Interior Design Masters: Close call for Wolverhampton contestant Ben on the losing team sofa

Interior Design Masters returned to out screens last week, featuring 10 contestants all with a hunger to win a contract with online retailer La Redoute to create their own homewares line

This year, viewers met San Sebastian-born Ben from Wolverhampton – a history lover and professional lingerie designer. He impressed the judges last week when tasked with the redesign of a former convent cell.

Ben, 33, specialises in Victorian Maximalist designs, incorporating his passion for antiques and obsessions with the Edwardian era into each of his designs – with one of his recent projects including an old French horn being transformed into a unique lampshade.

Ben said: "I'm 33 years old and I'm a Victorian Maximalist.

"I'm a lingerie designer. What I mostly enjoy about my work is the same thing that I enjoy about interior design. It is creativity and freedom.

"I'm a historicist, so my personality and the style and the creativity all stem from this creative compulsive obsession with the past."

Last week saw the contestants working individually, but this week, judge Michelle Ogundehin put them into groups of three.

The task this week was for each group to create an activity centre for schoolchildren, themed around the wildlife of Brazil, India and Madagascar – they were challenged to add 'fun elements' to teach five to 16-year-olds about the zoo's conservation projects.

Michelle and guest judge Sophie Robinson then decided which team has created their Stand-Out Space and which designer will be going home.

It was bad news for Ben this week who, despite his confidence in the group's idea, ended up on Michelle's sofa as part of the losing team.

The teams were given two days and a budget of £3000 to makeover the room in the style that they randomly picked out, which for Ben's team was India.

In Team India, Jess took responsibility for the walls and floors, Ben chose storage and lighting, and Ash chose furniture.

As part of the task, each team had to pitch their idea to a group of children between the ages of five and 16. so had to make sure it was suitable for all ages.

Michelle hoped that the teams would include nature and animals in their designs – after all, they were working in a zoo. As well as that, she said, the space had to be educational and inspire the children.

Ben explained to the electricians and carpenters that their theme was 'sailing through India'.

"The boat is going to be the main prop," he said, "and everything will sort of revolve around it.

"I'm the storyteller, Jess is amazing at upholstery, furniture construction, and no-one does colour like Ash does. So I think we have a very strong team."

Though there was some speculation that the boat prop might 'overwhelm the space', Ben assured the team that it was fine.

"Through that boat ride, these kids will discover what India has to offer animal-wise. It might be why I'm dressed a little bit like a sailor!

"The statement piece that I have designed has a little secret. They'll have to pull one of the sails up and it will extend to a full sized cinema screen.

"I've got a feeling that they may be too big, but we will see."

Although the teammates were all assigned different roles, they became intertwined with eachother's – something Carr said could signify a lack of focus and that some jobs might 'not be done in the best way'.

Halfway through the first day, the team clashed about the room being painted completely white, which Ben said 'took four hours alone'.

He added: "We are a team, that's what I have to keep reminding myself. 'This is not your project, it's everyone's project'."

The second day saw slow progress, with one of the walls still lacking essential detailing and colour.

As the day drew to a close, Team India had some doubts.

"It was a fight to the finish," Ben said, "so I am hoping we have done enough to impress the judges and they see what we were trying to do."

Upon seeing the room, the judges were underwhelmed, with 'large spaces of nothingness' and everything pushed around the edge of the room.

They also added that the room 'did not feel inviting', that there was a 'sense of unfinishedness' , and the pictures – that were meant to be informative and inspirational – were 'illegible' and 'not saying much'.

Ben's boat did not impress the judges, who thought it 'had nothing to do' with anything else in the room and was 'just taking up space'.

And it was Team India that ended up on the sofa.

Ben said: "I am going to fight like a lion on that sofa, because I deserve to stay here and I am going to stay here."

Michelle started by asking the group if the empty space in the middle of the room was symbolic of how the team worked together.

Jess agreed, saying there was nothing tying the room together.

Though the judges did not 'buy into' Ben's vision, It was ultimately the lack of design around the boat – on the floor and walls that got Ash was responsible for – that got her sent home, with an emotional Ben staying to see another week.

Ben said: "The comments were fair. I failed on my storytelling, I really did."