Ry Elliott, an Interior Design Masters participant, has said that they were forced to ‘ran off’ during the first show due to the ‘overwhelming’ scenario.
The assistant interior designer was one of the final six contestants on Alan Carr’s BBC One show, however she was the second to go following a difficult fourth round.
The designers were challenged with working in teams to revamp three independent stores in Harrogate, but Ry failed to convince judge Michelle Ogundehin after a difficult assignment.
However, his ‘journey of discovery’ has given him a new feeling of confidence.
Ry told Metro.co.uk in an exclusive interview that his experience on the programme helped him discover his “talents, a bit more about my confidence, and really just pushing myself into something that scares me.”
However, it was not all plain sailing. When questioned about the most difficult aspect of his experience, Ry stated, “It’s very difficult to be on all the time.”
‘You’re exhausted, because you’ve been preparing the week beforehand, you have to travel to the destination, and then you have to film it all, and all the filming sessions, they really like you to be on it as much as possible.
‘Most of the time, of course you are, but we’re human, so there are days when you’re just like, “I am exhausted, I’m struggling to focus and get the things I want to out”.’
Ry recalled one episode during his last week when he felt like that, stating, ‘I didn’t have a meltdown, but I was very overwhelmed. I didn’t necessarily get stressed but it was like, I’m not connecting with this space, I’m not feeling the vibes.’
He added: ‘On week one, I remember, because it was the first time we’d been briefed on filming, I felt incredibly overwhelmed again with all the cameras.
‘So I ran off!’
Ry continued: ‘I just snuck out, because nature is my calm space so I ran out and sat on a bench, and just had ten minutes of being like “Let me just calm myself down, re-centre, and then we’ll crack on!”‘
Ry previously stated that, while he felt more secure after the show, he was aware of the high calibre from the start.
‘After week one, I think we all saw everyone’s spaces and we were like “Oh crap!” Everyone is so good, after week one it was like, okay, this is some serious stuff.’
Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.