06x01 - Birthday Tea Set and Handleless Jugs

[bunniefuu]

OK. Gladstone should be up here
on the left.

Are you sure? Gladstone's
not in the countryside.

It's in Stoke-on-Trent.

Yeah. The home of British pottery.

That's right, Keith.

But the map says... The map
is upside down. Huh?

Yeah. Well, I know how to get us
in there as soon as we find it.

If we ever find it.

So, have you've got the keys?

It's Gladstone.
We don't need the keys.

I have the secret knock.

Oh, it's you. Hi, Rose.

That didn't sound that secret.
No, it wasn't.

I texted her on the way here.

Go, get the clay. Lots of it.

We're back with 12 of the finest
home potters in the country,

a bottle kiln full of new challenges
and a lot of clay,

and I mean a lot of clay.

Welcome to the new series
of The Great Pottery Throw down.

Did we miss the opening?
Yeah, you did.

You didn't have any lines anyway.

Charming. No respect.

Here's the clay anyway.

Oh!

Rose!

Rose!

We've searched high and low
and found 12 of the country's

best home potters.

From the minute you walk in
the pottery, it's just incredible.

Any potter will tell you,
this is the Mecca.

Every week we watch the show
and then at the end, my

children jump up,
"Mummy, you should apply."

I was always like, "No, I'm not good
enough," so I just can't believe

that I'm here. I don't know when it
will sink in.

I like yellow. I like dungarees.

So yellow dungarees are quite good.

Each week, they'll be tasked
with turning lumps of clay

into sublime ceramics.

I really want to just have
an adventure with the hobby

that has become a real passion.

I want to jump.
I'm really excited.

I'm doing ceramics... full time!

Ooooh!

Everything they make will be judged
by master potter Keith Brymerjones.

I've been working with clay
for over 40 years and you'd think

I've seen it all. But I love the
fact that sometimes

the potters give us that ch*nk

of inspiration and it is really,
really magical.

It's absolutely wonderful!

This is mentors hip you can't buy,
and I love the fact

that it is so warm and everything
about it is encouraging.

And renowned ceramics expert
Rich Miller.

What's so unique about The Great
Pottery Th row down,

and the thing that just keeps me
coming back is our potters intense

passion about ceramics.

There's just something so exciting
and so inspiring about that.

Are the potters prepared?

It's quite exciting.

It's nerve-racking as well.

So...

I'll start to panic now.

There are 20... Oh! ..brand-new
challenges.

Come on! A a a ah!

Oh, my God.
I need to make a hole.

Nervous. I feel a bit, like sick.

Oh, no! Aah!

Are you ready? Go on. And who will
be named this year's champion...

The amount of detail is staggering.

...of The Great Pottery Throw down?

No! There's a lot of things
that could go wrong. Right?

Oh!

OK. Take a breath.

It's fine.

Yikes.

We're back at the Gladstone Pottery
Museum in Stoke-on-Trent,

once the beating heart of British
pottery.

We've greased the wheels and
uncovered the clay, ready for

our 12 new potters to kick-start
the competition.

After two challenges, our judges,
Keith and Rich, will decide

who is potter of the week
and who will leave the pottery.

Hi! Hi!

Ah, look at you.

Wow! Hello.

It's so good to see you all.

Oh, God, it's so good to be back.

Right, down to business. Pottery.

The judges, for your very first
challenge, would like you to make

a birthday tea set dedicated
to someone you love.

Now, they would like you to make
a cake stand,

two cups and saucers, a side plate,

a little clotted cream pot

with a fitted lid and room for
a spoon and a cake slice.

Now, Keith, any advice? We've given
you this challenge, predominantly

throwing, but there is some
sculpture in there and even

some hand building to really show
us your full range of skills.

We want to be impressed.

Yeah, well, I'm definitely
in the wrong job then. OK, Rich?

Really think about how you're going
to bring all of the elements

of your set together through the use
of shape and form

as well as decoration.

Now, I'm just super excited to get
to know you all through your work,

so good luck. Potters.

You have six hours to make
and refine your birthday tea set

and your time starts...

“Now!

It's just so exciting. It is, isn't
it? Very exciting.

Yes, it really is.

It is happening finally.

I still cannot believe
that I'm here.

It's, it's a dream, I'm pinching
myself.

I'm just touching these tables.

Getting started has just been the
biggest relief.

Waiting for the clay, waiting.

Ancl then it's just get the clay
out and do what you do.

But before the potters can make a
start on their tea sets, they must

wedge their clay.

I'm going to knead it to get rid
of all the air bubbles.

Because sometimes you get air
bubbles, which is a bad thing,

because if you put it in the kiln,
it'll explode.

This is the hard part. This is the
bit where you are doing exercises.

Oh, my God.

So here we are again, Keith.

12 amazing new potters
and a great first challenge.

Fantastic. A birthday tea set.

It's their first opportunity
to show us their skills.

Yeah. Take the cake stand, for
instance.

I mean, it's the largest piece
in the set. And the scale

of it presents challenges.

Yeah. We don't want to see
any cracks.

We don't want to see any warping.

And then, of course, the cup
and saucer, we want those cups

to be identical.

I know, being a production thrower,
that's really important.

Definitely. And there's the
opportunity to be playful.

This one, for example, this person
obviously knows just how to make...

I see what you did there, Rich.
..make a cup.

I mean, it's quite a simple design,
but the nose is then carried

through onto the side plate. Yeah.

They feel like a set. Look,

at the end of the clay, I want
to be impressed by their making

and also it has to be fit
for purpose. And celebratory.

It's a birthday set, after all.

Yeah. It's got to be fun.

Eye-eye! Eh?

Hello, Helen. Hi, Helen. Hi.

Hi, Helen. Hello.

We're like a barbershop.

So tell us, Helen, tell us about
your design, what you're doing.

I'm making my birthday tea set
for my sister-in-law, Elaine.

She's been my best friend
for over 40 years.

Then she emigrated to Australia.

