04x09 - A Pedestal Sink & a Chamber Pot

[bunniefuu]

Oh, hello. It's the
semi-final,
and just four potters remain

to face
two bathroom
challenges,

which is all that stands
between them
and a place in the final.

Like the potters,
me, Keith and Rich

have been living up here
in Stoke together
while filming,

just like one big, cosy bubble.

Judges, you've ten minutes
left in the bathroom.

Welcome to
The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Uh, Rich? Will you pass me
a loofah, please?

Thanks. Yeah.

Last time...

Burn the poo.
Uh, sorry, okay.

- ...a double loss...
- Alon and Sal.

No.

Well done, mate.
- ...as two potters
left the pottery.

This week...

...it's the semi-final.

- Push, Hannah.
- Push.

Now just four potters
remain...

- Ready...
- One, two, three.

- Whoa.
- Whoa.

...to star
in the Throw Down classic,

- Bathroom Week.
- That looks good to me.

- Featuring Adam...
- Shake dance.

- ...Hannah...
- Naked people look good
in the bathroom, so...

- Mmm.
- ...Jodie...

Think it's a good
motto
in life

just to not worry
about failing.

Just go for it, 'cause you never know, you might succeed.

...and last week's
Potter of the Week, Peter.

Not bad. Not bad.

But whose hopes
of making the final

are about to go
down the plughole?

I've done a really
nice
bottom for you here.

The final four potters
are up early

to check into the pottery
for the make of their
lives.

I'm just still pinching myself
that I actually got this far.

I am full of adrenaline
already, and hopefully
it'll all come together.

I would love
to get to the final.

It's within sight
and smelling distance,

so I'm just gonna try
and bring my A game

and hope that gets me through.

Today we are working
on our biggest make so far.

With something
that's so
precarious,

there's a lot of things that could go wrong.

I'm bowled over.
You know, I'm still here.

But now I'm gonna go for it.
I bloody am. You know?
No messing about.

I want it now, so just get in
and get started.

Just two bathroom challenges

to decide which three potters will make it to the final.

Good luck.

Welcome to the semi-final.
Whoo!

Just the fab four remain.

And the only thing
standing

between you and the final
is your biggest challenge
yet,

as Keith and Rich
would like you to
hand-build

a pedestal sink
for the
bathroom.

This is a design concept,
both in form and
decoration.

I don't want to see
a plain bathroom sink.

Your sinks
need to be designed
to be fully functional.

Your taps, your trap,
your waste and your plug

all need to fit snugly
with no leaks.

Now, when it comes
to judging,

we're gonna be
putting in that plug

and turning on those taps.

Okay, potters,
you have six and a half
hours,

and your time starts now.

Big challenge.
And you haven't got
a lot of time.

They're not messing about
now,
are they? You know?

The potters will hand-build

their pedestal sinks
in two sections...

Massive. Never rolled
such thick slabs.

...the pedestal and the basin.

I've never made
anything to this scale,
this technical.

I just feel like I need
to do my absolute best,

'cause if I don't,
I'll kick myself.

- After you, sir.
- Oh, all right.

The Victorians
were the first

to create the pedestal sink,

and our pottery home
here at Gladstone Museum

has a huge display
of sanitary ware,

spanning the changes
over 200 years.

We're in the semi-final here,
and we're looking
for bold statements.

Some of these
are wonderful examples.

This one,
this corner basin here,

although it's just
sort of two colours,

that surface decoration
is really nicely spread
over the whole basin.

I want them to be
really imaginative,

and I want their basins
and pedestals
to really marry together.

I want that story to be told
throughout the whole piece.

I feel really encouraged by our semi-finalists,

We've got potters with fantastic imaginations but, you know,

unless they've got really precise,
clearly defined measurements,

it could go
dramatically
wrong

because there's so many elements that have to fit together.

The waste, the trap,
the taps, the plug.

If these components
don't fit,

we're gonna have
leaks galore.

Yeah. It's got to look good,
but it's got to work.

My idea for the
sink
is, uh,

that I will take clay,
and I will make...

Get off my bench.

