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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Christopher Megrath

Woman who had teapots destroyed on Changing Rooms still won't forgive show

A woman who appeared on Changing Rooms still harbours resentment after her teapots were smashed years ago.

Changing Rooms returned after a 17-year break last night with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen at the helm. Not particularly known for its controversy, one episode still went down in infamy for ruining a woman's life-long work within seconds.

In the middle of a refurbishment, homeowner Clodagh and her daughter Julia returned to discover over £6,000 worth of collectable teapots had been destroyed, scattered across their living room. The Changing Rooms team thought it would be a good idea to suspend the collection by a set of strings from the ceiling which, even on the show, looked wobbly at best.

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After a set of books were set on top of the shelves the weight became too much and brought the structure crashing down. Linda Barker, the Changing Rooms presenter, had to break the news to Clodagh which made for very awkward television viewing.

Initially confused by what had happened, Clodagh assumed her pet cat had been killed. After realising what had actually happened, she was distraught. Speaking to The Guardian about how she feels now, she said she still wasn't happy. She said: "I still don’t feel very good about [Linda]. On the very rare occasions she’s on television now, when I do see her, she’s still very bouncy, and I just don’t think she earned the bounce.”

Insurers reimbursed Clodagh but she refused to start the collection again for fear another accident would happen. Though she harbours some resentment, she admitted she doesn't regret going on the show as it was an incredible experience.

Looking back on the moment for herself, Linda said: "Probably the worst moment for me, well definitely the worst moment and probably for any designer on Changing Rooms has to be when I built a floating shelf.

"It was 14 floors up and in a flat in Wandsworth and it was to house a very beautiful collection of antique teapots. The idea was that this thing was just in the middle of the room.

"I mean it was going to be absolutely great and it should have looked wonderful of course. But I'm painting such a great picture because of course the whole thing ended in complete disaster."

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