Children In Need 2009
The Dragons and entrepreneurs from the Den do something different for Children in Need
The first step is to decide on what's to be done. The old kitchen will make way for a purpose built catering facility, the old toilets will be replaced and the jam-packed storage room cleared out to make room for a state of the art music studio.
• Step One
• Step Two
• And so
The building will be repainted outside and in, and a new roof will be fitted to make the centre water tight.
The Dragons are terrified by the magnitude of the task and call in a unique resource...an army made up from some of the Den's most dynamic entrepreneurs have been enlisted to help, supported by tradesmen and volunteers from the local community.
The Dragons get in on the act too.
Duncan Bannatyne heads straight to the toilets: 'I'll sort this out' he exclaims as he smashes the urinals out. Meanwhile Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis tackle the kitchen wall with a sledgehammer.
After two hours the community centre has been transformed into a fully fledged building site - but the clock is ticking and soon day one is over.
With time of the essence the Dragons, ever astute, are pulling a few executive strings and are striking deals on the tools, materials and equipment they need. Deborah Meaden has some fun of the phone and finds that many people are completely taken aback by a call from one of the Dragons: 'Yes this is the real Deborah Meaden!'
But finding a replacement cooker is proving troublesome and Theo offers to clean it up and fix the dodgy rings.
Things start to deteriorate further when the generator fails. Deborah decides enough is enough and calls in another army, a real one this time - the Royal Marines!
The Dragons always find a way to keep their spirits high in difficult circumstances. Peter Jones manages to entertain himself and everyone else with an impromptu paint fight with Ladderbox entrepreneur, Geoff Hill.
Spirits end on a high but there's now only 24 hours to go.
The day starts with a real toilet emergency – water treatment specialist and inventor of Steri-Spray, Ian Helmore, explains that the wrong fittings have been delivered. Is there time to track the right ones down? There is.
And for every down there's an up and Peter helps deliver a shiny new cooker - Theo can stop thinking about fixing that old one!
As time ticks on tempers get frayed - everyone is tired. Despite this, all and sundry pull together and, remarkably, the job is finished on time.
The Dragons, the Den entrepreneurs, and the local volunteers and tradesmen have done all they can.
But will Lin and Pat like it? They love it.
The common room has been made over with brand new furniture and an awesome jigsaw mural created by the children.
There's a stylish modern kitchen and those dodgy toilets have been given a facelift.
And at the heart of the community centre the storage room has been transformed into a fully functional recording studio.
It's time to celebrate and for everyone, including the Dragons, to get a little emotional.
The community centre is for the children, so they should have the last word: 'Awesome, totally awesome'.
Last updated: 23 November 2009