- Morning, Peter.
- Morning, judges. Morning.

Morning. Here we are.

Look at you. You're all--
you're all amped up.

I'm all glowing.

Is that because you were
Potter of the Week last week?

I forgot about that.
- Had you
forgotten about it?

- You deserve it, mate.
You really do.
- Thank you so much.

- Let's have a look
at your design.
- Okay.

It's quite
an unusual design.

I'm making luggage--
two suitcases:

one that stands vertically and one that sits on the top.

When my father was going around
the world doing his engineering

we were quite often
left on board ship

in a tiny little cabin
somewhere,

and we lived
out of these cases.

Peter's sink
will be decorated
with luggage labels.

He'll add buckles and straps
for detail

and be using every ounce of his
engineering experience to build it.

You've got
all of your templates,

and you're
cutting out slabs.

Then you're gonna
slab-build it together,

or have you got structures
you're building over?

No, I'm just going to
totally slab-build it.

And how's all
of your plumbing working--

- That's fine.
- Sorry, that sounds like
a bit of a leading question.

He's getting on a bit now,
you know, Peter. Yeah.

As Peter risks
constructing his sink
with no support,

the other potters have
formers
for their pedestals...

Bummer.

Put it on upside down.
I was like, "What?"

I'd swear something
was wrong with that.

It's a good thing
I had this former,
which says, "This way."

...and their own
handmade plaster moulds,

which they will use to form
the shape of their basins.

I built
the sink mould

to get the specific
sink shape that I wanted.

- Morning, Jodie.
- Morning.

- Hi, Jodie.
- How you doing?

- Hello, Jodie.
- Hi.

- How are you feeling?
- Nervous.

Very, very nervous.
But we're going for
it.

Can you tell us
about your design?

The design is
based
on a dragonfly

that I've got on my back.

- Is that you?
- That's me, yeah.

- You dark horse, you.
- I know.

So, that's the dragonfly.

I wanted it to drape
around
with the wings here,

uh, a large one,

so I've gone for
the semicircle
shape.

I've got
my sprig moulds
ready.

These are the
wings
and the body

of the one
that's going on the
sink.

Jodie will decorate
her pedestal sink

with gentle shades
of white and green,

with each of her
tattoo-inspired dragonflies
carrying a personal meaning.

It was inspired by, um,
a quote from Peter Pan.

Wendy says to
Peter,
"What if I fall?"

And, um, Peter
turns around and says,
"Well, what if you fly?"

So, I think
it's a good motto in
life

just to not
worry
about failing.

Just go for it, 'cause you never know. You might succeed.

The question is,
do you go for it in that

you make a perfect thing
that's not too risky,

or do you go for it
making something
that is a risk,

but awesome?

Obviously choosing something
that might be awesome

rather than something
that will definitely be
boring.

Hannah is going all out
with an elaborate design

featuring
a cylindrical pedestal
with a flat back panel,

which will be hand-painted
with vases and a naked lady.

Are you
painting this on?
- Yes.

- You are?
- This is just
a very quick sketch

to try and get
the proportions right.
- Okay.

It's like she's kind of
holding up the sink.

It's fun to make things
that are normally quite dull
intricate and over the top,

'cause I just think
naked people look good
in the bathroom.

This is obviously the biggest
thing you've ever made, is it?
- Yeah. For sure.

Really intimidated
by the design I've chosen.

This is a massive,
wide area, isn't it?

That's quite ambitious.

The bigger the slab,
the bigger the movement.

The bigger the movement,
the more the stress.

- Yeah. Okay.
- Definitely.

- All right?
- I'll do it.

I'll try and do it.

- Bye.
- Thank you.

Most
people
opted for moulds.

I've gone to
hand-build
my structure

because that bit
is the square that I
want,

it's the visual
square
that I want.

Keeping it
straight
is the hard bit,

'cause without a former,

you're chasing
wobbly bits of
clay.

The wall that I've made
is too thin.

If that broke, then my sink
won't be watertight.

Anyway,
I'm putting in a new wall.

Brand-new wall. Brand-new me.

Adam is building
his basin upside down.

