Grand Designs - Trade Secrets - Series 1 and 2 (2010)

Far less of the sympathetic Kevin McCloud, and far more of a pair of haughty and annoying women who don't seem to like much at all. Naomi Clever and Deborah Saunt come across as the fashionistas of the housing world, with a (frequently negative) opinion on everything, and having done very little to convince me I should take them seriously. McCloud, at least, works to explain how and why he's formulated his responses and opinions in the originating series. The 'trade secrets' are thin on the ground, and primarily presented in the middle of each episode by Tom Dyckhoff, and tend to the fluffier and less useful end of the spectrum, especially for Australian audiences. Some of the history that he goes into occasionally is interesting, but it's still not the secrets that I actually borrowed these discs hoping to see. I suspect that this series is not well served when watched isolated from the relevant 'Grand Designs' episodes. It tantalises and provides some commentary, but very little satisfying information in the end.