Design Star: Next Gen brought in one of HGTV's biggest stars to guest judge on the finale episode: Jonathan Scott!
The Property Brothers star, 42, who has been a fan favorite on the network since 2011, showed up to surprise contestants on Discovery+'s hit Design Star spin-off on Wednesday — leaving the designers starstruck.
In an exclusive clip, above, previewing the episode, the Forever Home star can be seen sneaking onto the Design Star campus — an isolated "design hub" bubble community shut off from the outside world for Covid-19 safety — which he describes as "one of the Design Star wonders of the world."
Walking onto the campus — which has everything the designers need to complete their challenges, from a warehouse full of furniture and styling products to a construction workshop — Scott is clearly excited to meet the contestants.
"I'm big on surprising people, so hopefully no one pees themself," he jokes as he heads over to say hello to some of the designers who are hard at work on their final challenges. None of them know that he will be one of the experts carefully judging their finished designs.
The first contestant he meets, Eli Hariton, 34, of Denver, is literally speechless when he sees the HGTV star.
"Oh my god," he says finally. "Jonathan Scott is here."
Scott and Hariton chat it up about what being on the show has been like, and the hardest part. Hariton admits it's "the stress of doing a six- to eight-month projects in a day and a half."
Scott gives Hariton a bit of advice for the last challenge, reminding him to stay true to himself throughout the process and honor his individuality.
"[Scott] is literally the king of HGTV," Hariton says once Scott leaves to go see the next contestant. "The stakes are so high now."
As PEOPLE first announced back in November, Design Star: Next Gen is a reboot of HGTV's highest-rated show ever: Design Star. The new series has the same DNA as the original, but the scale, the sets and the challenges are all dialed up.
The eight designers, renovators and "social media brand builders" compete for a prize of $50,000 and, more importantly, their own HGTV show. In addition to Scott, guest judges have included Jasmin Roth, Tia Mowry and more. A-list interior designer Jonathan Adler and Lauren Makk are the full-time judges.
The six-episode series kicked off on the Discovery+ streaming service on February 24, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday.
The Design Star: Next Gen finale airs Wednesday, March 31 on Discovery+.
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