‘They find stuff that people have thrown out and they rejuvenate it’
Alan Carr talks to Danielle de Wolfe about the new season of Interior Design Masters
When people think of Alan Carr, they don’t normally think ‘oh, I bet he knows a lovely colour scheme’” chuckles the exuberant TV star.
Fresh from his judging role as part of Rupaul’s Drag Race UK, presenter and comedian Alan Carr swaps face paint for wall paint as he fronts returning BBC2 show, Interior Design Masters.
The eight-part series sees 10 aspiring designers showcase their skills in a bid to forge a career in the competitive world of commercial interior design.
Following in the wake of television design shows like Changing Rooms and Grand Designs, each week Interior Design Masters puts the aspiring designers through their paces, introducing a new space that requires a complete transformation.
The series sees Carr joined by returning judge and design industry expert Michelle Ogundehin, alongside an ever-changing interiors guru who assists as a weekly guest judge.
And the Changing Rooms comparisons do not stop there, as viewers can also expect a hearty dose of telly nostalgia courtesy of opening guest judge and Changing Rooms hero, Laurence Llewelyn-bowen.
“He’s so interesting to listen to; he is the master and he knows his stuff. It’s no surprise they put him on the first one because he just talks a lot of sense.
“He reminds me of a cocker spaniel – he’s quite full of life and he is one of those joys because he can just talk and talk and talk.”
With the 10 aspiring designers hailing from all walks of life – the line-up features former doctors and current art directors, the show sees the contestants pushed outside of their comfort zones, developing new skills as they progress through the competition.
“For me, I think it was the upscaling stuff that really blew my mind,” says Carr.
“In week six or seven, they were upholstering, they were making their own pelmets, they were rewiring, it was like one of those Open University courses,” recalls Carr.
“They find some amazing stuff that people have thrown out in skips and tips and they just rejuvenate it.”
However, when it comes to his own taste and interior design choices, Carr openly admits to relinquishing the reins.
“I can write a stand-up set and go and perform it in a theatre, no problem, but try and get a dado rail or a rug that matches a wallpaper and for me it’s like the enigma code,” he says.
“I’m quite restrained but it’s Paul, my other half, who takes the chances. If I tell you this, it will give you the idea of what it’s like [at home]. I did a star jump and I knocked a Perspex shark head off the wall.
“He will not only buy it, he’ll knock them down price wise too. I’ll be like ‘Oh my God! This is s*** and then when it’s in situ at the end, you go ‘that is a stroke of genius’.
“That’s what I love about the show, because they’re very talented people and they’re finding things in skips that look stunning.”
● Interior Design Masters starts on BBC2 tomorrow, 2 February