Gogglebox homes under fire - Changing Rooms' Laurence Llewelyn Bowen lays into 'major design fail' he hates

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is visiting eccentrics across the country in his latest series Outrageous Homes, showcasing the “weird and wacky” taste of the homeowners he meets. While the former Changing Rooms interior designer is back with his quirky style and outlandish outfits, he admits he’s ditched his iconic leather trousers.

“It’s liberating at my age not having to wear leather trousers any more,” he says, laughing. “It was getting to the stage where they were getting so tight, I was beginning to fear I would have to use lubricant.”

The trousers haven’t hit the charity shop though – they’re awaiting a second life on a much younger set of legs. They’re packed up waiting for my grandson, Albion. He’s only seven at the moment so they’ll swim on him,” says Laurence, who has four grandkids. “They’re part of the family mythology – they’re one of his heirlooms.”

Instead, the 59-year-old is sticking to his daring jackets in the new show – which he describes as an “affectionate celebration” of audacious homeowners. “I think most people will take a look at it and think, ‘This is surely what he was put on the planet to do,’” Laurence says.

“We thought, ‘Let’s do a show that isn’t about telling people how much or how little their house is worth – because that’s just embarrassing – or makeovers for people who need it. Let’s instead meet people who are flying their freak flag in ways you wouldn’t think were possible.’

“If people want to live as 16th century Transylvanian vampires, why shouldn’t they be allowed to? I meet people who are, by their own admission, super weird but super happy and, as someone who has been super weird all their life, I was delighted to do it.”

From a Nottingham man, Jack, who’s transformed his home into a two-storey fishtank to an “elegant lady” who’s purchased the late Felix Dennis’s pad in Warwickshire, Laurence visits a number of intriguing homeowners.

“There’s Trevor just outside Heathrow – he’s been building a Venetian palazzo in an underground bunker for the last 30 years and he’s now 86,” he says. “There’s Estelle who has an ordinary-looking terrace house in Manchester, but the minute you step inside, you are back in 1972, in some kind of Joan Collins fantasy. You can just taste the Fanny Cradock cuisine and Cinzano Bianco.

“The thing that defines all of these people is their absolute individuality – their belief in themselves to the extent that they are happy to be who they are.”

Laurence found himself particularly moved by the story of contributor Poppy, who chooses to live life as a Japanese cartoon character on the Isle of Wight. “Poppy has come from tremendous difficulty and friction in her world.

"How she decorates and how she dresses could be so easily dismissed, but the show makes you say, ‘Oh my God – this kid is doing this for a very good reason in her world. She is making it work much better for her.’”

Laurence hopes these design eccentrics will inspire those at home to embrace their own individuality. “When you occupy a space, it should be a mirror of your personality. The outside world is a very scary place, the economy is pants, so coming home and closing the front door is an incredibly important moment.

“If your home is just grey like everybody else’s and you’ve got those three bloody pebbles on the wall from Ikea, you’re doing the job wrong. This show is a great way of inspiring you to just move your own little taste bar a little bit.”

That said, Laurence has a few design pet peeves – particularly around sofas. “That whole Gogglebox look where you can’t open the door into the living room because the sofa is so big – that’s entirely unnecessary,” he says. “But also that very British thing where people think you have to be understated and if you’re not, you don’t have good taste. B******s to good taste!

“Taste is personal and you have to decide for yourself what taste is. Your house is your biggest emotional investment – it’s not just financial. It’s a nurturing and nourishing environment.”

Laurence’s leather trousers aren’t the only item he’s handed down to his family, with the presenter revealing that his daughter Hermione and son-in-law Dan Rajan – who is married to his other daughter Cecile – are running his design business.

“It’s all very Succession,” he says. “They are very keen to turn this business into something much bigger. I can see a point where one of the four grandchildren takes it over. Why would it not be a third-generation family business? It’s not different from the newsagent or the farm. It’s just we sell design – we farm velvety things.”

Outrageous Homes airs Thursday at 10pm on Channel 4.