Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen takes a swipe at Carol Smillie ahead of Changing Rooms reboot
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Changing Rooms star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen praises bosses for not bringing back Carol Smillie

The home makeover show returns next week after 18 years

Changing Rooms star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has made a surprising remark about Carol Smillie ahead of the show’s big comeback.

The iconic home makeover series is set to return to screens next week but original host Carol will not be at the helm.

Laurence will, however, be making a comeback – and he has praised show bosses for deciding against inviting her back.

Changing Rooms' Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen takes aim at Carol Smillie takes aim at Carol Smillie
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has praised Changing Rooms bosses for not bringing Carole Smillie back (Credit: BBC)

Changing Rooms reboot: Laurence throws shade on Carol

Speaking to The Sun, the interior design expert even described the move as “clever”.

When asked if he would have liked to see Carol as the host, he said: “No, and hand on heart, what the producers and what Channel 4 have done is actually very clever.

“They have moved on and it wouldn’t have worked if it had been Jurassic Park – it had to be a reinvention.”

Changing Rooms first landed on BBC2 in 1996.

Changing Rooms' Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen takes aim at Carol Smillie
Carol presented Changing Rooms from 1996 to 2003 (Credit: YouTube/ BBC)

Read more: This Morning: Holly Willoughby stunned by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s flirty comment

The BBC show saw couples swap houses with friends or neighbours and redecorate one room.

Carol was the original host of Changing Rooms, continuing when it switched to BBC1 two years later.

Laurence, meanwhile, was among the team of designers that helped contestants out.

Others included Linda Barker, Michael Jewitt and Oliver Heath.

However, in 2003, there was a switch up and Laurence took over hosting the show from Carol. It went off air a year later.

changing rooms stars
The show is returning next week after 18 years (Credit: Channel 4)

Who is hosting the Changing Rooms reboot?

In October last year, it was announced that Changing Rooms will be making a comeback.

But rather than air on the BBC, viewers will be able to watch the reboot on Channel 4.

Initially, telly star Davina McCall had been lined up to co-host the new series. However, the recording of the show was moved twice due to the coronavirus pandemic and Davina suddenly had conflicting schedules.

Naked Attraction’s Anna Richardson has since been enlisted.

She said: “What an honour to be joining the Changing Rooms team, one of my favourite shows from when I first started in TV!

Anna Richardson is the new host of Changing Rooms
Anna Richardson will be hosting Changing Rooms (Credit: C4)

Read more: Anna Richardson to host Changing Rooms reboot after replacing Davina McCall

“This series is an absolute classic and I can’t wait to see the designs the legendary Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and the brilliant Jordan and Russell of 2LG come up with for our homeowners. Let’s get that house swapping started!”

The first episode airs on Channel 4 next Wednesday and fans of the show cannot wait.

One tweeted: “Looking forward to watching #ChangingRooms again #channel4 I wonder if any of the rooms will be painted red or purple?!”

Another has said: “I’m all for the return of #ChangingRooms on @Channel4 as long as we get a #ChangingRoomsRevisited in a year’s time to see how it’s all become impossible to clean and getting dogeared.”

Changing Rooms, 8pm, Channel 4, Wednesday August 18, 2021

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Natasha Rigler
Freelance Writer