So, I got the sink
form
over the former.

I'm quite happy
to hear Keith say

that he doesn't want just
a boring old traditional sink.

It's given me a lot
of confidence with the design
that I've gone for,

'cause it is gonna be
a mermaid's tail
holding up the sink.

I just love the sea,
and I think
it's really important

for the judges to see us
in our pottery.

Adam is hoping
his third sea-inspired make

of a mythical coral basin
and colourful mermaid's-tail
pedestal

will give him a chance
of a place in the final

and his first
Potter of the Week.

Your hand-building skills
are quite exceptional...

- That remains to be seen.
- ...and this is
a hand-building challenge.

- Yeah. I know.
- The biggest one yet.

- Are you daunted
by the scale?
- Yeah, terrified.

- Good luck.
- Cheers. Thanks.

I have zero engineering skills,

but I've really
thought about this,
and I've measured it,

and I'm getting better at that,
so hopefully the judges will recognise that.

I mean, it's last chance,
isn't it?

Last chance to lean
to get Potter of the Week.

Potters,
you're halfway through.

I had planned to have

all of the scales on by now.
Touch behind.

Right now, I'm putting the dragonfly on the front of the

so I made a sprig mould
with the basic outline.

But what I'm gonna do
as well to get kind of
that sculptured effect

is get a modelling
tool
in there as well.

I've done a really nice bottom for you there.

- Good. We want nice bottoms.
- The rest of it's crap.
The bottom is lovely.

- Yeah. No, no, it's good.
- No, no.

No, I can really see
your sort of
engineering skills here.

- We're not gonna see
any cracks, are we, Peter?
- No, no, no.

- No. Cracks are banned
from this one.
- Right. Okay.

What takes so long
is all these joins,

but I dare not
do it right,

'cause I'm afraid
if I don't,
they'll open up.

I haven't done
any of the holes
to put the water through

or get the water
out of the sink.

I'm gonna add those
right towards the end.

The bits
that make it functional
are my last priority, yeah.

My head fits in.
I can wash both my hands.

There's clearance for
my knuckle before the wall.

Um, the taps go in the sink.
Should all be right.

I've done a little water test.
The water should

go into the hole
from all of the angles.

Get into the hole.

Potters,
you have one hour left.

With their basins
taking shape,

attention turns
to their pedestals.

These are beach ba*ls.
I can deflate these a bit

and just pack out the pedestal
so that it holds its form
while it's drying.

And then I'll be able
to take the beach ball out
really easily.

In and out, in and out.

- Adam?
- Yeah?

- Don't feel brave, do you?
- We going--

Having built
his pedestal in one,

Peter may need a bit more

than just Adam's help
to flip it over.

- Ready...
- One, two, three.

- Whoa.
- Whoa, brilliant.
Thank you, thank you.

Wowee.
Looks like a train tunnel.

- Thank you.
- Well done, Peter.

Good job.
Okay, see you later.

What a team, eh?
They're brilliant, aren't
they?

Having built hers
in two sections,

Jodie now needs
to join them together.

- Just got to pick this up
and put it on there.
- Okay.

So, this hand at the back
to hold the actual structure.

- Yeah.
- And we'll lift and put it
on.

- You superstar.
- You're very welcome.
Oh, it looks lovely.

Peter and Jodie have both
gone for square forms

to give a solid structure
for their bases to sit on,

but Adam's mermaid tail
and Hannah's
cylindrical pedestals

are proving
a bit trickier to handle.

A significant
problem.

It's almost dry enough.
Annoyingly,
I need to heat-g*n it,

but obviously beach ba*ls
and heat g*ns don't--
they ain't friends.

- Can you keep
pushing the boards?
- Yeah, yeah.

I'm pushing back, yeah. Yes.

Yes, it's working.

- Push, Hannah.
- Push.

I have got to take
Mr Beach Ball

outside of the former.

Thank you, Rose.

Literally couldn't have
done it without you.

But I do need to brace it
inside with something.

Could be better,
but nothing if not
resourceful.

Potters, ten minutes left.

Lip-dee-dip-doo-doo!

