Christmas At Longleat | Preview (Channel 5)

As the dark nights draw in and Christmas gets ever closer, a spectacular event takes place at Longleat.

Step inside one of Britain's grandest estates and witness its transformation into a Christmas wonderland. Meet Lord and Lady Bath and their team as they prepare for not only the “Most Wonderful Time of The Year”, but also the busiest.

Decorating this incredible Elizabethan house takes time and precision, but the festivities don't stop there. Find out what it takes to make this Christmas extravaganza come to life as the estate hosts one of Europe's largest lantern festivals.

Christmas preparations inside the house involves a team of dedicated people bringing the grandeur to life. We follow house curator James Ford and his team as they dress the jaw-dropping Great Hall and set the Stately Dining table ready for the big day. It's a bauble-busting event.

Nothing says Christmas like a tree. In the heart of Longleat’s Forest we meet Head Forester, Jim McConkie who shows us how to choose the most tree-mendous tree and we witness just how difficult it is to bring a 24-foot conifer into a house full of priceless antiques.

Christmas is a 365-day event for Event Manager Daisy Mercedes and her team, but they can't do it alone. Each September fifty artists and engineers from China fly in to live on the grounds. This year’s theme is “Treasured Tales” based on the world's most loved fairy stories including Peter Pan, Narnia, Cinderella and many more.

So what does it take to make 1500 lanterns that scale fifteen feet high? As the days and months fly by, the hard-working international team overcomes storms, shipping, and language barriers to meet an ever nearing grand opening that would be fit for Father Christmas himself.

Airs Sunday 3rd December on Channel 5.