I know, I know.
Look, if it's any consolation,
you should see the other guy.
Don't cry, Keith. I'm fine.
I'm sorry I'm such an eejit.
I messed things up.
So what are we gonna do
without you?
I know you think that I'm
an integral part of the show,
but don't worry, I have found
someone else to stand in for me
while me and my leg recover.
- All right, lads.
- Oh, Ellie, hi.
Siobhan! Get better soon.
But for now, I've got this.
We've found 12 of the nation's
best amateur potters,
so let the battle to find the
champion of the pottery begin.
Welcome to the new series
of The Great Pottery Throw Down!
We've scoured the length
and breadth of Britain
in search of 12 of the nation's
finest home potters.
Walking in through those gates,
it was, like, "Wow!"
It doesn't feel real.
To be honest, at every stage,
I've expected somebody
to sort of say to me, "No, love,
go home, we're only joking."
I started pottery
because of this show,
so to actually be here, I don't
really know what to think.
This is completely bonkers.
I'm having to pinch myself.
I am actually, yep, I'm here.
I'm here!
Each week
they'll be tasked
with transforming lumps of raw
clay into stunning ceramics.
I'm feeling
really nervous, yeah.
There's days
when you can't throw,
and I don't want it to be
one of those days.
I am out of my comfort zone.
When I'm making stuff at home,
I've got all the time
in the world.
Me and Kate Bush,
we live in that shed.
Everything they create
will be judged
by master potter
Keith Brymer Jones.
What I'm really, really
looking forward to
is quite frankly to be inspired.
When I see that potter make that
idea come to life with clay,
I can't help but get emotional.
It's...
It's absolutely brilliant.
My partner, she's, like,
"You better make Keith cry
by the time you get home."
I don't know what I would do
if he started crying.
Also casting a critical eye,
ceramics expert Rich Miller.
The thing I love about clay
is from the moment
you open up that bag,
there are a world
of possibilities.
That inanimate mud
can become anything.
I'm just so excited
to see what they're gonna make.
Oh, my pretty one.
The potters will face
20 brand new challenges.
- Whoo!
- This is good. This is fun.
I like pressure. I describe it
as the Olympics of pottery.
- - Designed to push them...
- I'm panic painting.
- - ...to their limits.
- Oh, there goes one.
Try another one! Try, try!
I'm not at all nervous.
- Are you ready?
- Ready as I'll ever be.
After which,
one will be named champion...
Quite delighted, to be honest.
I had a little internal "whoo!"
...of The Great Pottery
Throw Down.
This one's a bit dodgy.
- Ugh...
- In fact, it's really dodgy.
Anything can happen, right?
It's Throw Down.
So I think
I've got the gist of the show.
Yeah, go on, then.
So we're at
Gladstone Pottery in Stoke
because it's the home
of British pottery.
Yeah, well done.
Yeah, 12 amateur potters
are set two challenges
each week,
after which
a potter of the week is crowned,
but then sadly
one potter does have to go home.
Yeah, well done.
We're impressed.
And I'm the one who decides
who stays and goes.
- No, we do that bit.
- Well, what do I do, then?
Well, you just have to
sort of walk around smiling
and be warm and maybe funny?
Oh, and you must make sure
the potters
don't have dirty bottoms.
- Yeah.
- What kind of a show is this?
Good morning, potters,
and welcome to the pottery.
How are you feeling?
Nervous? Excited?
Confused about why Siobhan
sounds a lot less Irish
in person?
Fair enough. No, Siobhan
has sadly broken her leg.
So until she is well enough
to come back,
I have been charged with keeping
her pottery wheel spinning.
Or another pottery metaphor.
I don't really understand.
Now, for your first challenge,
the judges
would like you to make
a five-piece
children's crockery set
inspired by
your own childhood memories.
Keith and Rich would like you
to make a plate, a side plate,
a bowl,
a beaker with two handles,
and a character eggcup.
I want to see
artistic hand-building.
I want to see
nicely thrown pots.
And don't forget clean bottoms.
I'm keen to see
a really cohesive design.
Think about
how you're gonna bring
all of those separate elements
of your set together,
whether that's through
texture, color, form,
or all of those things.
Right, you have three hours
to make your five-piece
children's crockery set.
Potters, get potting!
- Ooh.
- Ah.
To be here is the ultimate.
Oh, it's great.
This is like being in my shed.
Except the lighting's better,
it's warmer,
and I've got a whole day
to do pottery
rather than, um, ten minutes.
Before the potters
can begin throwing,
they must wedge their clay,
a process that helps remove
any air bubbles.
They'll then have three hours
to throw their five-piece
children's crockery set,
and a further
two and a half hours
to add any hand-built elements
and refine.
As you can see,
I'm a bit of a messy individual.
Trying to work clean
is going to be a challenge here.
So, Rich, the first week,
the first challenge.
I mean, it's right up my street.
Domestic-ware.
We've asked our potters
to start with a thrown form,
but then they're gonna
sculpt them and alter them,
and that adds
an extra layer of difficulty.
And it's gotta be user-friendly.
We don't want sharp edges.
The form is gonna be critical.
This beaker, for example,
having these two handles
that are beautifully
smooth and round,
but it adds all sorts
of problems into the make.
They've gotta be
aligned perfectly.
The profile has to match.
And the beaker, albeit small,
wants to be
the right proportion
to the rest of the set.
Yeah. I mean, this is
a lovely example of an eggcup.
Putting this tail
and these two little ears
gives it real character,
and the egg just sits perfectly.
We don't wanna hear,
"Oh, no, it was for duck eggs."
It's gotta fit that medium egg.
- Absolutely.
- Small and perfectly formed.
- Like you.
- That's right.
- Morning, Anna.
- Good morning.
- Hi, Anna.
- How are you?
Excited, nervous.
A bit terrified.
You look like
the most pottery potter here.
You've got clay on your face,
a paintbrush in your hair.
- On trend. Love it.
- I'm just messy.
So tell us about your design.
It's actually based
on a childhood memory.
It was our first time as kids
on a farm, and we had ducks.
