Judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has a word of warning for anyone wanting to be on House Rules next year: don’t be like Mel and Dave.
“There were points where they just needed to be spending more time designing and less time tactic-ing,” Laurence, 53, tells TV WEEK.
“That’s possibly a very, very sage piece of advice for any contestants next year.
“Whatever you do, just be honest and natural and committed, but excited by your design. Stop worrying about whether one team’s got a couple more inches of ground space than you or whether they’ve bagged the best piece of furniture.”
Laurence thinks Queensland couple Mel and Dave should have ‘worried’ less about the other teams.
Mel and Dave famously battled with fellow contestants, particularly Chiara and David, over room space and design features. They weren’t the only ones, however.
Kristie and Leigh were accused of being strategic during the first round, deliberately sabotaging a deal with mother-daughter duo Michelle and Kristie.
Despite the UK design guru’s disapproval of tactics, he’s keen to return for another season.
“I’m as addicted to being a judge on this show as everybody is to watching this show,” he says. “It’s going to be a nightmare working out what to wear, though.”
Laurence will return to House Rules… if he can pick out an outfit in time for the next season.
Toad and Mandy took out the top spot in the House Rules competition this year, beating out competitive couple Mel and Dave in the grand finale.
The NSW country couple scored 24 out of 30, sitting just one point ahead of their runners-up.
The couple walked away with $355,000 and, like all the contestants, a newly renovated home.
Toad and Mandy celebrate their House Rules win.
Click here to read our interview with the 2018 House Rules winners Toad and Mandy, and find out all about their plans for the prize-money.
