‘Celebrity IOU’: Drew and Jonathan Scott Talk Working With John Stamos, William Shatner, Eva Longoria and More Ahead of HGTV’s New Episodes (Exclusive)

HGTV stars Drew and Jonathan Scott are showing a new side to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in five heartwarming and star-studded new episodes of Celebrity IOU.

Ahead of the Dec. 28 premiere of the hit show, which gives celebrities a chance to give back to the special people in their lives by surprising them with life-changing home transformations, the Scott brothers opened up to PopCulture.com about working with the A-List lineup of John Stamos, William Shatner, Eva Longoria, Mario Lopez and Ike Barinholtz.

“We were pretty spoiled this season,” Jonathan told PopCulture. “There’s something about having celebrities who, you know, they don’t have to do this show. They’re doing it because they really want to do something special for someone important in their lives. But they’re also just so much fun to work with.”

Stamos, who surprises his best friend of 50 years with the astonishing garage and patio renovation of his childhood home in the Dec. 28 premiere, was one of those fun-loving stars, with the brothers describing the Full House star as “just the most down-to-earth guy” with hair that rivaled even Jonathan’s coif.

“We actually did a funny scene where we were … wrapping him in something,” Drew recalled. “We’re in the middle of doing this, and it’s fun, and he’s such a good guy, just easy-going, and I’m like, ‘Wait. Am I not allowed to touch his hair? Should we not? I’m going for it.’ … and he was fine!”

Shatner was another star who surprised the HGTV stars. “I was blown away,” Jonathan admitted, revealing that even at 94 years old, the Star Trek legend “was like, ‘Give me a sledgehammer, I’m diving in.’”

Longoria was equally as enthusiastic, as Jonathan joked, “Sometimes you have to worry about the little ones,” calling her a “beast mode [demolition] person.” Drew agreed, “Oh my gosh, she’s like a firecracker.”

Beyond the demolition work, Drew promised that every story viewers see on Celebrity IOU in these new episodes “has heart” beyond what they might expect.

“A lot of people sometimes think, why wouldn’t these celebrities just have done this a long time ago?” Jonathan told PopCulture. “There’s a lot more than you think to just doing a renovation for somebody. You can’t just do a renovation for somebody.”

“We have worked something out with this show where it’s the perfect blend of getting access to a side of these celebrities you’ve never seen, but also accomplishing something in a short period of time that I honestly don’t think anybody else could possibly do,” he continued.

Drew agreed, “No, it’s mind-blowing just how much we can do in a short period. But if you don’t have a design eye or you don’t have that ability to see what this space could become, you’re not going to tackle it. Or you work within what you see in front of you. You don’t change walls. We go in with a blank slate. We’ll change everything if we have to.”

Those changes extend outside of the Hollywood sphere in a new season of Don’t Hate Your House with the Property Brothers, which premieres Dec. 29 on HGTV, following the duo as they fix problematic properties for frustrated families when moving isn’t an option.

“We’re coming across people [who are] just so fed up,” Jonathan explained. “They feel like they’ve thrown away any hope of ever loving this place. They want to move on. And we’re trying to show people that it doesn’t have to be all bad.”

“Renovations are stressful, we know that,” he continued. “There’s never been a more expensive time than today in trying to tackle these things. But you just need to be working with people who can handle that. For us, we don’t get stressed about it. We just want to dive in and help these families out. So you do see some pretty low lows, but you see some high highs as well.”

Celebrity IOU returns with all-new episodes on Sunday, Dec. 28, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, while Don’t Hate Your House with the Property Brothers returns with a new season on Monday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.