Remember, you need to
have all your items

in the drying room
by the end of this
session.

I've still got to
put a strap on it. God.
It's a nightmare, innit?

"Cut all holes." Next job.

I've had to compromise,
which is not my favourite
word.

Had to make smaller fins.

Here's my taps. That looks good to me.
Does that look good to you?

We're going for, like,
a proper old-fashioned, leather-look suitcase.

Trying to make,
like,
rivets or screws.

Just getting the last
of my sprigs on now.

Um, 'cause these are the things that I
want to paint in the decoration stage.

So it's really
important
I get 'em on now.

Potters, last five minutes!

I have not left myself
enough time for this.

This is not gonna
work out well for me.

Freehand plughole.

We've got Peter's suitcase
on the go.

Make way for the old bag.

There's a real
and present danger

that this could collapse.

Oh, my gosh.

- Hey, great.
- Beautiful.

A flurry of
sinks
and pedestals.

Collective noun for sinks.

- Hannah?
- Yeah.

It's now one minute remaining.

- Peter.
- Coming. Coming.

Could you grab
the other end, please?

Well done, Hannah.
Great stuff.

Okay. Hannah, quickly.
Rose, can you help with Hannah?

- Or somebody, because we're...
- Let's help Hannah.

...coming down to
the last couple of seconds.
There we go.

You all right?
Is your back okay?

- Yeah, don't worry.
- You sure?

Be careful. But be quick.

- Got it, yeah?
- Watch that behind you.

Time is running out, guys.

Towards Rose's direction.

- We tilt like that?
- Oh, the other way?

- Okay, the other--
- Yeah.

Nice and easy.
Oi, oi, oi.

- Amazing!
- We go down.

Time's up.

Well done, potters.

My God, what a majestic
build that was.

I'm really pleased
with how it turned out.

I'm just hoping
if there are any
cracks,

they're not things
that make it
unusable.

I'm slightly disappointed
with my end result.

There's a real chance
the whole thing might
collapse.

I could've played it
safe today, but that's
not who I am.

Semi-final, day one,
I'm right in the groove.

I'm there. I am doing it,
I'm enjoying it, I'm loving
it.

Fingers crossed it'll be fine.

Famous last words, of course.

It's the semi-final,

and Bathroom Week continues
in the pottery

with a second challenge
where no one wants to be
number two.

Potters, your second
challenge
this week is a spot test.

You will be
decorating
one of these.

- It's a chamber pot.
- Oh, my gosh.

Rich, what exactly
is this challenge?

Because they were part
of the bedroom
furniture,

they were usually
highly decorative.

Now, on each of your benches,

you have a
bisque-fired
chamber pot,

which we'd like
you
to decorate

and dedicate
to someone special
in your life.

Now, obviously,
it's a pretty unique
gift,

but we want you to decorate your
chamber pots with maybe a lovely

Think about the whole
thing.
The inside, the outside.

And the one fundamental
thing
that we want from you

is a really true, heartfelt message

Potters,
back to your benches.

Ooh.

You have one hour

to decorate your chamber
pots,
and your time starts now.

Oh, wow.

- Easy, this one, innit?
- Oh, my gosh.

- Gol.
- Think of an idea.

Chamber pots
have been made in Stoke
since the 1900s

by the likes of Royal
Doulton
and Wedgwood,

but the potters
have the added dilemma

of covering their pots with
a more personal decoration.

Said, "Dedicate it
to someone special."

First thing I thought about
was my family
and extended family.

I was just thinking,
what's my happy memories?

And it's memories of my nan.

So on the inside, we've
got
a railway with a train.

So the train's taking
you
to Ponty market,

which she used to take me on the
weekend to get her Welsh cakes.

Genuine-- There's a Welsh cake, uh, stall in the

I really like decorating,

and obviously,
if you're dedicating this
to someone,

you want to do it
justice
as well.

No pressure.

I'm just gonna
start painting something.

I need to work out
the size of the graphics
and everything.

It's not a great
challenge
for me.

'Cause you know what I'm like.
I'm a proper planner.

