New Channel 4 series sees interior designers battle to win flat in Sheffield cutlery works

Developers Capital&Centric – the team behind the restoration of Eyewitness Works on Milton Street in the city centre – star in the eight-part series that sees designers battle it out in a series of tasks. The victor will win a two-bed flat in the block.

Co-founded by Tim Heatley and Adam Higgins, Capital&Centric is converting the 19th century works into 97 flats and a courtyard garden. The first homes will be available to rent this summer. The character-packed building is the backdrop for the whole series, with episode one on Friday April 21, introducing the contestants, host AJ Odudu and judge, architect and entrepreneur Dara Huang.

The contestants get their own apartment for the series and, week by week, take on challenges to put their own, unique stamp on a specific room or area. Further into the series, they head out into the city to work with local groups.

Tim and Adam, who appear in each of the episodes, were determined to bring the show to Sheffield when they heard the idea. They say it was a golden opportunity to shine a light on the city and its growing reputation as a fantastic place to live.

Tim Heatley said: “When we were first approached by the production company and Channel 4 we knew we wanted to be involved. Lots of locations were being considered at the inception of the show and there’s a tendency for big productions to gravitate to places like London or Manchester, but we were massive advocates for filming in Sheffield and basing the whole thing at Eyewitness Works. We really pushed for it and we’re proud when it was green lit. Sheffield sometimes flies below the radar when people consider the best places to live in the UK, as people automatically rattle off the biggest cities.”

As well as dealing with a gruelling film schedule, the team also had to juggle filming with the ongoing restoration of the building. Contestants and the film crew were compartmentalised into an Eyewitness block where the new apartments were more progressed, whilst contractors continued their work in other parts of the building.

Outside of the individual properties, much of the action takes place in the central courtyard, which boasts an imposing 150-year-old pressing machine and has been retained as a feature.

The development is part of Capital&Centric’s major push to invest in Sheffield. As well as setting out a wider vision for Mesters Village – the area surrounding Milton Street near the Devonshire Quarter – they’re also in the early stages of drawing up plans for the former Cannon Brewery site in Neepsend.

Tim added: “It was logistically challenging working the filming around the ongoing transformation, but we made it work and the contestants really loved the spaces they got their hands on.

“Wherever we work, our approach delivers homes for the design-conscious, who value spaces where every design choice has been carefully considered. That’s why we wanted to work with budding interior designers."

The Big Interiors Battle, produced by Remarkable Factual (part of Banijay UK), starts on Channel 4 on Friday, April 21 at 8pm.