Oh! OK. So we're away, obviously,
for a long time.

Yeah. And then when we get together
again,

we just latch onto where we were.

Sure. And within seconds we've got
a glass in our hands.

Right. Oh, really?

So is that going to inform
your tea set? Yeah.

Retired head teacher Helen lives
in the Kent countryside,

where she shares her passion
for pottery with the neighbours.

Come on, mint sauce.

She'll bring her champagne-fuel led
adventures with Elaine to life

with a tea set simple in form
but intricately illustrated.

So being a teacher, you must be good
at time management.

Surely? I'm retired.

Oh, OK. I'm not going to worry
about, I'm just gonna... No!

Yeah. ..have a blooming good time.

We'll all have a glass of champagne
at the end of it.

Or two.

Vithu is also raising
a glass to faraway friends.

Well, my design is actually based
on when I went to go see my best

mate in Thailand. Oh, lovely.

And he's actually gone again
to Thailand.

He's become a teacher. And that's
what he wants to do.

Wants to teach. Fantastic.

Vithu lives in Manchester,

an adrenaline junkie with a black
belt in karate.

But when he's not doing his best
Spider-Man impression, he pulls

pints at a local bar.

Oh, gosh, I need a break.

A reminder of the fun times
he and friend Matt

enjoyed in Thailand, his set

features a cake stand inspired by a
famous landmark,

a banyan tree with a stone
Buddha head nestled

between its tangled roots.

So this looks very heavily textured.

It's going to be a lot of coiling.

Oh, OK. Right.

But, yeah, it should be OK.

I'm saying this to myself,
so I should be OK.

You should be OK? Yeah.

I'm getting the sense
you're going to be OK.

Yeah, yeah. OK.

This is the cake stand.

It's going to be a baobab tree.

They're called upside down trees.

It's got a very fat body, and
the leaves look like roots coming

out, so I thought I'd make
quite a good cake stand.

George is a junior doctor
who lives in rural Hampshire.

Oh, that's a big yawn.

But it was growing up in Africa
that's inspired his tea set.

Dedicated to Mum Clarissa's love
of wildlife, the cake stand features

a character especially close
to her heart.

My mother's favourite animal
is a chameleon and I worked out

chameleons take a long time
to paint, so if I do lovely long

tongues and do a scene of it
catching a fly, I'll get more tongue

than chameleon and save myself
a bit of time.

The centrepiece of their tea set,

the cake stand is the largest piece
the potters must throw.

Balancing the cake stand is not
having it collapse on you.

It's keeping it all together
and not start flopping whilst

you're forming it. That would be bad

because the cake would slide off
and that's not

what anybody wants from
the cake stand.

But the dreaded droop isn't the only
thing the potters need to avoid.

I need to compress this because
stress cracks can happen in flat

surfaces. Compressing clay gives
it strength and stability.

Come on.
Skimp on this crucial step,

and the potters could be presenting
the judges with a pile of rubble.

If you get this wrong, yi-ikes.

Cake stand couldn't be any
further from a piece of cake.

Rebecca is a primary school teacher
and lives in Scarborough

with husband Lawrence and son Henry.

She only started ceramics two years
ago, but with Grandad Albert

watching on, spends every spare
minute potting.

Get my bingo wings going.

Inspired by the love of nature
she shared with Gran-Gran,

she'll add ladybirds to every piece
of her woodland-themed tea set.

In Lancashire, there are some walks
that have got ladybirds, you know,

you follow them all the way around.
Sure, yeah. Yeah.

Ancl we used to go on them
all the time when I was little.

Me and my grandad, we spent
every clay together.

I'd just do anything to have one
more birthday tea with him. Aw.

The tea set's for

my son, William, who's very much
into nature, loves animals.

You know, he's out in the garden
rescuing hedgehogs.

He's rescued mice
and he's rescued the earwigs.

Structural engineerjon lives
in Wiltshire, where he enjoys

the country life with wife
Catherine, their two sons, William

and Benjamin... Apples. ..and pets
Sarah and Duck,

who will be immortalised

atop his side plate while the cake
stand is model led on William's

favourite apple tree.

Was this all pierced out?

Some pierced some carved.

You can sense your engineering
background here. Yes, yes. All very

precise, all very engineered,
measured and everything else. Yes.

So it's how I carve without cutting
away too much and getting too much

warping and things. Well, look.
Sure.

Good luck. Thanks. Yeah.

My lovely new potters, the drying
room is open.

I am opening the drying room. Open
the dry room.

I have opened the drying room. With
their cake stands complete...

Exciting.
It's going in the drawing room.

...the potters can turn their
attention to cups and saucers.

I've made an awful lot of mugs.

Everybody wants a mug.

Quite a nice thing to make.

And while smaller and simpler
to throw...

Come on. ..Keith and Rich
will be expecting a pair identical

in shape and size.

That's quite a big ask, isn't it?

Cups is sort of my comfort zone.

I have clone four identical mugs,
and we're hoping that...

Oh, no! OK.

Maybe three identical mugs,
since I've just ruined that one.

Medical student Caitlin lives
in Glasgow with Mum Lucy

and Dad Adrian, an ex-potter
with an ever critical eye.

It's going to collapse in a minute.

It's not going to collapse.

It's their shared love of the sea
that's inspired her tea set,

which she'll decorate with bold
blue glaze.

My dad was the one who taught me
how to snorkel, so one of the cups

is going to have a snorkel.
Ancl it looks like you've got some

sort of details on the handle.

Yes. My dad took us fishing
when we were younger.

And the handle will be the rod.
Are they mackerel?

Yes. Fish knowledge?

Yes, exactly. Siobhan is also...

I'm also an expert on fish as well
as pottery.

Our parents took us on holidays
to Anglesey, to Holy head.

My brothers would go fishing.

There's a lighthouse that's there,
so it's all inspired by the cliffs

and the sky.

Art teacher, James and his mum,
Theresa, made hiking a firm fixture

of family holidays to Anglesey.

It was lovely and sunny,
but then the cloud came down.