One morning, the shed was open,
and there was feathers
all over the ground, no ducks.
So my dad got us sticks,
and we went to hunt the fox
that stole the ducks.
Social care worker Anna
is from County Fermanagh,
Northern Ireland, and grew up
working on dad Pat's farm.
That's great.
Thanks, Daddy.
Anna will use brightly colored
sculpted figures
to bring her family fable
to life,
and like all the best stories,
it has a twist.
Decades later,
we were discussing this memory,
and my mother started laughing,
because my father
had k*lled the duck.
He had taken us
out on the foxhunt
so my mother could pluck
and cook the duck
that we came home to
and ate for dinner.
Josh has also been influenced
by some slightly questionable
dad parenting.
I used to love motorbikes.
We used to always go on holiday
to Portugal.
There's a photo there of me
on a motorbike with my dad.
Health and safety alert.
No, none of that.
Josh, a design technology
teacher from Reading,
spent many happy
adrenaline-filled summers
with family in Portugal.
His motorbike-themed set,
decorated in the colors
of the Portuguese flag,
features a beaker
with handlebars,
and plates designed
to look like a racetrack.
The plate,
two plates merged into one.
So that's just gonna be
one piece?
That's why I'm throwing
two, joining it together.
- You feeling fairly confident?
- I think so, yeah.
I don't know
what the time is, but yeah.
You've got five minutes.
Yeah, so the first thing
you wanna do is make a plate.
Throwing a plate
requires a firm hand
to compress the clay
into a perfectly even disc.
I've made all the plates
in my house. They are wobbly.
But they're plates,
and I made them.
What more do you need
from a plate
other than a flat surface
that you can eat off?
Ooh, that's got a wobble on it.
Slightly annoyed
that my first plate is wonky,
but also glad
that I've made a plate.
But even if they are happy
with their thrown forms...
Ooh, crikey.
...the potters aren't
out of the woods yet.
Oh. For God's sakes.
The wire rose up
and just cut through it,
and all that work's just gone,
and it's just like... argh!
Museum assistant Bill
lives in Scarborough,
and is a proud grandfather
to two-year-old Phoebe.
Bill's designed his crockery
with her in mind,
but the elephant-themed set
commemorates
the unforgettable day
the circus came to town.
One of my earliest memories
is Mum coming into the garden,
saying, "Billy,
come and see the elephants."
I was dragged down the road
just in time to see
four huge elephants coming down
from the railway station.
- Wow. Quite a sight.
- And the smell.
Not just the sight.
It was the smell of them.
- But you're not doing the dung?
- I'm not doing the dung, no.
It might look like a bit of dung
at the moment, but...
I think you've achieved it.
That's great.
I do love animals.
When I was younger,
I was fascinated by storybooks
where the animals
wore human clothes.
I didn't speak till I was four,
very behind,
so I lived in a bit of a world
of make-believe.
Retired occupational therapist
Lucinda lives in Shropshire,
where she's passing
her passion for wildlife
on to her grandkids.
Ooh!
Take care of it, Granny.
If it dies,
you might be a bit upset.
Immortalized in clay, Hannibal,
Lucinda's pet tortoise,
will lead a pack
of her childhood chums
in her intricately decorated
crockery set.
There is a lot of work in there.
Are you gonna have time
to get all of that detail
into the actual set?
- Watch me. Watch me.
- Fighting talk.
- That sounds determined.
- I like it. Great.
- Yeah, I will.
- Great.
That's good.
Bill's finally managed
to throw his plate.
I'm feeling a little bit better
now after my debacle.
But there's no time to relax.
What am I doing now? Bowl.
No crockery set is complete
without a breakfast bowl,
which one potter is fashioning
into something fearsome.
That's the mouth of the beast.
When I was younger, my sister
and I just used to make stuff.
One of the favorite things
we used to make was monsters.
Father of four Nick
lives in Barry, South Wales,
and has worked as a prop maker
for over 20 years.
His colorful crockery contains
a monstrous amount
of textural detail
that'll take all his modeling
know-how to pull off.
What's the best thing
you've ever made?
I made Peter Capaldi's
t*rd console,
and I've made
all the sonic screwdrivers.
- Oh, wow!
- What a claim to fame.
Is that what that is
in your pocket?
That's my lucky pencil.
But Nick's monsters
might not be
the fiercest creatures
in the pottery.
I'm doing my design
based on dinosaurs.
I just love dinosaurs.
As a kid, I had
all the dinosaur books,
and we'd go to the museums.
I was the dinosaur kid.
Recent design graduate and
this year's youngest potter,
21-year-old AJ
lives in Aberdeen.
This self-confessed geek likes
to impress partner Kelda...
- Ta-da!
- Oh, wow.
...with their latest
cosplay creations.
Absolutely adorable.
AJ's crockery set
and mini Jurassic world
features diddy
dinosaur characters
and prehistoric plant life.
The decoration, are they
gonna be really colorful, or...?
Yeah, I was going for
soft shapes, bright colors.
Oh, wow. OK.
- My little girl would love it.
- Oh, good.
She would smash that
on the floor in a heartbeat.
So you're halfway through now.
That's your halfway time check.
- Coming your way.
- Go, go, go, Gadget!
As the potters'
bowls and plates
hit the drying room
to firm up...
Thank you, Rose.
...attention can turn
to their smaller items.
This is gonna be
the beaker,
my dinosaur egg
with a little face poking out.
Ensuring their beakers
are in proportion
to the rest of their set
is paramount.
The difficulty with these
is getting the size right
for small children.
You just think you've got it,
and then it's not,
so... bring it in a bit.
But no beaker is complete
without handles.
So, uh... do you come here
often? What's happening here?
So at the moment
I'm pulling handles.
Right.
Any tips for handle pulling?
Make sure
that it's as moist as possible,
so your hands
are really moist, really wet,
so that it just slips
through your fingers.
It's a really good idea
to concentrate on the tip first.
If the tip ends up bigger,
you end up
pulling the whole lot off.
- And that's not a good look.
- That would be disastrous.
Absolute disaster.
I am making a rabbit
with a waistcoat,
and his ears
will be the handles.
