BBC's Interior Design Masters features Bromsgrove contestant

Kate Hewitt, who lives near Bromsgrove, said she had never had the confidence to apply to Interior Design Masters before but wanted to do something "outside her comfort zone".

The 42-year-old made her application a week before the deadline but waited right until the last minute to press submit.

She said: "I do social media and content creation in my job role and I'd seen the show before, but I'd never really had the confidence to apply for it myself. I'd turned 40 and thought I'm just going to go for it. I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone.

"I sat on the application for about a week. I had a lot of doubts over whether I could do it. I was getting in my own head about it and wasn't going to apply, but then on the last day, I just went for it.

"I was quickly contacted and asked lots of questions about my style and went for interviews. I'm so glad I applied. It was a whirlwind, fast process right up until we started filming in June last year."

Kate, who renovated her own home, described her style as "soho home" and that she enjoys layering it with earth tones.

The mum-of-two said: "I'm obsessed with soho home and also also old things. I like to layer it with earth tones. I think my style has been described as 'bougie on a budget'.

"I'm very much from a DIY background. I like to make interior design accessible for people. If you look in magazines or on social media, you might see something you like but the quotes are thousands of pounds.

"I'm here to show people how you can get the style you want without spending the cash. Women aren't always taught DIY - I know I wasn't - but I want to show women that it isn't scary and everyone can do it. You don't have to ask someone to do it for you, I want to give people confidence that they can do it too."

Despite being nervous on the first day of filming, Kate enjoyed meeting the other contestants and seeing their designs.

She has also praised "hilarious" host Alan Carr for helping everyone feel at ease.

Kate said: "Everyone was so different. It was amazing to see how you can have one room but so many different designs. I've watched past seasons and honestly, this might be the craziest series yet.

"We all brought something new to the show, and it helped create a real buzz. I was one of the oldest contestants this year and the only one with children, so it was quite exciting to meet so many different people. The talent and what people can come up with is amazing.

"Alan was also exactly like how you see him on TV. He is hilarious and brought so much energy. It put everyone in a good mood and really put us at ease. There was never a dull moment filming - it was really fun."

Kate said she found the short timeframe contestants get to come up with a design and source the products challenging, but it had been a great learning experience.

She will be watching the first episode at 8pm on Tuesday (April 21) with her family and friends.

She said: "The best part about the show was meeting everybody. I've learned so much from everyone and I've also learned a lot about myself. I've realised that I can do something that scares the living daylights out of me and it's made me a more confident person.

"The experience has been invaluable and I'm so happy I applied at the last minute. It's really exciting that the first episode is airing - it's really funny and I think people are going to enjoy it.

"If anyone is thinking about applying for the show in the future, then they should just go for it. It's not as scary as you think it might be."