We were all frightened.

He'll use blue and white glaze
to create the cloudy skies

while the rocky cliffs
will be embossed with stones

brought from home.
It's a nice way of making texture.

Ancl because it's stones, it looks
like it's stone as well.

Just press them in.
So if it distorts, it's on purpose.

Right. OK?

It is.

These are my cups.

My mum always drinks out of mugs
like these.

She's an oil painter.

She's a bit like me, a bit chaotic.

Ancl she just puts her brushes in
her tea and then she'd drink it,

"oh, my God!"

Flies lives in Fulham and is
the youngest of four siblings,

all of them artists.
Painting since early childhood,

she's enjoyed her mother's guidance.

That's it. Brave. Yeah.

Her set, featuring a paint palette
cake stand and cream pot, complete

with paintbrush top
will be decorated

in her mum's favourite colours.

Do you think that there is like one
of your siblings in a room somewhere

whispering to themselves,
"I just want to be an accountant."

I am the only person doing pottery.
Oh, really? Yeah.

It's good that I'm doing something
different because I know that my mum

and clad can't critique me on it.

Potters, you're halfway through.

I'll start to panic now.

While throwing
matching teacups and saucers

is a test of the potters
technical skills...

No! Go in the middle.

...their cream pots and side
plates are an opportunity

to unleash their creativity.

My plate is going to be cut out.

It's going to be a leaf.

I really like pottery to
have an element of fun to it.

So my cream pot is a cactus.
My tea set is for my sister.

Ancl she keeps a lot of house
plants, so it relates

to her passions and talents.

I'm just really proud of everything
she's clone, and I don't think

she sees her good points
all at once.

So hopefully this will do that.

Lois lives in Ramsgate with husband
Adam and their two boys, Jacob

and Samuel. A jewellery designer,

younger sister Abby is always
a willing model.

They're great, aren't they?

To celebrate her sibling's
many talents, Lois will add

lots of decorative detail and
sculptural elements to her tea set,

including a birthday cake candle
holder.

I'm hoping to make a little spoon
as well, if I get time.

Wow. Lots of extra little bits.

Yeah. Do love a challenge.

MY Plate.

The base was too thin.

While Caitlin's still at the
wheel...

Oh, it's just annoying.

...most of the potters have finished
throwing... Right,

it's building time now.

...and can turn their attention
to the cake slice...

The cake slice is based on a leaf
from the apple tree that goes

with the apple, the clotted cream
pot. ..and other hand-built pieces.

This is my sister's candle holder.

I'm making a crocodile cake slice.

I'm cutting the scales,
fins, spines.

I am sculpting my potter's
trim pots.

It will be a basket.

And on the top of the lid, some
little cones as a knob.

My pottery teacher, she loves cones.

She's from Mexico and I decided
to celebrate her heritage.

Originally from France and now
living in London, architect

Chris top he likes to wind down after
a stressful day.

He'll add decorative graphics
to his cake slice and stand

depicting landmarks from both
Lucia's native Mexico and the UK.

This looks incredibly complex.

It's a stencil.
It took me a day to do it.

Wow! Wow! Oh!

Ancl is that the only one?

That's the only one.

So don't let Siobhan touch it.

Exactly. That's all I'm saying.

OK, potters...

Jesus Christ!

Four hours gone, two hours left.

Thank you.

The tea sets are now leather
hard and ready to be refined,

removing any excess clay
to leave pristine surfaces.

This stage is everything, because
once this goes into the kiln,

that's the shape it's going
to come out.

There's nothing else you can do.

This is also the stage where the
potters can alter their thrown

forms. It's just coils for the tree
trunk.

That's the head of the Buddha.

This is my cream pot.

My brother and sister-in-law
have a boat.

So I thought I'd just make
a little model of their boat.

And add decorative texture.

This...cream pot is going to
be a bird's nest.

On top of it is going to be
a big bird.

It will look like a bird, I promise.

But I want to bite it.

This is the Colombian food.
Beautiful.

Fabiola, a nanny, moved to the UK
from Colombia 25 years ago

with husband Mauricio and together
they have three grown-up children

Kevin, Daniela and Mariana.

Dedicated to close friend
Carmenza, who was in a coma

for five months, Fabiola will
celebrate her incredible recovery

with a tea set featuring her
favourite flowers and birds.

It's such a thoughtful set.
You've got such joy

in them, like... Oh, definitely.

I mean, my friend deserves
to be happy now... How

could she not be anything
but happy with you as a friend?

We are the same. Yeah.

Just kind of crazy, both of that.

But she's the decent one.

You're the naughty one. Kind of.

Yeah. Yes. I like you.

I like you. As Fabiola's bird
takes flight...

This is me and my wife for a walk
on the beach.

...Derek's keeping his feet
firmly on the ground.

Sometimes Stone Age footsteps
appear on beaches after tens

of thousands of years.
My birthday tea set is dedicated

to my wonderful wife, Tessa,

who is a big old history nerd.

Married for over 20 years,

Belfast-born magazine editor Derek
and his wife Tessa live

in Tunbridge Wells with their two
dogs, Chilli and Basil.

Size of that! Wouldn't get that

in the mouth of the cave, darling,
would you?

He'll decorate his set
with Stone Age cave paintings,

including a pair of woolly
mammoths atop his cake stand,

which he's thrown in one piece
from nearly three kilos of clay.

You are going to have to watch that.

It's a big expanse of clay.

I've got to get it the right
consistency

before it's turned upside down.

No-one wants a floppy cake stand.

No!

I don't think
much of these party bags.

OK, potters, half an hour left.
HE WHISTLES

I'm feeling the pressure now.

I've got a lot to do.

This is the side plate.

The vine on the cake stand consumed
a lot of time.

It's going to be really,
really tight.

Hello, Chris top he, how are we doing?

The cake slicer is too thin.

Might crack on the tip.

As a pottery expert, I can
assure you it will not.

Thank you very much.

I'm just trying to make
it look like a tree.

