Changing Rooms legend Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen reveals the genius reason why he wears leather trousers
ALL these years we thought Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s love of leather trousers was some kind of prolonged midlife crisis.
But the flamboyant Changing Rooms designer says it’s actually because they’re the most paint-proof fabric you can get.
He still had second thoughts about shoehorning himself into a pair for the show’s reboot on Channel 4 next week.
Laurence said: “To be 57, squeezing into leather trousers and painting walls felt a bad idea. I wear leather for a simple reason — if I kneel in paint, I can scrape it off. Jeans or cords, those are ruined.”
After starring alongside Carol Smillie on the original series in the Nineties, Laurence, who was a judge on ITV’s Popstar To Operastar in 2010, became as famous for his own image as for his gift for home makeovers.
The new series, which starts on August 18, will see him return as lead designer alongside Naked Attraction’s Anna Richardson as host.
They will be joined by two new interior experts — Jordan Cluroe and Russell Whitehead of 2LG Studio in South East London.
Telling the Radio Times about his decision to return to the show, Laurence said: “I initially felt strongly I should be growing older gracefully. I had an,‘Oh, I’m far too old, far too grand’ list.
"Fundamentally, it’s an enormous opportunity to come back from beyond the grave.
“I have an entirely new leather wardrobe, which has been made by my tailor in the Cotswolds.
"He is forever doing Lord Somebody-or-other’s tweeds and then I go in and say, ‘Darling, I want leather and rock ’n’ roll. I want to look like a middle-aged Adam Ant’.”
Clearly, he believed Adam when he sang: “Ridicule is nothing to be scared of."
ROMAN: I’M SLIM SWEARY
CELEBRITY Gogglebox star Roman Kemp was scolded by teachers at school for knowing the lyrics from an expletive-ridden Eminem album off by heart.
His famous mum Shirlie Holliman – backing singer with Wham! and one half of Eighties pop duo Pepsi & Shirlie – had bought him the Marshall Mathers LP.
Shirlie hoped the album, released by Eminem – aka Slim Shady – in 2000, would help her son deal with depression.
Roman, who bravely discussed his mental health on BBC3 documentary Our Silent Emergency, said: “My mum would play Eminem so I could listen to how he’s taken a bad situation in life and turned it into something.”
Speaking on Oti Mabuse’s The Rhythm of Life podcast, he added: “She helped me open up emotionally. I’ve always been very grateful for that.”
STEPHEN DRAMA’S KEY ROLE
THE creators of upcoming ITV drama Stephen say they felt it was important to complete the story of Stephen Lawrence and the jailing of his two killers.
Hard-hitting 1999 drama The Murder of Stephen Lawrence told how the London teenager was murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1993 while waiting for a bus home.
Executive producer Mark Redhead said: “I kept up with Neville and Doreen Lawrence after we made our programme and went to the trial when it happened in 2012.
“I felt the story remained incredibly relevant to our history and felt it needed to be completed.”
Stephen picks up in 2006 as the case reaches a turning point. It stars Steve Coogan as Det Chief Insp Clive Driscoll, who secured the convictions.
The sequel will see Jorden Myrie as Stephen’s brother Stuart.
Stephen’s bereaved parents – played by Sharlene Whyte and Hugh Quarshie – have given it their seal of approval.
Mark continued: “They think it’s ‘brilliant’ in Neville’s words, which is the only thing that matters. I think they are remarkable people.
“What one wants to do is justice to the story, and the cause they have carried forward for many years.”
It sounds like this upcoming drama will provide a fitting tribute to all those who fought for justice for Stephen.
C5’S LOOK AT PORNO
FROM Channel 4 drama Adult Material to Louis Theroux’s Beeb documentaries, television bosses are understandably fascinated by the taboo world of the porn industry.
Now it’s Channel 5’s turn to dip its toes in the steamy waters of this little-known world – only this time it will all be from the female perspective.
The channel is currently making a documentary based solely on the women in the industry, looking in particular at their lives when the cameras aren’t rolling.
It comes from the same team at Vis UK who are bringing Nick Knowles’s Big House Clearout to Channel 5 from August 19.
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STACEY IN FULL BLOOM
PREGNANT Loose Women star Stacey Solomon looks tickled pink to have finished off the nursery in time for the arrival of her daughter with fiancé Joe Swash.
Stacey is now as famous for her bargain home decor tips as she is for her TV work. In fact, her crafts proved such a hit on Instagram, she landed a book deal.
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After completing her latest DIY task, she said: “I’ll miss being covered in pink paint.”
Here’s hoping there hasn’t been a mix-up and a little boy arrives four months from now . . .