Fans of Grand Designs have plenty to look forward to this autumn, with Kevin McCloud returning to our screens for a new series featuring four ambitious self-build projects and two eagerly anticipated revisits.
The new series begins on Wednesday 16 September, embracing bold ideas and innovation while showcasing pioneering construction methods and ambitious architecture. But, as ever, the people behind the builds will be at the heart of each story.
The announcement also confirmed that Grand Designs: House of the Year will return later this year, celebrating some of the UK’s most outstanding examples of residential architecture. Over several weeks, Kevin will join RIBA judges Damion Burrows and Natasha Huq to reveal the projects shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA House of the Year 2026 title.
Last year, a small, sculptural and budget-conscious self-build in the Outer Hebrides, won the award.
'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,' says Kevin. '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.'
Grand Designs has been on air for 27 years, documenting some of the country’s most magnificent and daring house builds, including the infamous North Devon lighthouse, which became a 15-year labour of love.
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But after decades at the helm, Kevin McCloud still enjoys following the UK’s most ambitious builds and their intrepid creators.
'I love it when people are just putting all their ideas, their cash, all their energies into something, which might not be fully proven or that might be experimental,' Kevin previously told House Beautiful UK.
The most recent series of Grand Designs, which aired last autumn, featured a luxurious off-grid home set in 20 acres of Pembrokeshire woodland, as well as a revisit to an old barn in Sevenoaks that had faced delays.
'We are incredibly proud to bring both Grand Designs and Grand Designs: House of the Year back to Channel 4,' says John Comerford, interim MD of Naked, a Fremantle label, and executive producer. 'Together they showcase an extraordinary breadth of British architecture, seen in both ambitious self builds and in award-winning state of the art new homes. We are delighted that viewers can once again experience the remarkable people and places at the heart of both series.'
• Grand Designs returns at 9pm on Wednesday 16 September on Channel 4
