Julie Nixon finished up in a man's world when she left her job in Shipley's council housing office for a clean break.

Julie, 39, who had worked for Bradford Council for six years, started to do the books and office work for her partner Robert Hall who had a tiling business.

But Julie was so interested she soon became his labourer for two days a week, and started to learn the trade.

Now, just a year later, the couple will show millions of television viewers the results of their hard work.

The pair - who own the Plan-It -Earth company in Shipley - received a call out of the blue asking them to go on Carol Vorderman's Better Homes Show, which was shown on Yorkshire Television on Monday.

They had to work at high speed through the night to replace a floor covered with carpet and lino with marble, transforming a modern semi-detached house.

With teams of other craftsmen, they completed the job which managed to increase the value of the house by £10,000.

Julie, of Hoyle Court Avenue, Baildon, said: "We thought it was a wind-up when we got the phone call - we simply couldn't believe it.

"It was a very big job and it took us 20 hours starting at about 10pm at night.

"The floor was about 24 metres long and everyone had to work together at high speed.

"At one stage tensions were rising because there were 16 of us all in one room trying to do different jobs.

"It was very stressful working in the housing office and dealing with a lot of complaints. This work is really rewarding.

"People are always surprised to see a woman turning up but I really enjoy what I do."

In the show neighbours go head to head to see which designer can put the most value on their properties.