I need to add a ladybird on now.

Ladybird scurrying.

All right, let's put
those berries on.

Oh, that looks a bit rude.

Is that just my mind?

Ohhhh!

Oh, my God!

Are you OK?

My snorkel.

No! Ohhh.

Oh, you can do this.
You can do this.

Just give it a push.

You have to give it a try.

No, it's not going to move.

Ohhhh! Now, I'm definitely feeling
like I'm under pressure.

As Caitlin rushes to remake her
cup...

I've just got to get this dry
quickly.

...Derek's cake stand is still damp.

I can't turn it the right way out,
otherwise it'll go bleurgh.

So I'm going to heat g*n it, let it
dry...

No cake.

Lovely potters, you've 10 minutes
left.

My hand is shaking as I start to
panic. It's the cake stand

that worries me because I know
how much work I wanted to do on it.

It's quite ambitious to carve
into all of this, but I'd rather

be ambitious than think,

"Oh, I could have tried that and I
didn't."

One more fish and then I'll stop
fiddfing.

I've made a second mug. OK.

Whee!

I'm all good now that this is the
right way round.

Potters, one minute left.

Ah! Three, two, one.

Oh! How are we doing?

Yeah.

Stick it on. Shove it in.

Any old thing'll do.

Good, good, good. Looks lovely.

You take that. Sorted.

Oh, my spoon isn't in here.

Did we have to make a spoon?

Oh, my God. I need to make a hole.

Ten seconds! Ten seconds. Oh, no!

I nearly forgot the spoon.

Three...

...two, one.

Well done, potters.

You've just finished your very
first day.

Woof!

We did it.

That's all the potters can do
for now.

Mine's scruffy as hell.

Once completely dry,

kiln technician Rose will take
the tea sets for their first bisque

firing, which will harden
the clay, ready for decoration.

Well, there's a few potential
issues with Vithu's set.

The side plate's really thick.

It could cause cracks.

Not too confident. I've got a couple
of things that I'm a bit worried

about, hoping the glaze will be able
to fix.

Fingers crossed I can turn it
around in the decoration part.

In general, I'm pleased
by what I have achieved.

However, like my cake slicer, I
think I made it a bit too thin.

So I'm scared about it.

We managed to salvage another cup.

Unfortunately, it's not quite as
perfect as I had wanted it to be,

but it's there and it's whole.

The potters now face a tense time

as they wait to see if their tea
sets survive the ferocious

thousand degree bisque firing.

This is the scary bit.

The kiln gods decide and hopefully
they're looking down on us.

Not raining and pouring,
thunderstorms. THUNDER CRACKS

Each week, the potters will face
a second mystery challenge,

and this time it's something
that goes perfectly

with their breakfast cup of tea.

Your second challenge this week
is a throw down.

Oh! And you're going
to be making...

...miu

And to show us how to make them
is our master potter.

Keith, please, take the wheel.

Great.

Centre the clay.

We want these milk jugs to be
as identical as possible.

It's just placing that clay
in the right place.

Just! Ancl if you put the clay
in the right place, your jug

is going to be the same.

It's simple. Yeah.

What's all the fuss about? Yeah!

Make your hole.

Out you come, nice and flat.

Slow that wheel down a bit now.

Collar up that clay.

Speed of the wheel
is really important.

I want to make a nice, substantial
rim, so I'm throwing up to that rim.

Can you see?
It starts getting exaggerated.

That's amazing. Shape
the outside of the jug.

Just to give you a bit of an accent.

Get the water out.

We don't want to see any water
in there.

Just milk!

Yeah. Clean off that edge.

I'll stop the wheel.

I'll wire it through.

Ancl then I can really work
that piece of clay to make my spout.

Even pressure, pulling that clay up

to give you a nice even spout.

Ohhh!

Just smooth it over and then wire it
through once more and off you come.

Potters,

if you could go back to your
benches, please.

The judges
have very generously given you

15 minutes to make as many milk jugs
as you can.

Just to get this into perspective.
Keith, how many do you think

you'll be able to make in 15
minutes? 15.

Ladies and gentlemen,

your time starts now!

Don't rush. just go quickly.

Yeah.

Ohhhh!

I can't centre that.

Just get one made at this rate.

Nice centre-ing there, Fabiola.

I'm getting there. A milk jug
today would be good, though.

OK, let's go for it.

Looking good, guys. Well done.

Struggling a little bit with this
and it's got a bubble in it.

It's rubbish, I've never thrown
something that bad.

Make sure those lips are nice
and consistent.

You want a nice lip that sort of
goes down at 7:00 I always say.

Do you know, you look just like a
milk jug when you do that.

Do I?

That's one, I'm going for
identicalness.

James, has the first one done!

You're the first one, Jon.

Jon has also done.

James is the second one
to do the first one.

That is also d... Actually Flies
has got one, too.

James is the third one. Third one.

...to do the first one.

I've got one out.

I need to remember quality.

If I do quantity, they're all going
to end up in the bucket.

Remember quality, not just quantity.

There we are.

That's the first one clone.

Come on, Vithu. Five minutes gone.

No!

Five minutes gone.

Could be worse.

It could be worse is my new motto.

Have you made jugs before?

Wonky ones for my mum.

She loves milk.

Oh,Jesus.

My jugs. It's a milk jug.

Sure. I'm going quite well
with this at the moment.

I do like making jugs.

Another one off for James.

They look the same kind of height.
They do, yeah, yeah. Nice height.

Not far off. Not far off.

That's it, Vithu. You kind of lost
it a bit with that one, haven't you?

It's a little bit wonky.

This is going to be number two, I
hope, if I don't muck it up.

Well clone, Caitlin. I'm liking the
way she's working here.

Potters, you've two minutes left.

What?! Two minutes?

Come on!

I've gone with two and they are all
rubbish.

I never clone something that bad.

It's horrendous.

OK, maybe one more. Can I squeeze
one more in a minute and a half?

I'm going to get this last
one out, hopefully. Ohhhh...

