Changing Rooms star Laurence did NOT want Carol Smillie back as host

Changing Rooms star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen reveals he did NOT want Carol Smillie to return as host as he feared reboot would be like ‘Jurassic Park’

He’s set to make a grand return Channel 4’s upcoming Changing Rooms reboot

But Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has revealed that he’s glad that original host Carol Smillie will not be returning to the helm as he feared the reboot would look like ‘Jurassic Park’.

In a new interview, the presenter, 56, explained that producers made a ‘clever’ decision in not inviting the Scottish TV star, 59, back, as it was important the new home improvement show was a ‘rejuvenation’.

Honest: Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen revealed that he’s glad that original Changing Rooms host Carol Smillie will not be returning to the reboot as he feared it would look like ‘Jurassic Park’

So much so that Laurence insisted that he himself initially was hesitant in returning to the programme in which he starred on as a designer from 1996, before taking over presenting duties in 2003.

On whether he would have liked Carol to return as the show’s host, he told The Sun: ‘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.

‘And to be fair, I resisted it for a long time. I was very keen that they really should look at finding possibilities with other people. 

‘Otherwise, it would just be a revival, actually it always needed to be a reboot.’

No going back: In a new interview, the presenter, 56, explained that producers made a ‘clever’ decision in not inviting the Scottish TV star, 59, back, as it was important the new home improvement show was a ‘rejuvenation’ (Carol pictured in 2015)

The new series will instead be hosted by Naked Attraction star Anna Richardson. 

Laurence also likened Changing Rooms to the X Factor in the fact that it was one of the first reality shows, adding that pal Simon Cowell would ‘adore’ being compared to him. 

It comes after the first look trailer for the new Changing Rooms was released on Friday, hinting at some dramatic scenes to come. 

The home makeover show, which previously ran from 1996-2004, follows a terrifyingly trusting format in which two sets of neighbours swap keys to their homes to create each other’s ‘dream room’ in just two days.  

Way back when: So much so that Laurence insisted that he himself initially was hesitant in returning to the programme in which he starred on as a designer from 1996, before taking over presenting duties in 2003 (pictured the Changing Rooms cast in 1998)

Opinion: ‘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’

The trailer for the new series of the cult 90s show sees contestants gasping, screaming and crying – with one simply uttering: ‘I really am scared’. 

First look footage shows Anna and Laurence getting stuck in with helping the public refurbish their neighbour’s homes, alongside their designers Jordan Cluroe and Russell Whitehead. 

‘Friends for 25 years? Not for much longer,’ jokes Anna as the neighbours get started painting each other’s homes with no idea if they’ll approve their decor decisions.  

Tears and tantrums: It comes after the first look trailer for the new Changing Rooms was released on Friday, hinting at some dramatic scenes to come

Nervous: The show is set to return on Wednesday August 18 and will be hosted by long-term star Laurence, as well as newcomer Anna Richardson (pictured)

The series is a long time coming, after it was announced in August last year that Channel 4 would be re-launching the much-loved BBC show. 

Davina McCall was originally slated to host, but after filming was rescheduled twice due to coronavirus lockdowns, she could not longer commit to the dates.   

Despite the upheaval, long-term host Lawrence exclaims in the trailer: ‘It’s like we were never away!’ as decorating chaos reigns around him. 

The first episode of Changing Rooms will take place in Swansea, South Wales and airs on Channel 4 at 8pm on August 18.

Emotional: The show’s trailer sees contestants gasping, screaming and crying 

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