CHANGING Rooms legend Anna Ryder Richardson swapped wallpaper samples for wild animals after leaving TV – and now runs her very own zoo.
The telly favourite, once known for bold interior makeovers that divided the nation, has traded MDF and mood boards for meerkats and monkeys at her Welsh wildlife park.
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She was the queen of the quick makeover – but these days Changing Rooms legend Anna Ryder Richardson is more at home with lemurs than living rooms.
Anna shot to fame alongside Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen transforming Britain’s blandest lounges, until the hit BBC show ended in 2004.
She first found her flair for interiors while working in a kids’ furniture shop, before landing a design slot on GMTV in 1996.
It was there she rubbed shoulders with celeb chef Ainsley Harriott – who helped her bag her big break on Changing Rooms.
After 10 series of telly makeovers and power tool drama, Anna swapped wallpaper for welly boots and headed Down Under for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2007, where she became the sixth star voted out of the jungle.
But the jungle wasn’t the wildest thing Anna would take on – as just a year later, the star made headlines by snapping up her very own zoo.
Swapping scatter cushions for safari-style chaos, Anna bought the crumbling Manor House Wildlife Park in rural Pembrokeshire in 2008 with her ex-husband – and set out to turn it into a top tourist hotspot.
Her rollercoaster mission was even turned into telly gold in Chaos at the Zoo, which followed the highs and lows of juggling animals, renovations and rogue rhinos.
Since taking over, Anna has poured her heart (and serious cash) into the place – building a £300k rhino house and welcoming in new residents including lions, zebras and parrots.
Owning a zoo might sound like a dream – but for Anna, it turned into a nightmare behind the scenes.
Running Manor Wildlife Park put huge pressure on her marriage, and by 2017, the strain proved too much.
The star and her husband called it quits, later telling the Mail Online that the “stresses and strains and expense of running our wildlife park have destroyed our marriage.”
Things soon turned messy, with the split spiralling into a bitter legal battle over who would keep the zoo.
Anna described the ordeal as a “horrid limbo” as the once united animal lovers fought tooth and claw over the future of their wild empire.
Hottest home trends for 2025
Renovations expert Andy Simms, from MyBuilder.com revealed the hottest interior design trends for this year.
COLOUR DRENCHING
Colour drenching involves using your colour across walls and ceilings to maximise the impact and create the illusion of a bigger space – doors, radiators, and even furniture won’t escape the paint job if you want the full effect. Brown, terracotta, beige – once the preserve of the 70s, earthy colours have been slowly gaining popularity. Similarly, bold greens and blues are also making a return, with the intention of colour drenching rooms.
STATEMENT WALLPAPER
Wallpaper divides designers, with some loving it and others preferring painted walls. 2025 will see a resurgence of wallpaper, and the bolder the better. For small spaces, such as downstairs loos or studies, choose a bold print and ignore any concerns about making the space look smaller. For larger spaces, consider a stunning mural theme.
BROKEN LIVING PLAN
Open plan living has been popular for over a decade now, but while it hasn’t quite had its day, many are returning to smaller, functional spaces – with a twist. “Broken plan” is when a bigger space is cut into various parts using screens, archways, crittal-style windows and doors or textured glass.
Speaking on the How To Be 60 podcast, Anna didn’t hold back as she opened up about the fallout of her bitter split – and her unexpected new chapter.
Chatting to Loose Women star Kaye Adams, the 61-year-old said: “I am enjoying a bit of celibacy, to be honest… but we’ve dived straight in there, haven’t we? I’m officially still married for another few weeks.”
Reflecting on the turmoil of the past few years, she added: “It’s been probably the worst time, I think. It’s actually been going on for such a long time. Have I wasted all that time? Being in this horrid limbo and control and not really living my life, even though I look like them.”
But after a long and painful battle, October 2024 finally brought closure – and a new beginning – with Anna officially returning to the helm at Manor Wildlife Park, ready to roar once more.
In a statement the former TV star said: “I am very excited, it has been a long time coming, but I am finally back with my beloved animals, incredible team, and excited to greet our visitors into the park. I have huge plans for the future of Manor Wildlife Park.”
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