I'll give it a go for a very rogue
number three.

They're probably
the worst jugs Keith has ever seen.

30 seconds left, potters.

Keith would have about four
off in that time. That's right.

Five, four, three, two,
one.

Wahay.

Well clone.

Let's get the bucket of doom.

Oh, yes. You heard me.

The potters will now face the judges
for the very first time.

Keith and Rich are looking for
identical milk jugs, consistent

in shape and size with a spout

perfect for pouring. Any duds
will end up at the bottom

of Keith's bucket of doom.

How did you find that?
Difficult. The nerves got to me.

I'm kind of loathe to put
any in the bin, really.

I know.

If I had to pick one, I'd pick one.

No. No?

Yeah, I would as well. Yeah!

I thought so. What's wrong with you?

I knew. It had a slight split on
the spout, so that's two, Siobhan.

Could have been three.

These three look fine.

This one... Ah, yeah, yeah.

Not that one. Comes from nowhere.

Yeah. So we'll keep three, shall we?
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I should keep the three
of them. Yeah!

Well, that looks a bit rushed.

A a a a a ah! Gotta go.

I mean, they're a different
shape from my one, but they're

a nice height. Thank you.

So that's three for Flies.

Woo!

He's after you next.
I'm gonna hide...

The first one I made was far too
fat at the bottom,

so I just had to roll with it.

So, so you were conscious that
you'd made it too wide at the bottom

and so therefore you thought, right,
well, I'll go with that for the rest

of them. Yeah. We could sort of
save these two.

That's going to go in. Yeah.

So I think it's two for George.

What I do like about them
is the consistency in the throwing.

There is one that's a little...
I'm nervous, I'm nervous.

...at odds to the rest of
the set. Yeah, that one.

Let's get rid of that one.

Move on. Yeah. I'll take him away.

Yeah. So we got four for Helen?

Yeah, baby.

These are fantastic.

Thank you. Yeah.
Nice consistency in the throwing.

Ancl you've gone for that kind
of subtle shape that we were after.

That's four for James.

Oh-h*! Thank you very much. Really
nice ones. And a nice light bucket.

Time went so quickly, it felt
like 15 seconds.

Right. So, yeah. Well, you've clone
well in 15 seconds, haven't you?

Yeah, I thought so. Again,

I'm kind of loath to throw any away.

Thank you.

He's getting soft, I like it.

I think I've never thrown something
that bad.

Oh! I think we'll get rid
of that one.

This is...pants.

I just tried my best, but...

Although those aren't the same,

I am reluctant to throw
those two away... Thank you.

...because, not being funny,

but I know what it's...

Don't start crying, you're going to
make me cry. I know what it's like,

you know. What's happening?

We're asking you to do this
thing under pressure.

So that's quite hard.

That's a tall order.

Yeah, it's completely new for me.

Well clone. Well clone, Chris top he,

because at least you give it a go.
Thank you.

Yeah, cor, bloody hell.

I'm kind of reluctant, but maybe
that one.

Yeah, that was the last one.

Yeah.
And you shouted two minutes.

Oh! I knew this would be my fault.

Siobhan's fault. Lois three.

Oh, thanks. Thanks...

That's going in straight away.

Yeah. That one's terrible as well.

Yes!

Three for Derek. There we go.

WOW!

I found it difficult. Yeah.

I had to bring out my wee muscles to
centre that clay. Where are they?

I don't know!

I can't really think of putting
any of those in the bin

because they are all consistent.

Five, yeah.

Yeah!

Yeah, that's a bit naff. Yeah.

Knew that was going. Let's get rid
of that, but...

...yeah, I think we'll
stop at three.

Yeah. Thank you.

Keith and Rich will now rank
the milk jugs from worst to first.

In 12th place...

...Chris top he, you felt the fear.

You did it anyway. So well clone.
Brilliant.

In 11th, George.

10th place, Vithu.

Jon is ninth.

Rebecca's eighth.

Derek's seventh.

Lois sixth.

Fabiola fifth. Flies is fourth,

and Helen third.

So that leaves James and Caitlin.

Ancl you're both winners.

Congratulations, Caitlin and James.

Potters dismissed.

Super chuffed that I didn't get any
in the bin, first of all.

Ancl I'm so happy that James
is with me at the top.

Coming joint first did a lot
for my ego.

Well done, well done, mate.

Keith got emotional, but I would
have loved him

to be emotional about something
that I made very good and not

something I made very bad.

I sort of shot myself in the foot.

Yeah. Oh, well, it is what it is.

I'm hoping tomorrow will go better.

It's day two.

The birthday tea sets have undergone
an intense bisque firing and are now

ready to be decorated,

but the potters won't know if their

hard work has made it out of the
kiln unscathed

until they lift the hessian.

I'm apprehensive.

Anxiety dreams
have been a real thing.

Ancl that pile of rubble has been
very real in those dreams.

I'm a bit scared about what I'm
going to find under the hessian.

Maybe everything was too thin,

everything cracked. It's really
nerve-racking at the moment.

Welcome back, potters.

Your birthday tea sets have been
bisque fired, are out of the kiln

and are hiding under the hessian.

This is the decorating stage. Lads,
do you have any advice?

This stage is crucial as your choice
of decoration will determine

how your birthday sets look.

Ancl we're really keen to see
your theme coming through.

And remember, these sets
have to be food safe.

So think about fully glazing,
all those pieces.

But also we want to see
clean bottoms.

OK then, potters, you have three
hours to decorate

your birthday tea sets,

and your time starts now.

I can't do it.

Oh, God.

That first glimpse.

Oh, God.

WOW!

Ancl relax.

Everything OK? Yeah.

Oh, the little bird!

Happy?

Super happy-

Yes, I love it.

Oh, my God.

But Chris top he is not feeling
quite so cheerful.

I knew this was going to happen.

Oh, no! Is that the very tip?

Yeah, the tip broke,
and that's my fault.

I made it too thin.

I can't mend it. It is impossible.

Right, let's get some glazes.

To add
the decorative detail that'll help

bring their tea sets to life,

the potters have a huge range
of underglazes available.

Forest green, I need a lot of.

Definitely a lot of bold orange.

But the art of glazing is
unpredictable.

The colour when applied
isn't necessarily the colour

that will emerge from the kiln
after its final firing.

I'm using dark blue, bold
orange and yellow.

My mum's favourite, so I've got to
get it...

...exactly howl imagine. OK.

Helen's
going for bold colours too,

and has a plan to make them pop.
just to give

it a really nice, bright background.

Everything's going to be white.

It's a party, so it's going
to have bright colour. Hopefully

against the white background,
it will stand out.

I'm just doing the cake stand.

It should be really bright and red.

And to ensure a sharply spotted
toadstool, Rebecca's enlisted

the help of her local
stationery shop.

I've got some sticky spots that
I've put on, so hopefully peel

them off and they'll be white
underneath.

My style is quite childlike,
not too much detail.

I know everybody else seems
to have quite a bit of detail,

but mine's quite simple.

I'm doing all the leaves first. But
there's certainly nothing simple

about Lois's ambitious set
that celebrates her sister.

I decided to carve in my design.

The underglazes, if you use them
in a quite watery way, they get

sucked into the cracks and then it
brings out the textures.

There's quite a lot to do,
but I feel like I can do it.

I just need to just keep up
the pace.

This is probably layer three
and a bit.

Caitlin's also aiming for a watery
feel. just to create that dark, deep

ocean. Which she hopes to achieve
with multiple washes of cobalt.

It's all looking very blue. It is.
Yeah.

But blue is my favourite colour
and it's the ocean.

So why not? I suppose with that much
colour it can look quite dark

and sort of heavy.

Yes. But actually that's not
a bad weight at the moment.

I was worried that I made the plate
too thin and that would then cause

it to warp or to sit. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, there's still time for that.
Yeah, I know. Exactly.

Don't worry. Yeah. Don't...

Caitlin's not the only potter
banking on blue to tie their set

together. Fits perfectly.

My measurements were right.

It'll also bring colour to Chris top
he's intricately stencilled landmarks...

It's going to go a bit darker
in kiln, so the contrast needs

to be quite nicely made
with the white.

...andjames's skies.

It's supposed to be cloudy, but it's
still bright blue behind the clouds.

So you can see the cliffs,
see the sea.

I'm most pleased with the effect
on the cream pot.

It's really, really nice.

Where's the lid for it? Oh, here.
Yes.

Where's my lighthouse?

It's all in one piece.

Oh! This is a very nice...

Yeah, yeah, it looks
like a lighthouse. OK.

Gonna have to be careful with the
glazing.

Yeah, no worries. I'm going to leave
it white, not pink.

Don't mess this up.

This is a family show.

Potters, you're halfway through.

No!

Halfway through.
Erm, a little bit nervous.

Still working on this one
piece here.

Ancl I still haven't clone the bottom.
Argh.

I'm working on my crocodile
cake slice.

It's all about picking up texture,
and I'll draw a lovely crocodile

face on it and some teeth
that cuts through the cake.

That tortoise took me an hour to do.

So I'm rushing afterwards
and I hope I can catch up.

I've tried to find a small brush
at home and I didn't have any small

brushes, so I went out in the garden
and saw lots of duck feathers.

So I thought, I'll try that. And it
worked quite well as a grass effect.

This is all my Neolithic stuff.

It's the colour palette that
Neolithic pottery is.

I just hope it's not all brown.

Or if it is all brown, at least
it looks a nice brown.

This looks exactly
like your illustration.

That's insane.

Oh, thank you. So you've been a
witch for how long?

Still apprentice.

Hello, Vithu. How are you doing?

Ha, yeah, I'm doing OK.

You still got quite a few
white pieces here? Yeah.

Well, luckily for me, majority of
these are all one colour,

pretty much green.

If I get this big piece clone out
the way, I've got the rest

just to focus on these smaller bits.
That's your centre piece. Yep.

That's where you're going to put
the time in. Yeah. And the rest of

the stuff, well, it doesn't matter,

if you've gotta cut corners,
cut corners. Exactly.

Potters, you've half an hour left.

Not good at the moment.

Running out of time.

Trying to get quick at doing
chameleons.

It might just be one with
a very long tongue.

Those sticky dots work.
I'm impressed with that.

OK. It's time for the ladybirds
to go off.

Not only must the potters
add their final flourishes...

This is an underglaze pencil.

So after firing, it should stay.

It's not me, it's the pencil.

But because this is domestic ware,
every piece must be dipped

in transparent glaze to ensure
it's fit for use.

Just a very quick clip.

Yeah, I don't want it to be too
thick. And care must be taken.

Rebecca, how are you doing? I've
finished, but it's just whether

it'll dry in time to stick it down.

I see. If they dip their work
while it's still wet,

they risk their designs running.

Do you want me to blow on it?

Brilliant. That's making the world
of difference.

I think so. Yeah.

The little bird.

I like strong colours.

I want to just pop.

I'm just painting on my spoon hole
that I missed in the make earlier.

See if that works because I'll see
it. I can see a hole. Um, so...

Fabs, are you OK?

Oh! Oh, no!

OK. OK. Your hands are shaking.
Oh...

Put everything down.
Take a, take a breath.

It's fine. It's going to be grand.

Lovey, don't worry too much.
just glaze both pieces.

It'll stick in the kiln.

You've got gravity working for you.

C0oL

Yeah.

OK. You got this, Fab!
just, yeah, we got it.

Oh.

Coming up to the last two minutes,
my darling potters.

Oh, God.

Rushing this, is an understatement.

But isn't it lovely?

We're having a great time.

OK. Wiping the bottom.

Potters, last 10 seconds.

Becks, do you want some help
cleaning bottoms?

Yeah, I need to clean my bottom.

Thank you.

Three, two, one.

Bottoms down, please.

Well done, potters, well, well
done.

Oh! I... You're OK. Thank you.

The potters must take the finished
work to Rose

for the final gloss firing.

They won't see their birthday tea
sets until they're revealed in front

of the judges.

I thought I had lost more time
than I actually did.

Chilled at the start and floundering
around at the end.

Yeah. I'm still shaking
from the adrenaline, but I think

it looks like waves.

I'm scared of saying, but I think
it went quite well, hopefully.

I cannot panic, but if the bird
doesn't stick

to the glaze,
then I will be in danger.

It's time to judge the birthday
tea sets.

They've had their final 24-hour
firing and there's nothing

more the potters can do.

They won't get to see their set
until it's revealed to the judges.

Hello, potters, well done on a
magnificent first week.

We have 12 birthday tea sets.

Now, we're all dying to see
how they turned out.

So without any further ado,
Rebecca, could you please

bring your tea set up to the judges?

Longest walk of my life.

Whoo. Are you ready? I think so.

What are you thinking?

I just think my grandad
would be really proud.

Lovey, this is brilliant.

Absolutely wonderful.

The fact you went for such a clean
design, that's a really bold move,

but it's worked so incredibly well.

These are so crisp.

It's really nicely constructed.

There's no cracks whatsoever.

I love the ladybird.

It just ties all of the pieces
together.

That's why something as small and as
delicate as that can be so powerful.

Your cups, however,

the different tonal yellows haven't
quite worked, but,

I mean, really, that's brilliant.

Really, really good.

Shall we get some spoons? Oh, yes,
spoons. And maybe a tissue.

Yeah, it works really well.

Well clone, Rebecca.

Thank you. Fantastic.

Are you ready? Go on!

Oh.

Well, there's an obvious elephant
in the room.

Two, actually. Yeah. I mean, you've
got a bit of a stress crack.

I mean, it's fairly substantial,
but I love the decoration.

I was really worried about many
shades of brown, but actually

you've got some really lovely
things going on.

The sprayed little hands.

I think it's a really good effort.

Well clone, Derek. Thank you.

The colour is not quite
what I wanted.

I wanted a more bold orange.

I'd say actually the colour palette
ties your set together perfectly.

I love this. The paint brushes works
really, really well.

Just a bit more finesse
with the cream pot.

Yeah, I think allowing a bit
of extra time for that finishing.

Let's just get a spoon.
Yeah, let's have a look.

It was a very last minute hole.
Yeah.

You could have been a bit
more generous.

It's great. it just screams safari.

I've got to go to the cake slice.

I love the way you've drawn
the eyes on and the gnashers

down here on an unglazed edge.

It's just really fun and the depth
you've created with the decoration

on the turtle shell.

That took me an hour.

Well, I would say it's an hour
well spent.

This is a really nice weight.

It hasn't warped, and again,

loving the detail with the tongue
coming further out each one.

Really, really lovely.

Are you ready, Helen? No.

I think Elaine'll be really pleased
with that.

Well, look, Helen, that's a
testament to your friendship.

All those miles away.

Absolutely wonderful.

The first thing you're drawn to
is the delicacy and the decoration.

Ancl what you've clone, you've used a
white underglaze...

Yes.
..to give you that blank canvas.

Ancl what it's clone is enhanced
all the colours of the pigment.

The quality of the illustration
is amazing.

The lettering, and there's
loads of work in there.

Some of the details,
it's incredible.

Ancl this looks great with
the little fish.

Lovely. You've really, really
thought about it.

It's just really lovely. Thank you.

Where's your spoon?

Even that, the fact that it comes
out of the back.

It's great. The good ship Elaine.

Are you pleased with it?

I can't talk about this.

So relieved that it came out OK.

Well clone.

Brace yourself.

Uh. The cloud's disappeared.

It's a nice, bright day now.

The cobalt has bleached
out a bit of the clouds,

but the construction looks
fantastic.

Oh! I really like the jagged
bottom there.

It's a really nice surprise
when you go to pick it up.

I'm pleased with the cream pot.

I'm really pleased with that,
the simplicity of the form.

But you know exactly what it is.

I can't, I can't keep a straight
face.

There are some elements
that are really successful

and perhaps some less so.

I mean, we maybe just won't talk
about the cake slice,

this chipped-off end.

It was just a bit thin overall to
have that survive the process. Mm.

But I really love the stencilling
on the top of your cake stand.

It has a really lovely sort of
subtle feel to it. And I'm loving

the detail on here.

This is fantastic. Well clone.

Thank you. Deep breaths.

Oh, I don't know.
I don't really like it.

It's very blue. When you use
a colour like cobalt,

it can have a tendency to make
everything really dark and intense.

But actually, you mustn't let the
intensity of that blue take away

some of the positives.

The snorkel and mask. It's so
playful. It's really fun.

This is a really good idea.

I just wish it had been bigger
and clean bottoms.

Wipe those away.

Are you ready? Yeah.

As I can be.

There's a crack!

Your plate. Yeah, it has got a
slight crack in it.

The thing that just sticks out
for me is how flat the leaves

and the cake slice
and the saucers are.

You've used quite a lot
of green here.

When you're using a lot of one
colour, it sometimes can look

a bit heavy. The decoration on here
has so much more impact. Yeah.

I really love the graphic,
hard-edged black line,

which doesn't carry over to some
of the other pieces. Yeah.

It's sort of a bit of a shame. Time.

Time. OK. Yeah.

Are you ready?
Yep. Go on then, let's do it.

Oooh.

Pretty close to what I was
hoping for. Yeah.

Jon, it's great.

Thanks.
You've given us so much decoration.

It's the first week and
you've really, really gone for it.

Let's have a look at this.

Wow! It's very brave to pierce
away all of these extra...

In the last three minutes. Yeah, you
know. You nutter!

Oh, hang on.

Let's just see if the spoon fits.

Yeah. Yeah.

Thought you might spot that.

But the side plate and your
saucers, I love the decoration.

You've got so many layers
of colour in there.