I'm doing Alice in Wonderland,
'cause it's a story
my mum used to read to us
when we were little.
Zahra lives in Manchester,
and followed in the footsteps
of her Iraqi-born mum
to pursue a career in medicine.
Can you lean forward
for me, sweetheart?
Her set brings together
some of Lewis Carroll's
most iconic characters,
including a bowl containing
the pipe-smoking caterpillar.
You're a doctor, is that right?
I know,
it surprises me too sometimes.
It feels like
if you work in a hospital,
then this is quite chilled out.
It's literally
not life and death.
Do you think that helps you
a little bit?
Um, no, 'cause I'm still
really nervous.
No, it is, Ellie.
It is life and death.
Sorry.
I've misunderstood the show.
He's gonna start crying now.
What you doing?
Christine's imagination
has also been fired
by her mother's tales.
When we were young, my mum was
really interested in fairies.
She used to take us
through the bluebell woods,
and she'd show us
the knots in trees,
and she'd say that they were
the doors, so we'd knock on them
and leave little daisy posies
and things like that,
so my inspiration
is flowers and fairies.
Christine grew up
one of eight siblings.
Living in Preston,
and now a mum of two herself,
she loves nothing more
than a big family get-together.
She's hoping to capture
the spirit
of her childhood fairyland
with an ornate crockery set
styled on the white
narcissus flower,
and populated with delicate
hand-sculpted butterflies,
flowers, and a fairy.
The little fairy
that's sitting on the eggcup,
she's the hardest,
she's challenging.
It might be the smallest piece,
but the eggcup...
Oh, there goes one.
...could cause the potters
the biggest headache.
Oh, might try that one again.
- Right, take two.
Throwing intricate forms
leaves no margin for error.
I'm remaking
Mr. Mad Hatter eggcup,
because the hat fell off,
basically.
While Zahra's eggcup is missing
its all-important headwear...
Plenty of time.
...Tom's will soon be
in need of some shoes.
I'm making alien feet
on my alien eggcup.
What I've done
is thrown that on the wheel,
and then I've cut across there,
squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
It's even got a little
alien shoe thing going on.
That didn't happen when
I practiced. That's awesome.
Tom, a computer programmer
from Bath, and his wife, Fleur,
love to get back to nature
in their vintage caravan.
- Amazing view.
- Girders. Some old tires.
Inspired by
a childhood obsession
with galaxies far, far away,
his set features
an extraterrestrial eggcup
sat atop
a moon-rock side plate.
That is absolutely deadly.
I love it.
But as Tom prepares
to blast off...
I found out
somebody else is doing space.
...he won't be alone.
They're sat behind me, though,
so they can see what I'm making
and I can't see
what they're making.
- I'm watching.
I'll come back
and investigate in a minute.
- I'm just one step behind.
- Yeah.
It's, like,
that looks remarkably familiar.
But Jenny's making life
doubly difficult,
throwing a top
for her cosmic eggcup.
It's slightly complicated,
because it's gonna be a rocket,
and you'll open it up
to reveal the egg.
So I've gotta make sure that
the two elements fit together.
As a child, teacher turned mum
Jenny from Doncaster
was a budding astronomer.
Her crockery set will contrast
the darkness of outer space
with bright yellow stars,
colorful rainbows,
and a beaming sun plate.
We didn't ask
for a lidded eggcup,
but you're kind of going
that extra mile.
- Yeah, just to push it a bit.
- Just to make your life harder.
Yeah. It could be my fatal flaw,
or it could really make it.
Well, we're looking forward
to seeing it.
Thank you.
You've got one hour left,
my friends, one hour.
Now the moment of truth.
The crockery sets
have had a chance to dry,
and now they're leather hard,
the potters must trim off
any excess clay.
Bit of remedial work's
gonna have to go into this.
It isn't a clean bottom
as asked for.
Unless they refine
every surface,
they won't achieve the perfect
finish demanded by the judges.
I can't spend too much time
on this.
It's not perfect, but it'll do.
At this stage,
the potters can also
start altering
their thrown pieces.
I'm just about to turn this
into my little race track.
Let me see if it lines up.
Bang on. Phew.
My side plate's
gonna be a mud splat
for the eggcup stegosaurus
to play in.
But these alterations
aren't without risk.
The more they manipulate,
the greater the chances
of cracks forming when fired.
I've made lots of plates before,
but I don't normally make the
middle look like fish and chips.
My design's based
on the family holidays
that we used to have
in Cornwall, mackerel fishing,
with some captain of the ship
calling me "my lover."
It was great.
Clothing designer Miles,
husband Frank and dog Maud
upped sticks from the city
to the Worcestershire
countryside.
Maud, drop it. Drop it.
His Cornish crockery set
features
every fisherman's friend,
a jolly lighthouse keeper,
which Miles is adorning
with a replica
of his own facial fur.
I love it
when a plan comes together.
Miles isn't the only potter
hitting the beach.
This is my main plate. The idea
of this one is a beach towel.
Every year we'd go down to West
Wales and sit on the beaches,
and we used to enter
these regattas.
3
- D design
and craft graduate Cellan
lives in Brighton,
and has three brothers,
amongst which the competitive
spirit is still strong.
Pile on, pile on.
His regatta-themed set features
a life-ring-shaped bowl,
a fish-mouth eggcup
and a trophy-inspired beaker
celebrating
his aquatic prowess.
I used to really love the
underwater swimming competition,
'cause I can hold my breath
for quite a long time.
How long can you
hold your breath for?
I don't know.
I haven't timed it.
Let's have a competition.
Probably not the right time.
- Maybe afterwards, yeah.
- Later. We're on.
See if you can hold your breath
for three hours
while you make the, uh...
I'm pretty much
doing that already.
30 minutes left, my friends.
30 minutes.
Ooh.
I'm yelling
in your ear, Lucinda!
Time is starting
to not be my friend.
- It's a race now.
- Now to make some fairies.
She's going to get curly hair.
I'm just putting on
a little girl,
and then a little fox.
Mr. Foxy.
That'll be the face
of my dinosaur egg.
