In case anyone else is planning to take all this out, this is the "ideal" sequence, after removing the overmat and main foam-backed carpet from the drivers footwell:

1. Remove drivers knee panel (worth a separate "how to" itself!) and fuse panel cover.
2. Remove kickdown switch surround and take out carpet under pedals.
3. Remove footrest - 2 stupid plastic hex nuts, the top one difficult to get at in a recess. Can be taken out with the pedal carpet in place as the edge of that folds back.
4. Remove transmission tunnel side cover - another tricky manoeuvre! In "as new" condition this is bracketed to (and blocked by) the knee panel so that (and the footrest) must come out first.

Installation, as they say, is the reverse of removal. And I've not given all details of the fixings, screws etc. just the basic sequence. :D
Just one little tip when putting the footrest back:
If, like mine, the captive bolt for the upper fastening is rather long you will find that a standard socket won't go over it and reach down to the plastic nut when fully secured. I eventually got mine off by slowly rotating it with the tip of a thin screwdriver until I could get a socket to just reach it.
When putting it back I put a couple of washers in place, one before fitting the footrest so that it's raised slightly there (not a problem) and the other directly under the fixing nut so that it didn't have to go so far down the thread.
For washers I used some tap washers as these are fairly thick, firm and resilient so won't rattle; a thinner one under the footrest and a thicker one under the nut.

And obviously if you do this take the "orange drain" out as well and clean it thoroughly, but have a bottle handy to catch any water in the tray! Softened in warm water they go back in easily.

The final result without mats, a lot better than it was. I cleaned the footrest plastic too. ;) Winter mats going in on top, summer ones have been cleaned and stored.

One final puzzle, possibly related to the misaligned joint I found in the air duct, is exactly where the right edge of the section around the kickdown switch goes; I didn't look at it when taking it out. Maybe someone could check on their car by taking off the fuse panel cover and looking?

I'll explain.............
When I put that bit of carpet back it had two possible positions for the right-hand edge:
1. Tucked in behind the air duct that runs down beside the fuse panel
2. Folded rearwards (towards the driver) against the duct, partly covering it

Judging by the shape (and difficulty I recall when removing) I think #1 was probably how it had been, but I couldn't get it back in easily.
But with it folded over the air duct the fuse panel cover needed a fair bit of pressure before the retaining knob would screw on, suggesting it was pushed out by the carpet.
No problems with foot space around the accelerator so I left it for now.
If it is indeed supposed to be tucked behind the duct I'll probably take it out, trim the edge a bit for a better fit and put it back "properly". :cool:

Anyone fancy taking the fuse cover off and having a look for me? ;)

Do these photos help you, HP?

It would appear that the carpet is folded forward and partly covers the duct as photo 3 shows. +++

Thanks David, I think so. It's the last picture that looks at it but I can't tell 100%.

Is the right-hand edge of the carpet curled forwards so that it's backing rests on the vertical section of air duct? Or is the edge tucked behind the duct?

I think my carpet has quite a big overlap which very obviously covers a fair bit of that duct. Maybe I just need to trim it a bit? See close-up attached

PS Nice footrest, and clean carpets. +++

The edge is definitely not behind the duct but overlaps the duct by 25mm.

Want another photo? - its lunchtime and I am just strolling around the garden house/car......

I left the carpets out as I realised how dirty it was down there and I had better get the vacuum out!!

No thanks, it's pretty much the same as mine now I can compare the two pictures. Many thanks for your help. +++

I also think I'd hooked the top behind a clip that maybe was there to hold something else, so as a result had sprung the bottom out too far. :tuttut:

Edit: And the other bit I missed is that the corner of the fuse cover needs to tuck behind the plastic kickdown trim. Easy to take out but trickier to put back properly.

The footrest was an experiment about a year or so ago. They didnt have any finer (smaller) pattern as I would have wished so it was the 25mm pattern or plain smooth which I thought would scratch too easily. I think that the treadplate is just too industrial though which is why The Laird looked at the rubber barred version with Trophy885.