This is inspired by your children,
and that's what's

so lovely about it. And you should
be really proud of that fact.

Thanks.

Are you ready?

Yes.

Oh!

My bird is there.

The aesthetic
is quite plain in certain areas,

but the amount of decoration
that you have done is so detailed

with that flash of colour,
that flash of inspiration.

Ancl you've used ceramic pencil,
have you here?

Yes. just to accentuate the form and
decoration.

Ancl your bird up there - stuck
back on.

Gravity in the kiln did its work.
I love it.

A little bit lopsided.
Maybe just having a little rest.

A little, yeah. But, you know, we'll
forgive it that.

Are you ready? Get it off!

Oh, OK!

So. Come on, Lois. What do you
think?

I'm happy with it.

Well, Lois. Yeah?

You should be really happy.

It's absolutely wonderful.

This is fantastic.

It's so full of character.

It's absolutely lovely.

The subtle qualities that you've
brought out in the underglazes

and the amount of detail
you've managed

to incorporate is staggering.
Thank you.

Ancl Keith doesn't even have to get
his spoon out.

You've given us one
of those as well.

We're looking at this set time and
time again, and you're just seeing

something different every time.

Have you conquered your fears?

That was for my sister. Yeah.
She conquered her fear of crabs.

So it's all about Abby.

Proud of you.
Yeah, I'm so proud of her.

Well, you should be proud
of yourself, lovey.

My God, have you excelled.

Well clone, Lois.

Really well clone.

Thank you so much.

Oh, yeah.

That went very well, didn't it?

It's like a dream come true, isn't
it, to get that sort of feedback.

To do something like this and put
yourself out there and then do OK,

like, it's amazing.

So, yeah, I'm proud of myself.

I don't think it's a feeling
you get that much actually,

like not proper proud of myself.

When they pulled the hessian
off, I was thinking,

I've clone something right.

Ancl then for Keith to cry.

And then I just thought
about my grandad and it all kind

of just got a bit too much.

I can't believe I did that.

I watch it on TV and I look,

and I think, they're crying
over a pot! What did I do?

But, yeah, I could just imagine

Elaine's face if she saw the
tea set.

Judging was pretty fair. I didn't do
well and I knew that myself.

But then at the end of the clay,
this is for my clad and I am trying

to see the positives.

Oh, it went as bad as I thought I
was going to go if I'm being honest.

But, yeah, we'll see.

It's not over till the lady's,

what was it, finished the song or
something like that?

What is that saying?

How lovely to be back with
a new bunch of absolutely gorgeous

potters and what a week they've had.

Well, I mean, they really have raced
out of the starting blocks

and there's loads to be excited
about.

Who impressed you?

For me, Lois.

Absolutely amazing.

Just one of those sets that you can
look at time and time again

and see something different.

Yeah, I mean, I really admired
Lois's bravery to put

all of that incising work in,
knowing that that all

had to be backed up with
the decorative work.

She just really pushed herself.

And you loved Helen's work.

Yes. Simply amazing, that attention
to detail in those illustrations,

to get that shading on the cake
slicer with that champagne flute,

that's really hard to do.

And Rebecca, oh, my gosh.

When the hessian pulled back
and I saw her face, I was like,

I can't cry because they'll think
I'm copying you.

But I was genuinely, really moved.

I was so pleased for her.

That crisp execution of that
toadstool was just brilliant.

So if we have to say goodbye
to somebody, is there anyone

that pops to mind?

Well, I think Vithu had a few
problems. Yeah.

He'd focused an awful lot
of attention on that cake plate.

Everything else in the set felt
like a bit of an afterthought.

And who else do you think
struggled a bit?

Well, surprisingly, Caitlin,

that amount of blue is always

going to look really heavy,
really dark.

It just showed me a slight lack of
understanding of what that blue

was going to do. Do we still have to
say goodbye to one?

Well, unfortunately we do.

I always find the first week really
hard because we're only... Yeah.

...just getting to know them.

It's a really sad week.

Congratulations, potters.

You have done so brilliantly
this week.

You should be very, very proud
of yourselves. In my eyes,

of course, you are all potter
of the week, but unfortunately

it's not up to me.
It's up to these two.

This week's potter of the week...

Congratulations, Lois.

Oh, my God!

Oh, no!

Well clone, Lois.

It's crazy. Sorry.

Unfortunately, someone has to go.

And I'm finding this so difficult.

Even after one week.

The person who is leaving
the pottery this week is...

...Vithu.

OK. So sorry.

It's OK. Yeah.

It was a gut feeling.
I knew it straight away.

As soon as the word came out.

Gut feeling.

You're wonderful.

It's just so sad to see someone
go in the first week. It's OK.

You brought such energy
to the studio.

I'm glad it was me and not those
guys because they're a good bunch.

Come on, bring it in, Vithu.

Bring it in! We love you so much.

It's just a nice environment.

You are amazing.

OK. We love you. OK. OK.

Gonna miss you.

Heart breaking, he's so amazing.

I am pleased to continue.
But we all feel devastated that

we're losing Vithu.

So as Vithu bids farewell
to the pottery...

Mate, that's fantastic.

...Lois's birthday tea set
is the first work to take its place

in the Throw down Gallery.

I can't believe that I've,
I've pulled that off.

Like, that's crazy.

Yeah, crazy.

Even when she was making it, I
walked past and I was like, "Wow,

"that is incredible."

She's got such a signature style.

I couldn't be happier for her.

I don't even think I can say
it out loud.

But, yeah, I did get potter of the
week and it's incredible.

Ancl I'm just blown away

that how kind everyone's been
and luckily managed to do

something...good.

Next time. Ohhhhh!

It's slab building week.

I'm really shaking. The potters must
build keepsake

boxes with a hidden secret inside.

So I'm just trying to listen.

And face a blind throw down
challenge.

Oh, no!

t*rture, pottery t*rture.

Who will be boxing clever?
This is fantastic.

And who will be flat-packing
their bags.

Ohhhh!

I mean, whoops.