In HGTV’s newest series, the network goes where it’s never gone before: to renovate an entire European castle. “Castle Impossible” premieres on April 29, 2025, chronicling the adventures of married couple Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira as they renovate a 500-year-old French chateau they inherited from her grandpa, per a press release from the network.
According to HGTV, the sprawling estate once welcomed royal guests including King Louis XIII. Now, the couple have taken over the chateau — a popular wedding destination site — and are using their skills in carpentry, conservation, and landscaping to restore the centuries-old castle.
The couple, who call themselves the Wild Figs on social media, have been filming their renovation adventure for YouTube video updates since 2022. According to their channel’s profile, the chateau they inherited includes a “500-year-old medieval dungeon, hunters lodge, 18th century farmhouse, 28 horse stables, and a large forest with two lakes.”
Known as Chateau de Lesigny, which the couple casually calls the Beau Chateau, the castle is located only 12 miles south east of Paris, according to the venue’s website, in Lésigny. To escape the stress of the never-ending renovations, the couple told TV Insider they spend time outdoors on the property’s 130 acres or go into town.
“We really like outdoor time,” Reckert said. “We’ll take walks around the lake. We go to the village to have an ice cream or go to the market. We’ll go to Paris every once in a while.”
Figueira added, “Before we really entrenched ourselves with these renovations, we’d go to Paris more often because we’re really close. It’s about 30 minutes by car. The fun is endless in Paris, but once we really kicked up the renovations, it has been overwhelming.”
Sometimes, when the stress of it all gets to be too much, Reckert admitted they just head home to California for time away. It’s not just about the complications of restoring something built in the 1500s, but all the extra issues that come with such a massive estate — including trespassers, which they deal with in the premiere.
“The thing is the chateau property is about 130 acres total,” Figueira told TV Insider. “There are boundaries and fences that cover the whole property, but once you go past the lakes behind the chateau, it kind of turns into forest land. People have found ways or breaks through the fence so they can come in and walk around. Usually, they are just high school kids and we’ll catch them and tell them to leave. We’ve been trying to fix the fences, but every once in a while we’ll find they are broken again. It has been frustrating.”
An area of the property featured on “Castle Impossible” is available to rent out for private events, from weddings to conferences. Reckert told TV Insider that she has tripled the number of weddings booked at the site to help offset costs of renovations.
They now host about 80 weddings per year there, she said, in areas of the property that have already been updated. According to the website, prices start around $3800.
Clients can host up to 300 guests for a standing cocktail reception, 250 guests for a seated dinner, and up to 350 guests can be seated for for an interior or exterior ceremony.
Five of the estate’s 130 acres are available for events and three main rooms are open for rental. The site boasts the restored areas feature the “authentic craftsmanship of the renaissance era. This includes the ceilings, chimneys and parquet floors.” It notes that a “marble staircase of honor” was added to the space, “adding to the magnificent charm of the venue.”
“Castle Impossible” premieres on April 29 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
