Home makeover show back on TV3

TV3's home makeover show Neville's Doorstep Challenge is back for a third series next month with Crown Paints and DoneDeal on board as sponsors.

Under the format, interior designer Neville Knott revamps the "tired and dated"homes of eight participants in a two-day challenge and on a strict maximum budget of €1,000, with the money provided by the sponsors.

The programme is made for TV3 by Vision Independent Productions (VIP), the maker of Operation Transformation and The Hit, and is billed as an interior design show "for the times we live in".

Filming on the new series begins this weekend, and the first three homes have already been selected, but the producers are inviting any homeowners who are keen on participating in the later episodes to contact them at doorstep@mipmg.tv with the subject line “application request”.

Crown Paints has sponsored the series from the beginning, but this is the first year that DoneDeal has decided to back it. The classifieds site is hoping to spark redecorators’ and upcyclers’ interest in its “House and DIY” listings through its association with the show, which will feature furniture and other items bought via the site.

Executive producer Philip Kampff, the managing director of VIP, said the two brands were "organic to the objective of the show".

Knott , who heads up the Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design at the Dublin Institute of Technology, has worked as a consultant for a number of Irish companies over the years, including Clery's department store. He also has the title of "head of trend colours" for Crown Paints.

His broadcasting career began 12 years ago, when he presented Beyond the Hall Door for RTÉ and he counts Open House, Showhouse and Roomers on his television CV.

The home makeover television genre remains popular on Irish screens, with Neville's Doorstep Challenge securing an average of 180,000 viewers in its Friday 8pm slot last year.

Meanwhile, VIP recently received its first series order from the UK market, after ITV2 commissioned Viral Tap, a comedy panel show co-production with Yalli Productions that will be anchored by presenter Caroline Flack.