And I need to get
the handles on.
Doing the handles
of the beaker,
the motorbike handles,
think they're in proportion.
Getting this little fella
together is the hardest one
'cause he's got the arms,
and my eggcup's gotta have
all his little tentacles put on.
I've got a lot of rainbows and
clouds to attach to my bowl.
Some of the bits have dried off
quite a lot more
than I wanted them to.
If the clay's
a different dryness,
then they've got
different amounts to shrink,
so it can lead
to things popping off.
Anything can happen, right?
It's Throw Down.
Ten minutes left, potters,
ten minutes.
We've got this.
Ooh, feet.
We need to get those feet on.
I like to have a few
little surprises with my things.
Kids love surprises.
Put Monster Mayhem on it.
That how you spell it, right?
Let's just check
that's gonna fit in.
All I've got left
to do is put the petals on.
It's a bit tight.
Let's take a bit more off.
I've never made
so many eyeballs.
We're going in.
We've got things going in.
Well done, mate. Well done.
One minute. One minute to go.
- One minute?
- Yep. Come on.
Oh, my pretty one.
Well done, AJ.
In they go.
- Want me to take the plate?
- Please take the plate.
- Oh, thank you.
- Let's go, let's go, let's go.
- I'm going, I'm going.
- That is time, everyone.
- Well done!
- There you go. It's all in.
Thank you.
Whoo! Whoo-hoo!
Ooh.
I'm exhausted.
I don't know about you lot.
- That was intense, wasn't it?
- Yeah.
For now, the potters have done
all they can.
Once completely dry,
studio technician Rose
will take them
for their first bisque firing,
which will harden the clay
ready for decoration.
I'm quite worried
with Zahra's set.
Her bowl has
some very fragile details
which could dry really fast
and crack off.
That was very stressful.
Bits staying on is my
main concern during the firing.
The potters now face
an agonizing wait
to see if their sets survive
the kiln's 1,000-degree heat.
I'm a little bit worried
about the firing.
The handles on the beaker,
the clouds and the rainbows
on the bowl
could potentially come off.
Just keeping my fingers
tightly crossed
that everything's gonna be OK.
Yes.
Each week the potters will face
a second challenge.
What they'll be asked to make
is a mystery,
but this week it's something
no breakfast can do without.
Potters, it's time
for your second challenge,
and it's a throw down.
You're going to be making...
milk bottles!
- Ah!
- Ceramic ones, of course.
We're not expecting you
to become expert glassblowers.
Master Potter Keith,
show them how it's done.
Right. There we go.
What we're really looking for
is consistency of shape,
consistency of size,
and a really nice form.
It all starts
when you're centering the clay.
You really wanna think about
how much clay you're pulling up
to make it as tall
as you need to make it.
I'm just folding over that rim.
And then I'm just going in
with my sponge on a stick,
just bellying it out,
just a little bit more pressure,
just to get that nice
subtle accent on the shoulder.
We want it really nicely
finished off,
a nice rim on there.
We're gonna be checking rims,
the shoulder, the neck.
No scrappy bottoms.
Just a nice little neat nick.
Stop the wheel, wire it through,
OK? And take it off.
So what we're looking for
is three thousand, six hun...
No. As many milk bottles
as you can make in 15 minutes.
We're looking for quality,
consistency, and quantity.
It's your turn now,
so head back to your benches.
You have 15 minutes to make as
many milk bottles as possible.
Your time starts now.
Remove the hessian!
I can't get the cling film off.
Remember, the smoother
you make that first pull,
the smoother
the rim is gonna be.
I remember milk bottles
from school, unfortunately,
and the milk was always sour.
I like things
to be fairly perfect,
so trying to get a lot made
in the time is tricky.
It's gotta be like
making pancakes, right?
So the first one's always crap.
- Hello.
- That one's naff.
Oh, well done, Jenny.
Looking good.
Tom's getting his first one on.
Nice work, Tom!
This is number two. I'm pleased
it's a throwing challenge.
I'm comfortable with that.
The first one sets the standard,
and then all the other ones
have to match.
Hopefully it's not
a downward spiral.
I'm just folding
that top over
to get that bottle rim
on the top.
I've never done that before.
- Focus, people.
Just concentrate.
Just concentrate.
And if in doubt,
focus some more.
I'm thinking
I wouldn't mind a glass of milk.
That's five minutes down.
- You've got ten minutes left.
- No way.
We've got a lot of work to do.
Two and a half minutes each.
This is hard.
You've had five minutes.
Some of you have only got one.
So, come on! Milk bottles!
- Oh, you're so manly.
- Whoo!
What are you doing, Anna?
What happened to it?
- The wheel went.
- The wheel went.
- Is that a technical term?
Just about
to start the fourth.
This is good. This is fun.
I like pressure.
My hands are very shaky.
Just make sure
you've got all of those aspects
in your milk bottles.
Shoulders, lips, rims.
- This is number four.
- Tom's such an overachiever.
Three for Miles.
Cellan's got three.
Christine has... three.
Jenny has three.
Three seems to be the number.
I've done one.
That's five minutes left, guys.
- Five min-unos.
- Five minutes.
I'm actually lactose intolerant.
This is... This is basically
stunt work for me.
Tom's done well.
Jenny, she's about
to take her fourth off.
I'd like to think
I can get two more out,
but that's probably
not gonna happen.
Don't ruin that one, Anna.
I'm watching.
One minute, my friends.
One minute.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
- No. No, no, no, no.
How much time? They don't even
look like bottles.
- On number five now.
- Nice one, Tom.
- What number's that?
- Six.
Come on, let's get a sixth.
They're not beautiful, are they?
Right, that's 30 seconds, guys.
Oh, I know.
Try another one. Try, try!
Five, four,
three, two,
one!
- Come on!
The potters will now face the
judges for the very first time.
Look at all those.
Flipping heck.
Keith and Rich are looking for
perfectly formed milk bottles,
uniform in size and shape,
with straight sides
and a well-defined rim.
Any that don't measure up
will be recycled
into Keith's bucket of doom.
- Hello, Lucinda.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Hi, lovey.
