documentary series The Manor Reborn, which aims to give a new life to Avebury Manor and re-open it fully to the public after years of closure, begins on November 24, on BBC One at 9pm.

The programme is described as a “groundbreaking collaboration between the BBC and the National Trust”, to transform the historic house.

Numerous students from Wiltshire College were involved in the project.

The Manor Reborn will be presented by Flog It presenter Paul Martin, who formerly lived in Marlborough and is now at Seend. He will be joined by Penelope Keith, the star of hit sitcom To The Manor Born.

Over four weekly episodes, viewers will see a team of historians, designers and volunteers working on the manor house, which was bought by the National Trust after Ken King unsuccessfully tried to turn the estate into an Elizabethan theme park.

Inspired by the real stories of occupants – from the age of Queen Elizabeth I to the eve of the Second World War – the series will illustrate the story of British design across five centuries, drawing on a craft and furniture-making skills to replace items the house originally had.

Avebury Manor – which will open daily from 11am to 3.30pm from November 19 – will be one of a few National Trust properties where visitors can handle every element of the house.

Sarah Staniforth, the trust’s museums and collections director, said: “An empty house is like a blank canvas, so this was an exciting opportunity to interpret the interiors in an authentic but imaginative way.”