"George was a lovely guy. My wife kissed him and I don't think she's washed since," jokes inventor and Islander Nicholas Ponting, as he chalks up another tv appearance, thanks to his amazing creation - a replica of the iconic flying car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

"After filming, we had dinner on our decking and a lovely chat. George is the driving force behind his programmes. He knows exactly what he wants."

Nicholas and his wife Carolyn have just been featured on episode two of the tenth series of George Clarke's Amazing Spaces.

Scroll down for a catch-up link...

Isle of Wight County Press: Photo by Nicholas Ponting.Photo by Nicholas Ponting.

They have added a sleeping platform to their very own Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as they plan an exciting new adventure.

The car is a faithful recreation of the one from the 1968 British musical starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes.

A film crew for the Channel 4 programme visited fortnightly over the summer to check up on progress, as an old boat and stuff from their shed became a quirky new mobile bed.

Nicholas said: "We built a good rapport with them. We went for dinner at the Steamer Inn in Shanklin.

"We also had to do some interviews over Zoom and Skype."

  • Watch George Clarke's Amazing Spaces HERE
  • Follow the couple's adventures HERE

Isle of Wight County Press:

Behind the lens: Nicholas and Carolyn Ponting and architect and presenter George Clarke. (Photo shared by Nicholas Ponting).

Isle of Wight County Press:

George was here for the big reveal, originally planned for Appley beach in Ryde. But plans were changed to avoid the summer crowds and instead drones, a catering truck, gantry cameras and more descended on a beauty spot near Newchurch.

The Isle of Wight's very own Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is no stranger to media stardom.

GMTV was the first stop, shortly after Nicholas created the car from a 1973 3 Series Land Rover, because Carolyn loves the movie.

Magazine features followed, as well as television in Greece, India and Australia, as the couple embarked on incredible round-the-world adventure Down Under.

Closer to home, their drive up the A1 to a steampunk festival in Lincoln was filmed for a daytime tv show.

Read more:

Then, thanks to Britain's Most Spectacular Backyard Builds, Nicholas won £3,500 to build another quirky invention - a carousel sweet dispenser.

The One Show marked the fiftieth anniversary of the movie, when broadcaster and author Gyles Brandreth presented from Nicholas's car and actor Adrian Hall (who played Jeremy Potts in the film) autographed it.

Nicholas was invited back and ended up driving comedian Jimmy Carr onto the set, before his own interview with presenters Matt Baker and Alex Jones.

"It's been a whirlwind of things you would never have imagine would have happened," he said.

Next on the agenda is a drive to Italy, through France, via the the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. But the grand plan is to ship Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to America (it's too far to fly over the Atlantic) and to drive across the States - this time with brand new sleeping quarters.

Nicholas says he would love to have actor Dick Van Dyke as his passenger.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for Nicholas and Carolyn.

"We take the grandkids out for picnic and sometimes we just go to Morrisons for a pint of milk," laughed Nicholas. 

"One summer, I went to Andover to collect some bees. 

"They need air conditioning so they don't die and I was worried about the hour on the ferry, when you can't run the engine."

Isle of Wight County Press: Photo by Nicholas Ponting.Photo by Nicholas Ponting.

"Everytime you go anywhere in it, it's always an adventure.

"My wife and I have got vivid imaginations. It's easy to be boring. Let's do something different."