Changing Rooms is making a return to our TV screens on Wednesday but with a few changes.
Instead of being on the BBC, it will now run on Channel 4 with Naked Attraction presenter Anna Richardson taking the reins.
The iconic show ran from 1996-2004 and its original TV stars Carol Smillie and Linda Barker have shared some of the show’s most shocking moments from over the years.
One moment included when homeowner Clodagh and daughter Julia found their £6,000 teapot collection had been destroyed during the show.
It happened when the Changing Rooms team built a free-standing shelf to display them on.
(Image: BBC)
However, it soon smashed when a pile of books was placed on the shelf which left Clodagh upset.
Clodagh, 75, spoke to The Guardian about how she feels ahead of the show’s return, she said: “I still don’t feel very good about her,” she said of former host Barker.
“On the very rare occasions she’s on television now, when I do see her, she’s still very bouncy, and I just don’t think she earned the bounce.”
Insurers reimbursed Clodagh for the value of her teapots but didn’t restart her collection as she didn’t want a repeat of what happened on the show.
Clodagh, from London, told the paper she didn’t regret appearing on the show but said it was a good experience for her daughter.
Meanwhile, former host Linda Barker spoke about the incident years later and said: “Probably the worst moment for me, well definitely the worst moment and probably for any designer on Changing Rooms has to be when I built a floating shelf.
“It was 14 floors up and in a flat in Wandsworth and it was to house a very beautiful collection of antique teapots.
(Image: BBC)
“The idea was that this thing was just in the middle of the room.
“I mean it was going to be absolutely great and it should have looked wonderful of course.
“But I’m painting such a great picture because of course, the whole thing ended in complete disaster.”
Elsewhere, Carol Smillie also spoke about what went on behind the scenes on the iconic show.
(Image: Channel 4)
Carol, 58, hosted the show until 2003 and told The Sun: “It was the first time we’d had car-crash telly, when you would be sitting there with a cushion in front of your eyes, saying, ‘Oh no!’ It was sometimes like watching a disaster in slow motion.
“As a nation, we like to snoop around other people’s houses and that had never been done on TV before.”
Going around people’s houses you’d expect to see things lying around and Carol certainly did.
She said: “You would see all kinds of horrors under the beds – adult materials, kinky outfits – things you wish you hadn’t seen.”
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The former host was also shocked to find chocolate condoms under the bed of two parents whose son was redecorating their room.
She added: “The poor lad nearly gagged.”
However, the new series will have some familiarity with Davina being joined by interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen – who originally featured on the show.
It will also feature the same format where two people will go against the clock to redecorate a room in each other’s homes.
The pair will of course have help from an interior designer and a team of people to get the work done.
New host Davina admitted she was “excited” to front the “classic” show adding: “It’s the perfect time to bring it back, everyone is going DIY and decor mad.
“I can’t wait to see all the amazing transformations – I might even get stuck in myself if I’m allowed to be let loose with a paintbrush.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
