​Thursday TV Choice: Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr (BBC One, 8pm)

Getting the right mix of designers is essential to the enduring appeal of Interior Design Masters and host Alan Carr admits that he is still taken aback by the contestants’ creations.

“On this show, you always think that you’ve seen everything and then a designer comes along with something so uniquely beautiful, or in some cases hideously awful, but you are always surprised whether in a good way or bad!”

Another key ingredient is the playful double-act involving Alan and series judge Michelle Ogundehin. The design expert and former editor of Elle Decoration must keep contestants in check with her fair-minded critiques, but reining in Alan can be a trickier task.

“People think we are chalk and cheese but we have such a giggle on the show,” he reveals.

Different challenges keep the contestants on their toes but Alan continues to see mistakes repeated from earlier seasons.

“The most common faux pas is when the designers forget the client and just do what they want to do,” he explains. “The client wanted high end luxury, but you like lime green and fuzzy felt, so you decided to pop that on the wall instead. It’s madness!”

Now in its sixth season, the show provides a light-hearted and easy-to-follow education in some of the most popular interior design styles including the glamorous luxury of early 20th-century Art Deco, the pared back aesthetic of Industrial, the refined simplicity of Mid-century Modern, the clashing patterns of Maximalism, and the easy-living functionality of Scandinavian. Alan has expanded his knowledge thanks Michelle. “You learn so much about interior design from her. Every day is a school day,” he attests.

For the opening episode of the sixth season, hopefuls are challenged to translate their signature styles into Youth Hostels Association bunk rooms in the Lake District.

Impressing Michelle and flamboyant guest judge Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen could earn contestants the coveted ‘Stand Out Space’ award and avoid a dreaded visit to the sofa where one designer will be told they are getting the boot.

Alan admits there are moments on the show when he watches designers working on their projects and bites his tongue, but contestants can still tell that their exuberant efforts are failing to win his approval.

“I do have the worst poker face,” confesses the host. “The series has been going on so long now that I think the designers can tell whether I like it or not. They’ll say ‘you hate it don’t you’ and I have to come clean. But, in my defence, if I love a design I will gush accordingly.”