WATCH: Cheryl Hines Surprises Her Longtime Assistant and Nanny with 'Dream' Home Makeover
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Cheryl Hines is giving back to one of her closest friends who helped raise her daughter.
The Curb Your Enthusiasm alum teamed up with Property Brothers stars Drew and Jonathan Scott for the special project. On Monday's episode of Celebrity IOU, Hines, 57, transforms a garage into a proper work space and mother-in-law suite for her former assistant and nanny, Sarita, who she has known for 20 years.
"I was working on Curb Your Enthusiasm and I needed an assistant. Somebody said why don't you meet Sarita, she actually happens to be from Tallahassee where you are from," Hines says in the episode.
She ended up hiring her and a year and a half later, "I found out I was pregnant," says Hines. "I looked at her and I said, 'What do you know about babies?' She said, 'Nothing' and I said, 'Neither do I...maybe, do you want to try it together?"
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Hines' daughter Catherine Rose Young was born in 2004 and she and Sarita developed a great relationship.
"Catherine means the world to me," Sarita says. "She was my best friend."
Catherine, who is now 18, and Sarita were inseparable, Hines recalls. "As a parent the only thing that matters really is that you're raising your child to be the best person they can be, and Sarita knows that and she knew that then," Hines says. "She taught Cat so much."
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As a big thank you for all she's done for her family, Hines aims to pull off a huge makeover for Sarita in under four weeks while Sarita is visiting her mother in Florida.
"Oh my gosh, this is a dream because Sarita works from home. Andrew, her husband, works from home," Hines says.
In PEOPLE's exclusive preview of the episode, Hines battles the older structure and its dust, even kicking a sliding door down with force, but she admits she is scared of finding a rat during the remodel.
"My biggest fear is the critters," Hines admits.
The remodeled space will give Sarita a place to work and a place for her mother-in-law to stay when she visits, because they usually have to rent her a home nearby.
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"The structure is shady. I wouldn't even want to park a car in here for fear that this would collapse on it," Jonathan notes in the episode.
Hines and the Scott brothers get to work, stripping much of the original material and even making the structure earthquake proof.
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After the finish space is revealed, an emotional Sarita tells Hines, "There's just no way of every repaying this. I see the love and the work that went into it. That's what makes it so special."
Hines' episode of Celebrity IOU premieres Monday, Dec. 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV and will be available to stream on discovery+.
