Father and son team from Leeds tell of delight after winning Channel 4's Lego Masters

Paul, 48, from Leeds, and his 18-year-old son Lewis, who has a rare degenerative bone disorder called Morquio syndrome, were among the contestants on the latest series of Channel 4’s Lego Masters programme. Described by one reviewer as a Lego version of The Great British Bake Off, it saw eight amateur brick-building duos testing their skills, creativity and imagination to the limit as they tackled various construction challenges. As fans of the programme will already know, Paul and Lewis were the series winners, wowing celebrity guest judges such as Johnny Vegas, Paddy McGuiness and Sue Perkins with a succession of fiendishly complicated builds. And now Ralph Thoresby School pupil Lewis is hoping the hard-earned victory will help him fulfil his dream of becoming a full-time Lego designer. Proud dad Paul, who lives in north Leeds with wife Julie and works as a handyman for the Royal British Legion, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I am still totally blown away with what Lewis achieved and what we achieved as a team. “Being on the show was an incredible experience, with all the ups and downs of getting through the different rounds – according to some websites, if you look at some of their reviews, we should have gone home in the second round! “We were on cloud nine when we won it. I can’t remember what I said in the interview for the show after we found out, it was like a whirlwind.” Filming for the five-part programme took place in London over a number of weekends and school holidays earlier this year, with the judging for last week’s crucial final episode happening at the Design Museum in Kensington. Paul and Lewis used nearly half a million bricks during the week they spent working on their showpiece creation for the final, a beach scene complete with a fully functioning ‘what the butler saw’ style machine. “Lewis has always had an interest in Lego,” said Paul. “I think at age seven he built a stream train set that was for children aged 15. “We watched last year’s series and said, Lewis, the things you build are better than that, so we decided to apply.” Lewis’s condition – which also affects his older brother, 22-year-old Jack – means that, although his spine stopped growing when he was three, his other limbs have continued to develop. He has weekly infusions of a synthetic enzyme to help prevent any further degeneration as a result of the condition, which only affects about 100 people in the UK at any one time. Reflecting on his TV triumph and the creative link-up with his dad, Lewis told the YEP: “I’m really proud. Prior to the programme, we hadn’t built together in a very long time and so it’s been wonderful to win. “I love the endless possibility of Lego. I can start with one build and then I find something that eventually turns itself into another build. It goes on and on.”