiled their plans to travel to the Arctic in their newly renovated van
The village, which has been dubbed the ‘most Portuguese village in Portugal’, featured ‘fairly conventional houses’ with one huge twist.
As George explained, ‘You don’t know if the house is born of the rock, or the rock is born off the house’.
He visited one property known as the ‘one tile house’, which had a huge boulder for its roof in a piece of stunning architecture.
He even went inside one of the houses, where a gigantic boulder from the hillside entered the living space and bedroom.
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces airs at 9pm on Tuesdays on Channel 4. The first episode of the new series is available to stream now.
