Meet the Wirral contestant starring in BBC's Interior Design Masters

In a new series of Interior Design Masters, Alan Carr welcomes ten novice designers looking for their big break in the world of commercial interior design.

Over eight weeks they will be competing to win a collaboration contract with a global homeware brand to produce their own line of home furnishings. Design expert and former editor of Elle Decoration Michelle Ogundehin return for series five as the series judge.

Interior Design Masters series five contestants (Image: Banijay UK)

Each week, either working alone or as a team, they are set a new challenge as they are given free rein to redesign a range of commercial spaces across the UK. These include turning former nun’s cells into B&Bs, revamping activity centres at Chester Zoo, transforming Wembley dressing rooms and remodelling holiday lodges at Blenheim Palace.

Each week Michelle decides which designers have created her ‘Stand Out Space’ and which designers will be sent home. 

BTS images from episode one (Image: Banijay UK)

The new series features Roisin Quinn, 30, from Prenton, a former travel advisor who quit her job to pursue interior designing full-time when she found out she had a place on the show.

She told the Globe: “I had been working as a travel advisor for six years and during this time we bought our home in Prenton, and I just typically painted everything grey, grey walls, grey carpets, everything was very neutral.

“I was getting bored, and I was itching to do something. I’ve always been creative, but I didn’t know how to express it.”

Roisin Quinn (Image: BBC/Darlow Smithson Productions)

Roisin began dabbling in painting her walls different colours and said painting her living room pink was the “lightbulb moment”.

She said: “It brought me so much joy. I didn’t think a bit of paint could really transform how I felt when I walked into my house.”

When Covid hit, and Roisin was furloughed and her husband made redundant, they decided to move in with Roisin’s parents on the Isle Of Man who were in the process of building their new home.

She said: “That’s where it all spiralled out of control really.

“Mum was doing things quite plain in the house because she didn’t have the patience and wasn’t very technical but she loves colour, so I started helping to pick things and I ended up taking over the whole design of the house.”

Roisin began documenting the transformation of her parent's home on Instagram and gained a following which led her to apply to be on Interior Design Masters.

She said: “I just applied and didn’t think anything would come from it. Those kind of things don’t happen to people like me.

“I loved being on the show. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. The contestants are all absolutely unreal and we got along so well.

“It was very surreal. Imposter syndrome kicks in immediately when you meet this group of really talented quirky people you think, ‘What am I doing here?’ but everyone was so lovely and so skilled.”

“The judges were all amazing, Michelle was so nice and she really wants to educate you every single week. She wants to make sure she’s getting the most out of everyone.

“Then you’ve got Alan who is so down to earth and funny who just breaks the ice.

“I’m petrified to watch the show it’s scary but I’m so excited to watch it with the others because we’ve all been through the process together so we can all relate and understand."

Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, March 12 at 8pm.