Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr - Season 4

Ten budding interior designers compete in a makeover challenge. Michelle Ogundehin tasks them with transforming five luxury apartments in London's Elephant and Castle. They work in pairs, with one designer in charge of the open-plan kitchen-living room, while the other transforms the bedrooms. Each apartment must be targeted towards a different type of tenant, from young couples to older residents. Finished designs must show cohesion between the teammates' schemes and clever use of sustainable materials. With just two days, £1800 and a team of tradespeople to help, the designers begin turning these blank canvases into fresh new takes on urban living.

After a tough first week transforming apartments in London, the remaining nine designers return to the design studio in Brighton to discover their next challenge.

Welcomed back by host Alan Carr and judge Michele Ogundehin, the designers learn that this week they'll be dealing with some very demanding clients – preschool children! Working in teams of three, the designers are tasked with making over three classrooms of a children's nursery in Oxfordshire, one for babies, one for toddlers and another for three- to five-year-olds. Each classroom must feature areas to accommodate different activities: a calm zone, a creative zone and an imaginative play zone, and safety is key! While some designers worry about where to start, others are relishing the opportunity to unleash their inner child.

Helping Michelle judge this challenge is interiors expert and queen of colour Sophie Robinson. When they deliver their verdict, another designer's journey comes to an end, leaving eight designers left to fight another day.

After making it through nursery week, the eight remaining designers return to Michelle's design studio in Brighton to be briefed on their next challenge

This time, each designer must make over a hotel room at a five-star golf and spa resort on the banks of the River Clyde in Scotland. Half of the designers will be assigned a maximalist brief to appeal to the hotel's more outdoorsy guests, while the others must create a tranquil design to appeal to people looking to unwind in the spa. All rooms must be luxurious and reflect the uniquely Scottish surroundings. Initial excitement quickly turns to anxiety when Alan that reveals this week is a double elimination, and at the end of the challenge the two weakest designers will be going home.

The six remaining designers arrive at Michelle Ogundehin's design studio in Brighton to be briefed on their fourth makeover of the competition.

Welcomed by host Alan Carr, the designers discover they'll be heading to Harrogate in North Yorkshire to transform three independent shops. Working in teams of two, the designers will be making over either a fashion store, a women's shoe outlet or a sheepskin shop. Each unit has an individual brief with different requirements but before they can begin, the teams must pitch their plans to the shop owners, who will decide which idea they prefer and nominate a lead designer for each team.

With a budget of £3,000 per shop, a team of tradespeople and only two days to create their designs, the pressure is on. Scrutinising the designs alongside Michelle this week is retail space expert Ross Bailey. Ross and Michelle discover impactful windows, unique design features and extraordinary makeovers, but have the designers thought about the all-important customer journey?

After making over large shops last week, the five remaining designers now work on their smallest spaces to date. They head to Eastbourne in Sussex to transform five 1930s beachside chalets. Working on their own, each designer is assigned a brief tailored to a different chalet tenant. From a family bolthole to a group of friends called The Gin Club, and even a chalet rented by the local A&E department for team building, each space has a different clientele and very different requirements.

The guest judge alongside Michelle is interior design royalty Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, and in typically lyrical fashion, he uncovers elements he both loves and loathes. Michelle hopes to find form and function in perfect harmony, but as ever, some designs fall short of her high standards. The designers head back to Brighton to hear their fate from Alan. One designer will be walking away the winner. For the remaining four, it's a stroll to Michelle's office, where she will decide which one of them will be going home.

The four remaining designers face the quarter-final makeover challenge.

Welcomed by host Alan Carr and series judge Michelle Ogundehin, the designers find out that romance is in the air as they take on wedding accommodation on the banks of Rutland Water in the East Midlands. Split into teams of two, the designers will be working in the grounds of a popular wedding venue to make over a pair of dated wooden lodges that desperately need some love of their own. One team must create a lodge that appeals to a bridal party, while the other must suit their groom's nearest and dearest, but each lodge's designs must appeal to a broad range of guests and avoid cliché.

