Interior Design Masters fans fume after favourite loses to 'ugly' house in final
Interior Design Masters just cranked up the heat tonight in a shock final, as underdog John Cooper won over Rita Millat, leaving some fans fuming.
The popular series sees comedian Alan Carr and interiors guru Michelle Ogundehin pit a group of designers against one another in various challenges over seven weeks.
Tasked with transforming two holiday cottages in the village of Portmeirion in Wales for tonight's final, DT teacher John, 46, went for a Mediterranean-inspired finish, while visual merchandiser Rita, 42, opted for a cosy pastel-coloured vibe.
For background: while Rita won the first challenge in the series, John was left in the bottom cohort on the sofa on four occasions.
Some viewers weren't happy, as they felt Rita had been more consistent throughout the competition and it was sheer luck John pulled it out the bag at the last minute.
'Feel like I've just watched a terrible episode of changing rooms! That was awful – Rita had an amazing eye for design and this program ruined it. Rita if you're listening don't change who you are, you're amazing!' commented @cookiesam50 on X.
'I think that John was very lucky to be in the final but I preferred his house tonight. Rita's kitchen was underwhelming and that stairway was horrendous,' reasoned @BurghillGirl.
However, @alemonsqueeze raged: 'My goodness, Rita was robbed! John has been at the bottom 4 times, his transformation was ugly and tasteless.'
@Claret40 said: 'Gutted Rita didn't win Interior Design Masters. She was consistently head & shoulders above everyone else week after week. I wish her well in the future.'
Others were very much team John though, as @TheSilverZebra said: 'Congratulations to John, the colours & design were spot on. That pop of blue throughout really brought it together, another great series.'
@Alligatoruk1975 said: 'Yay John!!! Well deserved win on #InteriorDesignMasters. His confidence and style has grown throughout the series. His final room was very stylish and classy.'
At one point throughout the series, Rita slightly lost her confidence, but brought it back when she injected her personality into her designs again.
Meanwhile, John has been praised for his attention to detail, with time management an issue throughout the contest.
In the seven weeks, contestants have transformed everything from hostel bunkrooms to hospitality boxes in the hope of going home with a major homeware range contract with John Lewis, which (the aptly named) John bagged tonight.
Last year, host Alan Carr admitted on The Rest is Entertainment podcast that sometimes clients aren't happy with the show's design makeovers.
'Sometimes the people who own the shop or hairdressers or the hotel room really hate what they've done,' Alan said.
'What we do is we go back and paint it back to how it originally was so no one is offended.'
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Interior Design Masters is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
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