Fast-growing Merseyside bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing is launching a new TV ad this Christmas featuring Changing Rooms star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Tony McDonough reports

Star of TV home makeover show Changing Rooms, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, is to feature again in a new advert for Merseyside bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing.

Debuting on Christmas Day, the ad will roll out nationally across all major TV channels, alongside a YouTube pre-roll campaign. Llewelyn-Bowen’s sidekicks from a previous ad, Victor and Ian, will also make a return.

Llewelyn-Bowen became one of the best-known faces on British TV screens during Changing Rooms’ eight-year run on the BBC from 1996 to 2004. Channel 4 is to revive the show in 2021, bringing back Llewelyn-Bowen alongside Davina McCall.

Despite a tough retail environment, Victorian Plumbing has seen sales soar. In the 12 months to September, the Formby-based business reporter annual sales up 37% to £207m and its margin up 152% to £29m.

Also during September its announced it was looking to grow its headcount by 20% by creating 80 new roles in logistics and customer service. It is also investing in an additional 50,000 sq ft of warehouse space.

Chief marketing officer of Victorian Plumbing, Joe Pascoe, said: “We’ve been working on this ad for the last year and we’re really excited to welcome back Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Victor and Ian to our screens. The trio will continue their story following from our previous two adverts, and we hope audiences will love this one just as much.

“After an incredibly successful year at Victorian Plumbing which has seen us launch a huge recruitment drive, expand into a new warehouse and hand back our furlough payments, we’re thrilled to be in a position to launch this ad over Christmas.”

The brand takes a humorous approach, with Laurence donning an Anna Wintour-style wig as he judges the ‘star quality’ of the taps making their way down the catwalk. Joe adds “Working with Laurence again has been fantastic.

“He’s a true professional and he’s become such an integral part of the Victorian Plumbing family. We can’t wait to hear what audiences think of the ad when it rolls out on Christmas Day.”

Victorian Plumbing’s last campaign has been seen over 500 million times since its launch in April 2019.