So how did you find it?
- Absolutely terrifying.
But, actually, on these, the rim
folding's gone really well.
This one's a bit dodgy.
Yeah, in fact it's really dodgy.
- Aw!
- And...
It's, uh, yeah...
You know what,
I think I'm gonna leave it...
- No, it's going.
- Aw!
These are great, though.
The ordeal is over.
This one, bit of the runt
of the litter, isn't it?
- And that one actually, yeah.
- Aw!
- 'Cause that's also terrible.
- So that's four, Ellie.
- One, two...
- Three.
- ...three, four.
This one's a bit of a no-no.
It's a shame
that one was distorted,
but I think
we can sort of stop there.
You're all right.
As a set, pretty good.
- Apart from that one.
- Ah.
- Wow.
- There was no shoulder.
Now, with those four,
they're kind of fit for purpose.
- So well done.
- Thanks a lot.
As the forms go,
you've got great height.
Honestly, Christine,
I'm crying at them already.
- They're brilliant.
- Thank you.
- Don't.
Folks, we throw
these challenges at you,
and, you know, you don't know
what you're getting,
and you just get on that wheel,
and you persevere,
and it... it's brilliant.
I'm sure Rich will back me up
when I stop bloody crying.
Yeah, absolutely,
I mean, beautiful form,
clearly defined shoulders,
necks, rims.
And that's your hands
doing that,
so you should be
proud of yourself.
I am.
There's obviously one
that needs to go in the bin.
I love the way
they're finished off.
The sides are nice and clean,
aren't they?
Yep.
Started off OK, and then
just got progressively worse.
The rim on that,
it's not great, is it?
So that's gonna have to go in.
So, I mean, you know, do you...
Aw!
You bad man.
So there we go. Three.
I love throwing, but there was
too much hanging about.
It's a good effort, but this one
isn't great, is it?
- Oh!
- That had to go.
- Yeah, that was the last one.
- They're a lovely pair.
Lovely pair. Lovely pair, Bill.
- Pretty industrious.
- Haven't hung about.
- What's this?
- That's my favorite.
- That's going in the bin.
I think that would have
brightened the cereal up
in the morning.
These rims are quite nice.
You've got a similar
flair on most of the necks.
I think
you've done well.
Six, mate. Smashed it.
It's wonderfully terrible.
- I made it myself. Thanks.
I mean, that's gonna
have to go in, yeah.
This one flairs out
a little bit.
Yeah, that flairs out too much.
That's going in.
- We're gonna stop there.
- Thanks.
Well done, mate.
Actually, Zahra,
I changed my mind.
That's going in as well.
See you later.
- I didn't quite find my rim.
- Yeah.
A couple have got, like,
little individual characters.
That was the brief right, Rich?
If that's what we were
looking for, it would be great.
- I know, I know, I know.
- But it isn't.
You could have got
a bit more height. This one...
Hopeless, mate.
Would these four...
No, sorry, no, that's gotta go.
- With these three...
- Yeah.
Wow.
These are looking pretty good.
- I'm loving the profile.
- Yeah.
They just look
really kind of voluptuous,
and the rims
are really nicely round.
There's one
that's sort of obvious.
- What I don't mind about it...
- Don't.
You can see that
you've really thought about it,
and I'm reluctant
to throw that one away.
You've gone
for the same thing every time.
That's what we asked of you.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
- I'll go now.
Keith and Rich will now rank
the sets from worst to first.
The potter
with the most milk bottles
will walk away victorious.
In 12th place, Bill.
Perfect pair, not many more.
Miles, Zahra, Lucinda, and Nick
each threw three bottles.
Cellan, AJ, Josh, and Anna
threw four,
while Christine threw five.
So, in second place... is Jenny.
- Well done, Jenny.
So, for obvious reasons,
first place,
well done, Tom,
fantastic effort.
You can go and celebrate now
with a swift half
of semi-skimmed.
Yeah, I'm thrilled.
There's no other words.
I'm just really, really happy.
I nailed it on the day.
- Drinks are on me!
- Whoo!
To come last, I would be lying
if I said I wasn't worried.
I hope my breakfast set
comes out really, really well,
and that will carry me through.
It's day two of the main make,
and after a 24-hour firing,
the children's crockery sets
are ready to be decorated.
But the potters won't know
if their work has survived
the intense heat of the kiln
until they remove the hessian.
Last night was quite difficult
to get to sleep,
because everything
was going round in my head.
I've been going through
in my mind
all the things
that could possibly go wrong,
so things like legs off rockets.
My plate's turned into a bowl.
Clouds and rainbows popped off,
and beaker handles.
I'm a little concerned
about my bits,
and whether they've dropped off.
Potters,
your children's crockery sets
have been bisque fired
and are now out of the kiln
and hiding under your hessian,
so it's decorating time.
Keith, Rich, what are your tips?
We'd like to see you
bring your pieces together
as a set.
Just keep really focused
on keeping that glazing
clean and tidy.
These are
a homeware set,
so these are
gonna be washed and used
time and time again.
They need to be practical,
as well as fun to use.
You have a range of glazes
and two and a half hours
to decorate
your children's crockery sets.
So, potters, get decorating.
- Hey.
- Survived?
- Yeah!
- Survived, yes.
Relieved somewhat.
There were a few nightmares
about limbs falling off, so...
But not everyone has made it
through the first firing
unscathed.
There's a few little bits
between the clouds and rainbows
that you can see
where the join is.
- Is yours all right?
- No.
Oh, no, what's happened?
S crack through the plate.
There's a chance the whole thing
might fall in half. Ugh.
And Miles's plate isn't
the only one with a problem.
Oh, Nick, I'm gonna be annoying.
- No.
- You've missed the "E."
No. Mayhm.
- Mayhm. Mayhm.
- Monster Mayhm.
I can't believe I done that.
To begin decorating, the first
thing the potters need to apply
is completely invisible.
Right, I need to grab some wax,
I think.
Wax just completely
stops the glaze
from attaching to the clay.
It's a time-consuming process,
but without it, the potters
could find themselves
with no crockery.