Oh, so hard. So hard.

I'm gonna use
a lot of this colour.

Oh, no. I've got a rogue drip.

Hello, Peter.
How we getting on?

"No matter what,
we always have each..."

Aw, we do always
have each other.

We do. I was thinking of
you
when I put this together.

Is this chamber pot
dedicated to me?

Yeah,
but don't tell the wife.

We as a family
use this quite a lot

when, for those moments
when things happen,

things break up
and there's problems,

we always say,
"It doesn't matter.

No matter what,
we've always got each
other.

Don't worry. We'll
just
get on with it."

That's lovely.

So this is gonna be
a not-geographically-correct
globe...

...for my nephew, Theo,

and it's gonna be a pot
to spend a penny in.

So it will be a money jar.

Oh, what does Australia
look like?
It looks like a dog's head.

It's harder than you think.
See, like, an idea, an idea.

- Aah!
- Quickly, an idea.

I don't know!

I was trying
to think of
things

I can draw
from my
imagination.

- Like, "Oh."
- And what have you decided?
You've decided on...

My friend Beth.
We just lived our whole
teenage years together,

and she had
her second child this year.

I'll just dedicate it
to Libby,
which is her daughter.

- Libby's the daughter, is
it?
- Libby's her new daughter.

That's lovely.
I will leave you to it.

- Thanks very much, Hannah.
- Thank you.

Potters,
that's half an hour
gone.

- Wow.
- You're having a giraffe.

Right, get on with it.

Probably this wasn't
the best idea.

They're little and fiddly.

I need to figure out

how to make it look nice
with just the colours.

Mmm, just a bit more white.

'Cause that's obviously
a polar area.

This jigsaw puzzle piece,
however you look at it,

families don't all fit
together properly, do they?

They're lots of
different colours,
different shapes,

and we don't always
fit,
do we?

Oh, no,
the shakes have started.

Shake dance.
Shake it off.

Potters, that's ten minutes left. Ten minutes left.

Okey-dokey.

I just got to basically get a bit more colour on ya.

So I've made the train red
'cause it's from Wales.

This is for a place
in the final.

Pressure is on.

I'm just trying
to add colour

and make it look a bit
special
at the moment.

Am I the only one
that hasn't filled in
the whole background?

- Yeah.
- No.

But I'm feeling
like I ought to.

I'm trying to spell.

I'm trying to spell "school",
which says it all, really.

Potters, you have
five minutes left.

What?

Yes, five minutes left.

Five minutes
is not enough time.

So, I'm gonna do

a darker version of the colour
I've used on top.

There we go. I should've done
a background for sure.

Just drawing the north wind.
Wind.

Should probably do something
on the handle,

'cause they will defs
bring that up if I don't.

I haven't done
anything
on the inside. Oh, my days.

Okay, potters,
you have one minute
left.

- One minute left, potters.
- Ah.

Time's up. Paintbrushes
down.
Well, well done.

Wow. Great.

- That's amazing.
- Fricking great.

Keith and Rich
are looking for

beautifully decorated
chamber pots

dedicated to someone
close to the potters.

- Who was it for?
- Right, okay,
so it's for my wife,

"No matter what,
we always have each
other."

Well, that's
quite a nice message. Okay.

We always love your sentiment
and your stories

and your messages
in everything you create,

but it's lacking
a bit of colour.

It is,
yeah.
Absolutely.

Needs something
to link it together.

- It feels like each element
is very separate.
- Yeah.

- We could've just done
with a bit more delivery.
- Sure.

And no matter what,
we always have each other.

- We do, Siobhán.
- Excellent.

- Thanks, Peter.
- Thank you very much.

So, this is all about
the memories of me
with my grandmother.

When you initially look at it
and you look inside it,
it's a nice surprise,

that train set, if you like,
and that's actually
not that easy to do.

What I love about that is,
because it's a childhood memory

and that circular track,
it really feels like

a childhood train track
that you built--

That wasn't intentional,
but I like where you're
going.

Overall, what you've
managed to achieve

in very little time
is a really decent
composition.

