Hayley McAuley, a 38-year-old warehouse worker from Wigan, Lancs, has successfully defended her title as Flatpack World Champion at the Flatpack World Championships held at ExCel London. She built a bedside table in eight minutes and 20 seconds, more than a minute faster than her winning time of nine minutes and 33 seconds at last year's inaugural event.
McAuley, who runs her own flatpack support business, described herself as 'over the moon' after retaining the crown. 'The competition was tough this year and everyone brought their A-game, so I'm really proud to have held on to the title,' she said. 'It's such a fun event to be part of and the atmosphere was amazing.'
The competition, part of Grand Designs Live, featured two rounds. In the first round, contestants assembled an IKEA Billy bookcase, with the fastest two from each heat advancing to the final. The final four then competed head-to-head, building an IKEA Billy two-drawer bedside table in front of a live audience, with commentary from property expert Kunle Barker.
Barker praised McAuley's performance, saying: 'Honestly, wow. Hayley's just in a league of her own. She had some proper competition this year, but to come back and win it again is seriously impressive. Two in a row is no joke. You do start to wonder... is anyone actually going to take that crown off her?'
Fellow contestant Mark offered advice for aspiring flatpack builders: 'In your childhood you build Lego - it's just the same thing but on a bigger scale. If you get bogged down and you're getting frustrated, the best thing to do is walk away. Just take 10 minutes.'
Organisers confirmed that all furniture assembled during the competition will be donated to the British Heart Foundation.