You have to have an area that's
completely bare from glaze,
otherwise it will stick
to the shelf in the kiln.
But before Bill can even begin
waxing his bottoms...
This is the roughest one.
...he'll first
have to sand them smooth.
I wouldn't have had
all of this to do now
if I'd have tidied it up
a lot better
before it went
in the drying room.
But I think it's worth
putting the time in,
'cause I think
I'll get a better finish.
To produce the perfect finish
the judges expect,
the potters are free to use
any of the glazes available.
Basically
getting every color.
But glazing,
like most ceramic processes,
can be unpredictable,
and the colors
the potters pick...
It's like blancmange,
isn't it? Chocolate blancmange.
...can dramatically change
in the heat of the kiln.
How orange do you think
this is gonna go?
It's almost red, so I'm
gonna add some white to mine.
But while the final color
isn't completely
under the potters' control...
Let's start with
a sunshine color, yellow.
...how much they apply is.
If you put one coat on,
it's almost like a watercolor,
and then two coats
you've got more opacity,
and then three coats
it's fully opaque.
So I'm just undercoating white
at the moment
to create the petals.
To help bring
her fairyland to life,
Christine will add
splashes of color
to her
almost entirely white set.
I want to be able to see
a little bit of texture
from the brushes
in the underglaze
of the white petals,
so they look quite flimsy.
I had to use white,
because it's a narcissus flower.
Jenny's space-inspired set
will also feature
a mostly monochrome finish.
The idea is they're tied
together with the night sky.
- OK.
- Space.
So all of the pieces
are quite a dark black,
and then each one
has its own separate colors,
so the rainbows
are gonna be rainbow-colored.
But obviously time is tight.
The detail in the rainbows
in particular.
Are you all right for time
at the moment?
- At the moment I am.
- Right, OK.
Famous last words.
And time might be tight
for Tom...
I've got loads to do.
...and his intergalactic
eggcup too.
I'm using
every single color there is.
They're just
really bright, bold colors
that kids like to play with.
And all those different colors
mean switching around brushes
and things a lot,
so, yeah, I've got loads to do.
I love the dots on it.
It looks really cool.
He's a happy little chap,
in't he?
He is, isn't he?
Right,
I think we're ready.
Having spent over 30 minutes
sanding his bottoms...
Oops.
...Bill is now
playing catch-up.
A lot of painting to do.
And to recreate
his childhood memory
of the circus coming to town,
he'll painstakingly paint
every one of his four elephants
with multiple layers of glaze.
So what is the sort of base
color for the elephants?
- Are you painting those gray?
- Yes.
There's a lot of surfaces.
Are you confident you've got
the time to get all of those...?
I'm never confident.
You just do your best,
don't you, and try your best.
I feel like
I should let you get on,
because you've got a lot to do.
Just paint, paint,
paint, paint, paint.
So that's one hour left,
everyone.
Blimey. Right, gray.
I haven't used any colors yet.
Well, white.
I'm itching
to get to the color.
The thing
that's taken up the time
is just putting
three layers on everything,
'cause I want it to be
really bright when it's glazed.
Just gotta take my time with it.
But also not take my time.
So all the animals
have had their treatment.
Now what I've gotta do is get on
with all the party colors
and shapes.
Since I was a child,
I've been fascinated
by color and pattern.
Do you know,
I can't leave things alone
unless they've got
some sort of pattern on them.
Anna's set also requires plenty
of hand-painted detail...
Each piece is going to have
a different footprint.
...to help animate her story
of the fiendish fox
and the doomed duck.
This one here
has the fox footprint,
and I'm going to paint
footprints through it,
so it sort of connects up
that way, that's the plan.
- Hello, Zahra.
- Hi.
So what are you doing
with your bowl?
I notice you've got quite
a detailed character in there.
Yeah, so, we have
Mr. Caterpillar Man.
He's gonna be yellow and green,
with different colors
on the pipe.
- OK, right, wow, crikey.
- A lot to do.
Yeah, that's a lot to do, yeah.
Just so long as you get those
in the transparent glaze.
In time not to panic
and drop stuff, yeah.
- It's half an hour, Bill.
- I know.
I knew you were gonna say that.
You did know, you did know.
- I knew it was coming.
- That's half an hour.
- Oh, that's tight.
- Glazing as fast as I can.
Right, one more coat
of this stuff.
I can't do rainbows, though.
My hand is shaking so much.
Half an hour left, I have not
started on the Mad Hatter,
and I've only made
a very brief start to the cup,
so I'm panic painting.
Have you got much to do?
You've still got a fairy to do.
I've got a fairy to finish.
I want my little diverse fairy.
And then I've got
a couple of ladybirds to paint.
Oh, I was wondering what
that was. That's a ladybird.
- It will be a ladybird.
- I thought it was a wart.
Not only must the potters
finish decorating...
Mr. Foxy...
coming to town.
...but as this is
a homeware set,
to be functional,
every piece must be coated
in a second transparent glaze.
Nice and even coating, no drips.
But the dipping process
isn't without risk.
I'm running out of time,
so I just really need
to get this finished
so that it can dry enough
for me to dunk it.
If their decorative underglazes
are still wet,
there's a chance the clear coat
could cause
the colors to run...
Not bad.
I've got some nice crisp lines.
...undoing all their hard work.
Maybe this one's too wet
to dip.
- How am I for time?
- Potters, that's five minutes.
Oh, no.
This poor Mad Hatter
was made in a rush,
was painted in a rush.
If you haven't started dipping,
get yourself to that bucket.
- I do love a bit of dipping.
- Christine, are you all dunked?
I'm all dunked.
I'm just wiping bottoms.
Dirty bottoms
will not be tolerated.
This is where I drop everything.
Bearer of bad news. One minute.
- Last bit.
- Go, go, go.
- Go for it.
- You all right?
This is my transparent
painting stick.
- Spelled that one right.
- Spelled that one right.
- Ten seconds.
- Please.
Three...
two...
- Ah!
- ...one.
And... that's it, time's up.
Whoo. Well done, guys.
- Whoa.
- Oh, my... God.
I quite enjoyed that,
in a weird, sadistic way.
