Changing Rooms (TV series) (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Changing Rooms was a British television entertainment DIY show broadcast on the BBC. It is the game show that began the DIY show fad of the late 1990s.

Format

The object of the show was for couples to swap houses with friends or neighbours with each pair doing up each other's houses. This would lead up to a finale with both couples seeing their rooms, and meeting up again - almost invariably on still friendly terms. With the show including some top designers, their ideas could be a little over the top, which led to a few tears and tantrums. Changing Rooms was originally hosted by Carol Smillie, and assisting with the remodeling was cockney carpenter, "Handy" Andy Kane.

History

The show's first episode was broadcast in 1996, and the final edition was broadcast on November 22 2004 after a successful 8 year, 15 series run. The cancellation was announced on August 27 2004. Former designer on the show Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen took over presenting the show from Carol Smillie in 2003 for series 14 and 15. The designers on the final edition were Graham Wynne and Anna Ryder Richardson. Handy Andy has gone on to host his own DIY shows.

Final episode

In November 2004, a special episode was taped in Boscastle, Cornwall for Christmas broadcast. Designers Anna Ryder Richardson, Graham Wynne and Gordon Whistance took on the task of restoring the decor of homes and businesses damaged in the floodings of August that year. The episode went out on December 28 2004.

Disasters

On one episode, a Linda Barker room was being built to accommodate a large collections of teapots. Overnight, the shelves collapsed, demolishing the valuable collection.

The show gained popularity through the sometimes unusual designs of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and the reactions of some participants who disliked their newly designed rooms.

Overseas editions

The show has been franchised and variations of it appear in several other countries, sometimes with a different name - such as Trading Spaces in America. The original Changing Rooms is also broadcast overseas, for example, on BBC America.

A New Zealand edition of the show was produced for several years, also called Changing Rooms. The show was identically formatted to the British series, with host Kerry Smith, "Handy" Andy Dye, and regular designers including Donald Grant Sutherland, Neil McLachlan, and Sally Ridge. A handful of international shows were produced, each featuring one couple in New Zealand and one in the United Kingdom.

Australia's Nine Network also produced a local version with Suzie Wilks as the host. The show is now defunct.

MDF

Medium-density fibreboard was a material used frequently on the show. It would be untrue to say it gained cult status as a result of this, but it did become famous enough that it helped the Changing Rooms team make an appearance on British charity appeal Children in Need. During the show, which is essentially a televised variety show, the team performed "YMDF", a parody of YMCA.

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