Back at Michelle's office in Brighton, all four quarter-finalists are cross-examined by the judges and given a chance to unpack their ideas and explain their choices, before Michelle decides which three will advance to the semi-final and which designer will be going home.

After a tough quarter-final transforming wedding lodges, our three remaining designers return to the design studio in Brighton to discover their penultimate challenge.

With the final in sight, host Alan Carr and series judge Michelle Ogundehin reveal to the designers that this week they'll be working on their own to give three Bristol hair salons a makeover. Each salon has its own strong identity, but they're all in need of a fresh look to help them stand out and be a cut above the rest.

Tom redesigns an edgy industrial salon split across two floors. Jack takes on a high-end salon keen to deliver a luxury experience, and Monika renovates a classic salon with a unique charm. Following a productive zoom call with their clients to learn more about their individual brief, the designers head off to Bristol where they have just two days and a budget of £3,000 each to transform their salons.

With a brief to convert her classic salon into a bold alternative space, Monika decides to embrace her gothic maximalist signature style, starting with a black paint job. After a confident start, reality soon hits home – with 16 lampshades to make from scratch. Monika is soon racing to finish and contemplating significant sacrifices to her vision.

Up the road, Tom has the challenge of modernising the industrial salon, giving a fresh edge to the rugged and characterful interior. Keen to enhance the brick walls and steel workstations by adding soft fabrics and furnishings across both floors, he confesses to Alan that this brief is the trickiest he's faced so far – Tom worries that losing his mojo could lead to missing out on a place in the final.

Despite the owners of his salon asking for a Scandi makeover, Jack decides to take it one step further with his ‘Japandi' theme. After convincing Alan it's an actual word, meaning a mix of Japanese and Scandi, Jack starts transforming the walls with hand-drawn bamboo and floral murals. Keen to impress Michelle, Jack proclaims to go big or go home a potentially risky tactic for the semi-final.

As the builds progress, the salons begin to take shape, but the designers come under increasing pressure from knowing they're only one step away from the final. Nobody wants to fall at the final hurdle. Joining Michelle this week is the one and only Mary Portas, queen of the high street. Michelle and Mary are wowed by boldness, uniqueness and the clever features on display, but have the designers got the balance right?

The designers head back to the design studio in Brighton to hear their fate. Alan announces that Michelle would like to speak to them all, giving them an equal opportunity to explain the thinking behind their decisions. With only two places up for grabs in the final, Michelle faces her hardest decision yet.

After making it through seven weeks of challenges, and seeing off eight other competitors, only two designers now remain, ready to go head-to-head to win a life-changing contract to redesign a top London cocktail bar.

The two finalists arrive back at the design studio to hear from host Alan Carr and series judge Michelle Ogundehin what their final challenge will be. Michelle has left the best to last, as she reveals that the final will be held in Brighton, where each designer will be making over two of the city's thriving pubs in the busy tourist hotspot of the city's North Lanes.

One will transform an award-winning gastro pub with a field-to-fork ethos. With a rustic interior that now looks dated and an underappreciated upstairs room that's seen better days, they will have their work cut out. The owners want to refresh the look and feel and restore the pub's identity. Meanwhile down the road, the other contestant is tasked with transforming a traditional community-based pub into a fun day-to-night venue aimed at a younger clientele.

Briefing done, the finalists head into the city to see their pubs for the first time. As they face their biggest spaces of the competition, both are overwhelmed by the scale of the task ahead. Each designer has three days, a gang of tradespeople and a budget of £6,000. Because it's the final, they can select a supporting designer from their former competitors to help.

With many key design elements only coming together in the very last moments, it's a race to the finish line for the finalists as they give everything they've got in pursuit of their dream prize.

Joining Michelle to help decide who should be crowned winner is hospitality expert and restaurateur Nisha Katona, and internationally renowned interior designer Abigail Ahearn.