The potters must take
their finished work to Rose
for the final firing.
I think we're running
out of space here.
The next time they see
their children's crockery sets
will be when they're revealed
in front of the judges.
Agh! And I've no idea
how they're gonna turn out.
Ended up falling a little bit
short of time yet again.
I did try and get
three coats on
to get a nice even color.
It's not perfect,
but we did our best.
All my little animals
have got their party hats on
and their party clothes.
We're ready to rock and roll.
It's judgment day.
The children's crockery sets
have had
their final 24-hour firing
at 1,000 degrees centigrade,
and there's nothing more
the potters can do.
They won't get to see
their finished work
until it's revealed
to the judges.
Potters, before us lie
12 children's crockery sets
which I know you are all itching
to take a look at,
so let's put you
out of your misery
and begin with you, Lucinda.
Can you bring
your set up, please?
- You nervous?
- Yeah, just a little bit.
Shall we have a look?
OK.
In my childhood, animals
were very much my little world,
so it's lovely to see them all
having a party.
It's brilliant.
It's...
It's absolutely brilliant.
When we came round to your bench
and we asked you,
are you gonna have time
to do it, the determination...
- Mmm.
- "Yeah, I can do it."
- I've got goose bumps.
- Yeah.
The level of detail
that you've put into the build
is just exquisite, you know.
What I love is
things like this embossing here,
and then the way you've used
the color over the top
in a very fluid way.
You were thinking
at that make stage
with decoration in mind.
So we should test the eggcup
for size.
- Yes.
- Here's one I laid earlier.
- Thank you.
- That's perfect, lovey.
I think a child
would be not only surprised
but really, really happy
to use this set.
- It's wonderful.
- Thank you so much.
- Ready?
- Yeah, just about.
I'm pleased. Yeah,
I am pleased, actually, yeah.
I like the two plates.
It was a brave move
to join them together.
There's no cracking.
But you've got
the handlebars here.
They could have been
the same length.
That would have been
an easy thing to do.
You've got
all of the Portuguese colors,
green, the red, and the black.
I don't know
whether it screams fun,
but certainly
if you're into motorbikes,
it would be the dream.
Cool. I'm loving the colors.
The surfaces
have been glazed beautifully.
All of this sponging feels like
sort of dinosaur skin,
and yet it's still
beautifully smooth.
I'm loving this.
It's almost like they've just
gone splat in the mud.
That was the idea.
It's just really fun.
- It's very colorful.
- Yeah.
And the first thing, I think,
is how well thrown it is.
- That's beautifully thrown.
- It's good.
But the weakest item
in the whole set,
I mean, that's supposed to be
a beach towel?
Yeah.
It's a flat piece of clay
with a crab on it.
Here you go.
Ooh. They're bright.
The detail
in the figurative work
that you've done,
it's brilliant.
It feels like
a really strong set,
with those bright punchy colors.
You've got the fox kind
of running around each piece.
You're following the story.
It's almost like
a cartoon strip
in three-dimensional form.
It feels really playful,
really fun,
as a kids' set should.
The altering is good.
You wouldn't have
necessarily known
it was thrown
in the first place.
You've really pushed that form.
- Let's see if the egg fits.
- Yeah. OK.
- A little big, yeah.
- Maybe a duck egg.
Apart from that, you should be
really, really proud of that.
Thank you.
That's what was in my head.
This is brilliant,
apart from the bleeding obvious,
a crack.
But this is
just incredibly striking.
That single bold
swish of color,
that's the kind of thing
that gives pieces life.
And this is fantastic.
I just love the way you've used
the relief work for your beard,
but then you've painted
on the face,
and it's really fine
and intricate.
The glaze and the color
application is incredible.
OK, you spelled "mayhem" wrong,
but I'd probably do that,
being a dyslexic.
All of the pieces
come together as a set,
and they all feel like they have
that monster treatment.
- It's really lovely.
- It's just great fun.
I can't think of a single child
that wouldn't wanna use it.
I wanna use it. What that says
about me I don't know, but...
It's very vibrant,
it's very bright.
You've got a slight crack there.
Oh, damn.
It almost feels like
a set of two halves.
This piece feels
very obviously different,
with that real pop of yellow.
I love the idea of those secret
hidden pieces inside bowls,
but certain areas down behind
here haven't quite got glazed,
it hasn't got
into those crevices,
and food will get in there
and you won't be able
to clean it out.
On the Mad Hatter here, you've
left the face completely blank.
- Time.
- OK. Egg fairy, please.
Oh, fantastic.
- It's a great fit.
- Thank you.
Are you ready?
The color's more muted
than I thought,
but baby will love it, yeah.
I was concerned that
you were using a lot of gray.
Obviously, elephants.
But, actually,
the gray works really well.
The elephants,
they have got real character.
Picking it up, it's
a little bit on the heavy side,
and the bowl is just
slightly untidy in that center.
Let's just see
if that fits.
- Little bit of a wobble.
- Yeah.
Let's put an egg in it
and see what happens.
Your egg fits.
Your theme definitely
carries through the whole set.
It's just a few
of those little tweaks
just to get that finish
up to scratch.
space, lots of black.
But it's worked incredibly well.
I mean, that is just...
it's just... it's great weight.
Feel that.
It's lovely, isn't it?
Yeah. And it's just
beautifully finished.
I mean,
all of these little details,
the way you've incised
these lines
to create a sh**ting-star motif.
I mean, again, that bowl
is just really nicely made.
And, you know,
we can't help but notice,
you've given us six pieces,
and obviously
a lot of risk there.
- Oh, no. It's too big.
- Bit on the large side.
But at least the lid fits
over the top of it.
You've done really well, Jenny.
- Well done, Jenny.
- Thank you.
It definitely
speaks of fun.
I think it definitely
speaks of Tom.
I actually think the eggcup
looks a bit like Tom.
- It's that third eye.
- It's that third eye, yeah.
Looking across it,
there's lots
of different techniques.
Your beaker, you've got
beautifully clean lines.
And in terms
of throwing and altering,
this piece
sums it up beautifully.