The washing on the line,
the Sunday school,

all of the images
are instantly recognisable.

Very relatable, and I think
it tells your story
beautifully.

- Aw, thank you.
- Yeah.

- Cheers, guys.
- Well done.

Thank you.

What we've seen from you
so, so many times

is your real competence
with a brush.

Maybe you could've
scaled up the flowers

so they covered
more of the surface
from top to bottom.

I think it would've been
a lot nicer.

But, I mean, you know,
the word "Libby" here
is wonderfully ex*cuted.

And I like the fact
that you've used two
different tones of blue.

But when I look at
the inside of that,

I just think,
"Oh, you've run out of time."

Yeah, and I did. Yeah.

It just feels
like it's lacking
something around here

or perhaps on the handle
or a base colour

or something to just draw
the whole design together.

But what you've got has got
a beautiful energy about it.

Wouldn't mind that
tucked under my bed.

- Thank you.
- Well done.

I've called it a pot to pee
in,
or to spend a penny.

It's just a bit of fun
for my new nephew, Theo,

and so I've put in
a few gems of wisdom.

"Live life on the edge"
on the edge.

- "Go with the flow."
- "Go with the flow."

My initial reaction is,
it's brilliant, it's
wonderful.

The first thing you look at
at a pot is the colour,

and you've got the colour
absolutely spot on.

It's a really playful
sort of play

on the job in hand,
so to speak.

This is very tidy,
considering it's just
freehand.

You've decorated the
- "You can handle anything."

- It's great.
- I think your nephew would be
really pleased with that.

- Oh, thank you.
- Yeah, well done, Adam.

- Fantastic.
- Should be proud of that.

The judges
will now rank the chamber pots
from worst to first.

So, in fourth place,

Peter.

Loved the sentiment,
just a bit disjointed.

Third place is...

Hannah. Amazing brushwork.

It would've been nice to see
just a bit more coverage.

So, in second place is...

- Jodie. Lovely story,
really, really nice.
- Thank you.

So, that only leaves
- Adam.

Aw!

Absolutely spot on
for the person
it was intended for.

- Well done.
- Well done.

Whoo, whoo!

I'm ecstatic that I won that.

I'm on a roll.

My nan,
very good sense of humour.

She would find it quite funny

that I decorated a potty
for her, yeah.

Fourth place.
Under normal circumstances,
it would've been fine.

But when there's
only four people,
it's not a good place to be.

It's a bit disappointing
to come third in a
challenge

where I feel like
I should've done
better.

Everything rests
on this sink.

It's day two
in the pottery,

and the potters'
pedestal sinks

have been bisque-fired
for 24 hours

and are ready for decoration.

It is the semi-finals,
and we're all really pumped
about that.

The decoration stage
is really important with
this

because I want mine to
look
impressive and fun,

so I'd be thrilled
if it's all in one
piece.

I'm really
excited
to decorate it.

I'm just
worried
about cracks.

I won't be surprised if I
have
some significant crackage.

Oh, I hope they come out
in two pieces
and not four pieces.

This is for the place
in the final
at the end of the day,

so we've got to make
every minute count.

It's essential
that I wow the judges today.

I want it to be--

When they look at it, go,
"Wow. That's cracking."

And it needs to hold water.

If it doesn't hold water,
you're on your bike, mate.

But the potters
don't know yet

if their sinks
have survived the kiln.

Potters,
your pedestal sinks
have been fired

and are ready
to decorate.

They're hiding
under the
hessian.

Check all your holes
for your fittings,
tap, and trap.

These are gonna be tested
as functional pieces.

And this is a concept sink
for the bathroom,

so it really
has to stand out.

Plain white just won't cut
it
with this challenge.

Okay, potters,
you have four
hours

to decorate
your pedestal sink,

and your
time
starts now.

Remove the hessian.

Ooh, no.

Oh.

I am over the moon
with what has come out
of the kiln.

No cracks. It's beyond
my best expectation.

As you can see, I've got
a couple stress cracks.

Believe it or not,
the pedestal is
perfect.

It's a shame I can't put
the water in now, really.

It's warped big-time.

