Glenn Close is going above and above to show her longtime friend how much she cares by planning the surprise of a lifetime for her.
The award-winning actress, who is 76 years old, teams up with the stars of Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, in an exclusive sneak preview of her forthcoming episode of Celebrity IOU. Their goal is to surprise the actress’s best friend, Robin, with a luxurious modular house. Because Robin was the first person to volunteer for her mental health organization, Bring Change to Mind, Close wants to show her appreciation by taking her on a relaxing getaway that she well deserves.
In the program, which is scheduled to premiere on HGTV on Monday, May 29, Close finds motivation for completing the task in an unexpected place: the character of Cruella de Vil, whom she played in the film 101 Dalmatians.
After Close unveils her design idea to the brothers, Drew comments on her, “I feel like there’s a Cruella de Vil that comes out because obviously there’s a designer side to her.” Close responds, “I feel like there’s a Cruella de Vil that comes out because obviously there’s a designer side to her.”
“Yes,” she nods her head in agreement before joking, “Any skunks around I can make into a purse?” After that, she lets out a wicked chuckle, to which her brothers respond in like.
Jonathan exclaims with excitement, “This might be my favorite moment in the history of the world.”
In an interview that took place earlier in the month of May and was conducted exclusively for PEOPLE, the brothers remembered what it was like to work with Close on the house.
“Nothing beats Glenn Close coming in with an excavator and just wildly smashing this shed apart while cackling and laughing like some character in a—” Jonathan begins before Drew finishes with, “a Disney movie.” “Nothing beats Glenn Close coming in with an excavator and just wildly smashing this shed apart while cackling and laughing like some character in a—”
Jonathan said to PEOPLE that the event was quite comical.
This season, in addition to Close, the brothers are joined by a slew of A-list visitors, such as Kristin Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Heidi Klum, Jay Leno, and Emma Roberts. Close also joins them. The first two episodes of this season provided viewers with the opportunity to see Heidi Klum and Kristin Chenoweth’s home makeovers.
They tell PEOPLE that their favorite aspect of working with stars is something that goes far deeper than the laughter that they have with each celebrity visitor, despite the fact that they have their fair share of fun with each famous guest.
“You get to see what these celebrities are like when they’re not in a film, on a TV show, or on a red carpet,” Jonathan adds. “You get to see what they’re really like.” “Knowing that somebody really cares about this person that they’re giving back to is so much more interesting than all of the glitz and glamor,” the speaker said. “It’s those moments of humanity you get to see that are so much more interesting than all of the glitz and glamor.”
When it comes to the house renovations shown on the program, Drew repeats the view expressed by his brother, adding that these celebs are not just saying, “Here’s some money, go make this happen.””They’re getting in there, hands-on, to transform these houses,” he explains. “They’re not just standing around watching.” “That means so much more to the recipients when you have these celebrities who have never done this before getting hands-on.” [Case in point:] “When you have these celebrities who have never done this before getting hands-on.”
On Monday, May 29 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time / 6 p.m. Pacific Time, HGTV will air the episode of Celebrity IOU featuring Glenn Close.
