House Doctor: heading for the ER?

With the increase in gritty lifestyle television shows, such as How Clean Is Your House and Extreme Makeover, House Doctor now feels a little quaint. Like other classic makeover programmes, it could be fast approaching its sell-by-date. As the House Doctor admits - ''everything has a shelf-life''.

Perhaps that's why the new series of House Doctor has a slightly different format. It's twice as long, running to a full hour, and focuses on the front and back gardens as well as the interior of the house. They've dropped Alistair Appleton - Ann presents the show herself - and they've tried to pack it with more information and more tips. But are these changes enough to keep Ann on board?

''It's probably innate in my DNA never to let the moss grow. I don't think doing anything for too long is very creative. I'm the type of person who really likes a lot of change and a lot of challenge. I, at a certain point, would like a change. How many times do you repeat yourself in one lifetime?''

One way she's branching out is with a new series called House Doctor: Designs For Living, which will be on Channel 5 in November. Not about selling homes, it's ''more of a design programme, it's for people who actually live in their homes, helping them decide how to make those homes work for them both aesthetically and functionally, so that's a whole different side of the coin and I think that's the way forward for me to be honest. I mean there are so many other programmes that have copied House Doctor.''

Ann Maurice started out in real estate, but after 13 years got frustrated with it. Inspired by a psychic, she realised she should be doing something more creative and followed the psychic's advice to learn about interior design. A TV career followed and home staging as we now know it was born. So has she asked the psychics what she should do next?

''I have my advisors,'' she admits. Does she mean psychics? ''I'm not saying, but I do consult with other planes.'' And the latest advice from these 'other planes'? ''That's between me and them isn't it! You're not going to get that one out of me!''

If Ann does decide to quit the show and House Doctor is no more, it'll be sadly missed. Her co-host on the latest series of House Doctor, gardener Sven Wombwell, sums it up. ''There's a lot more to it than just a makeover series, it's almost like a documentary into the people's lives and what they go through. Tears and whatever. I think it's got a bit of everything. It's like why people are watching soap operas for example - it's because it's very voyeuristic and you can see into other people's lives and into their houses. And everyone loves a bit of that.''

Does Sven think there's still a future for home staging shows or is it time to say farewell? ''You would think so but then how come we get all these people that they still have to go round and do it to and makeover. It's mad. People say the same things about gardening programmes, and makeover shows, I mean everyone's sick of them, but when you get onto a train and you can see into people's back gardens you see what I mean.''

So after nine years of the House Doctor, we've still not learnt the lessons Ann Maurice has taught us. Why's that? Ann gives us her diagnosis: ''How come you don't have it right yet? Well there's always going to be people out there who actually don't do it for whatever reason. They're either too lazy, they don't want to spend the money, the job's too daunting. I think that's always going to be the case no matter how popular the concept becomes... [but] pretty soon if you don't prepare your home for sale you're definitely going to be in the minority and the better houses that are well-prepared are going to sell and yours isn't.''

Ann has nurtured her reputation as a TV personality - she's become renowned for being a feisty, no-nonsense presenter who tells it like it is. A match for Trinny and Susannah or Kim and Aggie any day of the week. So will she take them on and join the wave of more edgy lifestyle TV? ''Oh no. Heaven help me no... I think it's disgusting. I really do... I think personally there are so many good things out there that I don't really want to look in somebody's knickers or at the bottom of their toilet or watch them being cut apart. That's not really something that I respond to personally. I find it very off-putting. I kind of wonder how far this genre is going to go...''

It's a tricky one isn't it. While we're obviously watching these new types of shows, they're certainly not 'feel-good' TV as we know it. They're not the sort of programmes you switch on to with relish while you're settling down with a snack. But ratings for classic makeover shows are slipping and it might be time to do the decent thing and put them to sleep. Which means that presenters like Ann are right to be looking around for a change. Whatever she decides to do, we wish her all the very best, as we're pretty sure we'll be tuning in.