It's not a good thing,
'cause you want things
to go correctly together.

I joined it badly.
It's my own fault.
Error in the construction.

As well as cracks,
clay shrinking during firing

means the potters must check
if the taps and traps
still fit.

My taps, yeah,
they fit in as
well.

Ooh, that's a bit tight.

But for the potters
with cracks,

it's time to problem-solve.

Cracks are a bit of a worry,
but I'll fill them with glaze,

then fill it with grog,
then a little bit more
glaze.

I've got to make sure that it's absolutely watertight.

- Morning, Hannah.
- Hello.

How you doing?

I wasn't expecting it
this bad.

Maybe I should have.
It's pretty bad.

I'm going to just put
a layer of crushed ceramics

with glaze
in between each crack,

and then we'll have to
assemble it back together
in the kiln.

I don't know.
It feels that level of bad
that it's kind of--

I'm just embracing it.
I've got nowhere to go
but up, so...

- Yeah. Focus.
- Okay. Thanks.

As Hannah plans
to rely on the kiln gods
to seal her cracks...

Aw!

...decorating the basins
and pedestals can begin.

And Jodie plans
to use subtle hues

to bring her dragonfly
design
to life.

Rather than just
a block colour,

I want different
layers
of colour.

You know,
I like Monet, with the pond
and all that kind of thing.

You imagine
all those colours.

It's not gonna be a
Monet,
let me tell you.

But that's what I
like.

- Hello, Jodie.
- Hello.

I'm painting now. Getting on with it.

- Yeah. Got lots to paint.
- Oh, so much.

Are you avoiding oxides?

- I thought about--
- Going with underglazes?

I did get the box out,
but it was like,

if it reaches this
temperature,
it goes this colour,

if I come out black
or come out green,

I was like, I don't want to chance

I want a pretty thing, so I'm sticking with what I know.

Brush on, wipe
away,
and go for gold.

Yeah, well,
I'll leave you to crack on.

- There's lots of surfaces
to cover.
- Thank you.

- Lots of glaze to get on.
- Thank you very much.

As Jodie avoids
unpredictable oxides,

Adam is embracing them
to achieve
his mythical sea vision.

This is an oxide.

This will bleed through
any other glaze and turn
green.

Want it to look
a bit like a rock pool,
bit like coral,

so I want the oxide
to go into the cracks

to pick up all those
tiny little details.

It is the semi-final,
so I do need to bring my best.

That is what
I've been trying to do
week after week.

- Hello, Peter.
- Good morning. Hello.

- How you doing?
- Yeah, fine.

Remind me again how
you're gonna decorate these.

- So, the cases
are gonna be white.
- Yeah.

These are gonna be brown,

and these are gonna be
brass buttons shining
through.

How are you gonna
achieve that?

I'm gonna mix a tiny bit
of copper oxide in flecks,

so I want to give
that sort of
brassy...

- Right.
- ...um, effect.

Because that copper can be
quite volatile, can't it?

- It can, yeah. So, I'm--
Yeah.
- Yeah. Be mindful of that.

- Good.
- I don't make things easy,
do I?

- No, you don't.
- No, I don't.

Potters, that's one hour
gone.
One hour gone.

All right, one hour gone.

Change of plan.
They said they don't want
to see just white,

so I feel as though
I've got to experiment
with something.

I'm gonna try to do
a graduated colour,

but when I cover it with zircon, it might be just white.

But you've got to
risk,
haven't you?

Oh, dear.
Her face looks a bit scary.

It's all right.
She'll do. She'll do.

Potters,
you are halfway through.

Be beautiful, Peter.
It'll be beautiful.

Peter's design concept
is fairly simple.

He's using oxides

to enhance
those brass buttons.

So he's really trying to get
that more authentic look

with all he
oxides
that he's using.

Hannah's pedestal seemed
to have a bit of a tussle
with the kiln gods.

Yeah. But she seems
to be coping with it
really, really well.

I mean, there's enough there
that there's an opportunity

to really salvage
the whole build,
isn't there?

The fact that she's managed
to piece it together,
she's just going for it.