You've got this nice round cup,
and then you've got
this more organic bottom to it,
so it's a really interesting mix
of the thrown and the altered.
Egg's coming
into the alien.
Does he fit?
- So much character.
- Alien brains.
When you get to smash it
with the spoon,
you're eating alien brains.
Excellent. Yeah,
that's your head, isn't it?
- Yeah.
- Are you ready?
- Ready as I'll ever be.
They look
how I wanted them to look.
Good.
I massively respect the fact
that you've chosen
to give the fairy brown skin.
- She had to have brown skin.
- Yeah.
I grew up in the '80s,
and I never saw reflected
back at me in broader society
images that reflected
what I was seeing in the mirror.
I've got a small daughter now,
and actually I'm gonna cry,
but, you know, how critical that
is to having any sense of self,
it's a massive thing, and
I think the beauty of that is
that it's reinforcing
a positive message for children.
I just never saw anything
like her in any of the books,
and it was important.
- I think that is inspirational.
- Thank you.
And what's wonderful
about it is
that it's that attention
to detail of yourself
that you've brought it...
through to the design.
It's wonderful.
It's really, really lovely.
And what I also love about it
is you've manipulated
each and every piece,
and this little ladybird
accent here, it just pops.
You look across it
and it immediately
feels like a set.
They all feel like
flora and fauna.
Let's try the egg.
Brilliant. Perfect.
- Well done, Christine.
- Thank you.
- Well done, Christine.
- Thanks.
I've totally surprised myself.
When I was walking up, I said,
"This is for you, Mum."
So obviously she's in my mind.
Then to get the responses
from the judges as well
made me even more emotional.
It was hard,
but, um, ultimately I'm glad
that my things
turned out the way they did.
To hear from Keith
and Rich those sort of things,
it's just wow.
I'm quite delighted,
to be honest.
I had a little internal "whoo!"
Just blown away, and
seeing Keith's reaction was...
I couldn't quite
believe it, really.
I still can't... Do you know,
I almost have to pinch myself.
I never come into this
thinking I'm gonna
worry about it or get upset.
I came in here to enjoy myself,
and, yeah,
there's always the possibility
you'll be the first one out.
I think there is a very
good chance of me going home,
and I'm looking forward
to seeing my cat again,
'cause it's been a while.
Don't laugh at me. It's true.
Keith and Rich must now decide
who will be
our first potter of the week,
and who will be going home.
From my point of view
of complete ignorance,
I think these sets
are absolutely beautiful.
It's been a great
first week, so insightful.
It's allowed us a little glimpse
into who our potters are,
and we've really started
to get to know them,
and what their skills are about.
Was there anyone
who particularly impressed you?
Well, for me, Christine.
I was really touched
by her whole design concept.
It was such a beautiful story.
I mean, all three of us
were welling up.
Absolutely, yeah.
Another one for me is Lucinda.
The attention to detail
and the application of
those colors was just amazing.
I was really taken aback
by the conviction
with which she said
she was gonna deliver,
and I'm just so pleased
that she did.
- She got so much in there.
- Yeah.
Anyone else
impressed you particularly?
Anna. You could tell the story
from her pieces.
On paper, it's actually
quite a dark story.
Yes, it is, isn't it?
But she managed
to make it fun and playful,
which I thought was fantastic.
OK, and let's do
the other side of the coin.
Who do you think is in danger?
For me, Bill, bless him.
Bill just had
a few finishing issues.
You looked under the bases
of every single piece,
and the turning
was a bit slapdash.
And he came last in
the throw down second challenge.
Is anyone else
in a bit of trouble?
I think Zahra is.
Her crockery set felt like
a real game of two halves.
There were also issues
of practicality,
crevices that would be
impossible to clean,
and it just wouldn't be hygienic
for a child to use.
Absolutely not.
And she said it herself,
she ran out of time.
Yeah, I think
she's in the danger zone.
Right. Ooh,
this is going to be tricky.
- Shall I get you another cuppa?
- Yes.
I have to do everything
round here.
Potters, congratulations on
your first week in the pottery,
and on all your amazing
children's crockery sets.
You're all
potters of the week to me,
but the judges
have made their decision.
This week's
potter of the week is...
Lucinda.
Congratulations, Lucinda.
No way. No way.
Yeah!
- Oh, my God.
- Well done.
But sadly
someone does have to go home,
and the first potter
leaving the pottery is...
Bill.
- Sorry, Bill.
- Oh.
- OK. Wow.
- Well done, Bill.
Aw!
We've loved your energy
around the pottery, honestly.
I'm disappointed, yeah,
but we've had such a laugh,
and they're such
a great group of people.
I've learnt a lot.
I had a blast.
I'm gonna miss you all so much.
Phoebe will be really proud,
I'm sure. I did my best.
I'm happy.
- I can't believe it.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you so much.
- We loved it.
This is just completely bananas.
Bonkers.
I just...
I'm absolutely... completely...
This is crazy. Whoo!
Lucinda's crockery set
is the first work
to take pride of place
in our Throw Down gallery.
Lucinda, you could feel her
literally tremble.
I'm so, so pleased for her.
I mean, her work was stunning.
The detail, I mean, every
tiny little thing considered.
- It was just beautiful.
- You were amazing.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Lucinda absolutely
deserved to win.
Her stuff was phenomenal.
But does it
make you think,
"I nearly got it this week"?
Yeah, I know. So... game on.
- Next time...
- Right, let's have it.
- - It's slab building week.
- I have no idea what I'm doing.
As the potters engineer
decorative wall clocks.
I'm seriously
running out of time.
- And the blindfolds are back.
- Oh, my gosh, it's so hard.
- In the throw down challenge.
- That's gone horribly wrong.
Who'll have
the time of their life?
It's like Play-Doh.
It's like being a kid again.
- And who will be clocking off?
- Oh, Jesus.
I've never really been
a clock person.
I don't really care
what time it is.
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05x01 - Children's Crockery Set & Milk Bottles
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In each episode, a group of amateur potters compete to complete two pottery challenges.
In each episode, a group of amateur potters compete to complete two pottery challenges.