CHANGING DOOMS; Makeover show to finish after 8 years.

Byline: NICOLA METHVEN, TV Editor

MAKEOVER show Changing Rooms has been axed after eight years.

The BBC series will have its final outing this autumn and sign off for good with four specials next year.

Flamboyant host Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen said last night: "It does feel as if Changing Rooms has done the job it set out to do. It's a case of beam us up, our work on your planet is done.

"There's not a house in Britain left untouched by the Changing Rooms attitude.

"It was an institution, the very first makeover show, and really changed the way people looked at their homes. But now the entire audience is so literate in interior design there's nothing left to teach them."

The specials will be on a grand scale. "We won't be going out with a whimper - it's only right and proper to give the show a Viking funeral," said Llewelyn-Bowen, who is to present a new BBC series on art.

Changing Rooms launched in 1996 on BBC2. Hosted by Carol Smillie, who left in 2002, it was so successful it moved to BBC1 in 1998.

It is now an international hit after being sold to more than 20 countries. It has also sparked several imitations from DIY SOS to Better Homes and Home Front.

At its height, the show had 10 million viewers, but by last series that was down to four million. BBC1 boss Lorraine Heggessey said last night: "Changing Rooms is a trailblazer that has influenced the way people see their homes all over Britain.

"We want to celebrate the end of the series as we move on to new territory."

Heggessey now plans to develop shows on money and family relationships.

CAPTION(S):

FIRST: Ex-host Carol Smillie; OFF: Llewelyn-Bowen, left, and fellow experts