Antonio Ballatore Named HGTV's Newest Design Star

Antonio Ballatore Named HGTV's Newest Design Star

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Antonio Ballatore, 40, a set designer from Los Angeles, has been crowned the season four champion of the hit reality competition HGTV Design Star. Judges Genevieve Gorder (Dear Genevieve), Candice Olson (Divine Design) and Vern Yip (Deserving Design) watched as HGTV president Jim Samples personally delivered the life-changing prize to Antonio -- a contract for his own show on HGTV.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090914/CL74926)

"From the start, I was here to win," said Antonio about the competition. "I want to bring something fresh to the network and live up to the design star title. I hope America will have fun with me on the ride."

While his series will premiere in January 2010, Antonio also will star in a one-hour special, The Antonio Project, premiering on Sunday, September 20, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. During the special, Antonio will tackle his toughest client ever -- himself. His challenge will be to makeover his house in just five days and then show it off to his friends and family. The special also will include previously unseen footage of his journey to becoming HGTV's newest design star.

"Antonio is our bad boy of design," said Olson. "He designs with his gut -- it's raw, emotional and entertaining. I hope HGTV viewers are as excited as I am to see what our punk-rocking, ex-New Yorker, set-builder will throw at us next!"

In the HGTV Design Star finale, Antonio and his final competitor, Dan Vickery, went toe-to-toe in the series' biggest challenge to date: the completion of an entire home makeover. While Dan completed a beautiful makeover for his clients, a mother and daughter in need of a fresh start after a divorce, it was Antonio's uniquely eclectic design for the Starr family that impressed the judges. By moving several doorways to enhance the design flow, creating a functional kitchen area and adding several distinct design touches, Antonio delivered the winning design plan.

"Antonio is the unexpected," said Gorder. "He possesses a maturity that is confident and driven, along with the curiosity and playfulness of a child -- the perfect ingredients for a powerful designer. America won't want to stop watching him." Yip agreed, saying, "Without a doubt, Antonio possesses an original design perspective that isn't currently represented on the network. He also has a natural ability and charisma that viewers will find compelling."

While the majority of HGTV Design Star was shot in Los Angeles, the show traveled to a naval base in Ventura County, Calif., to redesign the on-base housing for two military families. The finalists also faced designing spaces for celebrities such as Kathy Griffin, Jason Priestley and Tiffani Thiessen, as well as the viewer favorite "white wall" challenge in which the finalists choose design materials from a grocery store.

"Antonio was a consistent performer who never failed to push the envelope," said Freddy James, senior vice president, program development and production, HGTV. "His unique ideas paired with his dynamic personality bring a fresh design perspective that our viewers will love."

Although the judges selected the HGTV Design Star winner, the show's fans also will have the opportunity to select a Fan Favorite designer who will win his or her own online show on HGTV.com. Viewers can go online at HGTV.com/designstar or enter a text message to HGTV1 or 44881 to vote for the designer they believe is the best of this season's talented finalists. Voting ends at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 15. The winner of the Fan Favorite vote will be announced online on Wednesday, September 16.

From its premiere on July 19 through last night's season finale, HGTV Design Star generated stellar ratings. As of Sunday, September 6, nearly 22 million people had tuned into the fourth season of the series. Additionally, it was a huge hit at HGTV.com with millions of weekly page views driving traffic and video plays.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 98 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination, which attracts an average of 5 million unique visitors per month.

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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090914/CL74926
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN6
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: HGTV

CONTACT: Lynne Davis, HGTV, +1-212-549-8612, ldavis@hgtv.com; or Eileen
Campion, Dera, Roslan & Campion Public Relations, +1-212-966-4600,
eileen@drcpublicrelations.com

Web Site: http://www.hgtv.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment