The sunny interior designer Sophie Robinson has been dubbed the “Queen of Colour”, decorating houses in vibrant palettes and riotous patterns. So what was she doing in Dream Home Makeovers with Sophie Robinson (Channel 5) painting a room black? Not just the walls, but the ceiling too?

It was the home of Kirstie and Martin, and an absolutely enormous former assembly hall in their converted schoolhouse. Robinson burst in, dressed in a sky blue and red leopard print dress, and announced her idea. Fair to say, Kirstie and Martin did not look convinced. “Black?” said Kirstie. “Black?” said Martin. “Black?” said the viewers at home.

I was whisked back to the 1990s, where the local bar in my otherwise tasteful West Hampstead neighbourhood was, inexplicably, a Transylvania-themed dive with pitch-black walls and coffins for tables. I fled the building on my first visit when the owner tried to introduce me to his albino python.

Anyway, the black sounded terrible, and looked terrible when it was first applied to the walls. But the end result wasn’t too bad – well, as good as a room could be when it housed Martin’s full-size snooker table.

I preferred the job that Robinson did on the Georgian home of Arabella and Mark. Pink floral wallpaper paired with a blue geometric carpet, and shelves to house Arabella’s collection of taxidermy and animal skulls. The relationship between Arabella and Mark would be a good one for BBC Two’s Couples Therapy. “I would describe my taste as normal,” ventured Mark, meekly. “What is normal taste? Mediocre? Is that what you’re saying? Bland?” demanded Arabella, before swigging whatever she was drinking from a jam jar.

Robinson is a welcome presence on the TV home makeover scene, exuding joie de vivre. She knows her stuff, filling the show with useful tips (there are also tons of pictures of other homes included as inspiration). She was blessed with big budgets here – Arabella and Mark had set aside £25,000 for their sitting room and hallway, with wallpaper at £240 a roll – but in next week’s show she will decorate a bedroom for £500. I finished the show wishing that Robinson could make over my own house, which is not a feeling I’ve ever had when watching Changing Rooms.