It takes five days, 30 Christmas trees, 60,000 baubles and a million fairy lights to transform Chatsworth House into a winter wonderland.
This year, Channel 4 went behind the scenes to document the creation of the Yuletide pop-up for a one-off TV special, airing on Thursday, December 12 at 9pm.
More than 100,000 visitors are expected to visit the stately home, used as a backdrop for the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice, over the festive period.
This theme for 2019 is A Land Far, Far Away, with the grand rooms of the house dressed as a homage to countries that have influenced generations of the Cavendish family.
The Chatsworth team has delved into the collection to find a treasure trove of memorabilia from around the world. Morocco, India, Netherlands, Italy, China, Japan, and America all feature in what is one of the most ambitious Christmas seasons staged by the team.
ITN Production’s executive producer, Will Smith, says: “Viewers will be amazed at the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to transform Chatsworth House at Christmas and make it such a magical and enchanting time for visitors.
"This one-off documentary will provide a compelling insight into the sheer scale of getting the house ready so that guests can participate in the festive fun and have a Christmas to remember.”
Chatsworth’s head of visitor experience Sally Ambrose adds: “Christmas at Chatsworth has become one of the biggest events of the year for the estate, so we were delighted to welcome a national broadcaster to come and have a peek behind the scenes and feature some of our wonderful staff who make this such a special experience for thousands of visitors each year.”
Chatsworth Christmas runs up until January 5, 2020. Tickets for house and garden are priced at £25 per adult and £15 per child (aged between 3-16). Family tickets are also available.
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