A WESTHOUGHTON couple are preparing for TV stardom after taking part in a BBC DIY programme.

But all Chris Williams is worried about is the ribbing he'll get at work.

He and his partner, Sue Green, will feature on "DIY -- SOS" which goes out on BBC 1 at 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Viewers will see how two rooms at their house are transformed from a complete mess to the ultimate in designer cool by a team of top decorators.

Filming took place late last year at the couple's home in The Crescent. And the couple already have the video set to record their 15 minutes of fame.

But Chris, who works at nearby Bernstein's, is just worried about what his mates will think.

He said: "The lads at work will crucify me. I had to tell them about it because six or seven of them live on this street so there was no way I could keep it a secret. They'll all be watching."

The embarrassment, however, is well worth it.

Chris was having a nightmare trying to transform their home -- which they bought two years ago -- into something respectable.

There was horsehair plaster on t

e walls and every time he tried to do even the simplest job, the plaster would fall away in chunks.

His partner, Sue, eventually got fed up and, after watching the DIY programme on the Beeb, decided to write in and ask the producers of the show if they could help.

Much to the couple's delight they got a reply telling them a camera crew and a team of experts would come and refurbish the dining room and living room. A cameraman, soundman and a director, as well as a builder, designer, plasterer and an odd job man arrived at the house in October.

They had 48 hours to redesign the rooms. Chris had to help while Sue was packed off to her mother-in-law's so the end result would be a surprise for her.

The team worked round the clock from Saturday morning until 1.30am on Monday.

Then -- the cruch moment -- Sue was allowed to come and inspect, while the cameras filmed her reaction.

Fortunately she approved . . . well almost.

She said: "The living room was lovely because they'd done it in a terracotta orange and it was just how I wanted it.

"The dining room was in gold though which was a bit of a shock. But I'm getting used to it now. It's grown on me."

Meanwhile, after two hard days' graft, Chris was ready for bed.

"I was shattered," he said. "It had been hard work but we were pleased with the end result."

The couple, who have two children, Ashley, four, and Miguel, two, are now enjoying life in their trendy home.

However, there's still one slight problem.

Now the rest of the house needs decorating. You never can win . . .

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.