Viewers reject room changes

THE SHOW may attract 10 million viewers and bear blame for countless other "lifestyle" programmes dominating our screens but the public, apparently, would rather watch than take part in the BBC1 series, Changing Rooms.

A survey by Homes and Gardens magazine showed that 65 per cent of readers would not allow the Changing Rooms team, led by the presenter Carol Smillie, anywhere near their homes.

Taken aback by the findings, the magazine's editors then commissioned a random national poll, with remarkably similar results. Of 1,000 adults surveyed, 59 per cent did not want the Changing Rooms treatment. In London, 64 per cent said they would not take part in Changing Rooms, which started a new series last night.

The findings were mirrored by those for other popular DIY shows. Only 49 per cent of the magazine's readers said they would allow a visit from BBC2's Home Front programme, while 51 per cent would welcome ITV's Better Homes. And only 20 per cent of readers said they had used a decorating idea from a television programme. Matthew Line, editor of Homes and Gardens, said: "The programmes are undoubtedly entertaining, but ultimately for the majority of us that is it.

"It would seem that while people are happy to gain inspiration from sources such as magazines, the idea of allowing a crack TV team to move in and inflict an entirely new look on our home - on next to no budget - is anathema to most of us."

A spokeswoman for Bazal,the production company that makes Changing Rooms, said: "We have been into 110 homes, and 95 per cent of the owners are happy with the results and enjoyed the experience."