''Changing Rooms'' is a

do-it-yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi- ...

home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the

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between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in 2021. The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The show was later franchised, generally under the same name, for the local TV markets in the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

Format

The premise of the show was for couples to swap houses with friends or neighbours with each pair decorating one room in each other's homes. This leads 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.

History

The show began on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

, at 9 pm on 4 September 1996, before transferring to

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

for the start of the third series in 1998. The final edition was broadcast on 22 November 2004 after a successful 8-year, 17 series run. The cancellation was announced on 27 August 2004. ''Changing Rooms'' was originally hosted by

Carol Smillie Carol Patricia Smillie (born 23 December 1961) is a Scottish former television presenter, actress and model. Smillie became famous as a presenter on British TV during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was best known for assisting Nicky Campbell on ...

, and assisting with the remodelling was a

Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

carpenter, "Handy" Andy Kane. The former designer on the show, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, took over presenting the show from Smillie in 2003 for series 14 and 15. "Handy" Andy went on to host his own DIY shows. In November 2004, a special episode was taped in Boscastle,

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, 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 floods of August that year. The episode was broadcast on 28 December 2004. In October 2020,

announced that it would be reviving the show, with Llewelyn-Bowen returning as presenter alongside

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She has presented various television shows for Channel 4, including ''Streetmate'' (1998–2001, 2016), ''Big Brother (British TV series), Big Brother'' (2 ...

. On 22 March 2021, it was confirmed that McCall would not present the revived series due to scheduling conflicts and the delayed filming of the show as a result of coronavirus restrictions. On 5 May 2021, Anna Richardson was confirmed as McCall's replacement.

Designers

The designers on the original version during its run included: * Linda Barker * Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen * Anna Ryder Richardson

International versions

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

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

and featured in various US shows, the ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' episode " Lights, Camera, Relationship" being one example. A

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

edition of the show was produced for several years, also called ''Changing Rooms''. It was identically formatted to the British series, with host Kerry Smith, "Handy" Andy Dye, and regular designers including Donald Grant Sunderland, 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 Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

also produced a local version of '' Changing Rooms'' from 1998 to 2005, hosted by Suzie Wilks who was assisted by Peter Everett, James Lindsay, Catherine Morton and Tim Janenko-Panaeff. In the Netherlands, a Dutch version – In Holland staat een huis – was broadcast by RTL 4 from 1998 to 2006, hosted by Martijn Krabbé.

Transmission guide

Original series

Revived series

Specials

References

External links

*{{Channel4.com, programmes/changing-rooms 1996 British television series debuts 2022 British television series endings British television series revived after cancellation Channel 4 original programming British English-language television shows Home renovation television series Makeover reality television series Television series by Banijay BBC One original programming BBC Two original programming