I'm really pleased
to see her just crack on.

Potters,
you have one hour left.

Okay.

- One hour.
- What?

It's just getting
these panels painted now.

So I'll get an outline
and sponge it away.

Get the swirls
and then the green.

It's like the sky
and then the foliage.

The thing is, they look quite pastel-y
there, but they are gonna pop.

I hope.

This is manganese dioxide.
It fires very, very dark.

I want to show the stitches,
so I'm gonna paint it on and then wash it off carefully.

It's got to be obvious
that it's stitching.

It's interesting.
It's one of those details

that you don't look at
in a case,

but if it's not there,
you'd miss it.

Really want to
make this the showstopper.

It's gonna be
lots of different variants
of colour.

The real risk is that
this might all come out
completely white.

These might all burn away,
and then it's just
one big, white thing.

So I'm hoping it will be
pretty dark blacky-green.

If it's my last one.
I will go out colourfully.

Hey, don't say
that.
You never know.

Fifteen minutes left,
dear potters.

- Thank you.
- That scared 'em.

That just means that
I've got slightly less time
than I thought I did.

Trying to add
a series of, uh, names.

Athens, Lisbon, Suez
Canal,
uh, Sydney.

I've been to most of
them.
The only trouble is,

'cause the glaze below it is not fired, it can look a bit

But I want to try and make it
a little bit stronger if I
can.

Just haven't got time
to repaint them all.

Got loads of glaze
on the joins

and hope that in the kiln
it sort of fuses together.

Potters,
you have ten minutes left.
Ten minutes left.

- Come on, hurry up.
Last ten minutes.
- Okay.

Think I'm gonna do
a quick addition to this,

'cause I feel like
they're gonna say
it's a bit plain.

Maybe a little more pink.

Five minutes, potters.

- Five minutes.
- No problem.

Ah! Ooh!

How big do those screw
holes
have to be again?

- Twelve mil.
- Have to be... That's fine.

Well done.

Potters, you have
one minute remaining.

Puh!

Imagine the final.

I hear there are chocolate
fountains in the final.

- What?
- And champagne.

Ooh.
- Forgot about that
bit.

Nearly there.

Last couple of seconds.

And that's it.

Time's up.
Well done,
potters.

Hey!

Well done, everyone.

Now, if you could
collect
your pedestal sinks

and bring them down to Rose
in the kilns.

Potters dismissed.

Let's go.
Let's rock and
roll.

I gave it my all.
I really gave it
everything I had.

I think it'll be lovely
if it works.

And this is the trouble
with glazing.

When you open that kiln,
you either go, "Wow,"

or you go, "That's not
what I was expecting. Bin!"

Finals playing on my mind,
'cause it's so close now,

and it would be so nice
to get there.

But I've done
everything I can now.

It is up to the kiln
now
what it wants to do.

Every single surface is
covered
in colours and patterns.

If it doesn't work
out
and I go home,

I know that I just threw
everything I had into it.

Ooh.

Be lovely to get
Potter of the Week
at some point,

and this is
the last opportunity, isn't
it?

I did look around and think
maybe I'm in for a chance.

Everyone has done
such different things,
it's really hard to call.

The potters now face
an agonising 24-hour wait

to find out if their
sinks
survived the kiln.

It's judgment day,
and after a 24-hour
gloss fire,

the potters' pedestal sinks
are ready to come out
of the kilns.

I'd be thrilled
if it's all in one
piece.

- Good morning, potters.
- Oh!

Oh, wow.

Look what I've got for you.

- Oh!
- Oh, thank you, Rose.

My sink was in three pieces.
If they are all stuck
together,

that would be amazing,
but I'm not
expecting them to be.

What?

- Wow.
- Oh, my gosh.

Magic of pottery, eh?

Well, Rose, thank you.

I was not expecting it
to be together.
I have a chance now.

Which side does the hole
go on? Does it matter?

Peter said
the hot is on the left.

- Hot on the left.
- Hot is on the left.

Their sinks
won't be tested

until the taps are turned on for
the first time in front of the judges.

Want me to release
the nuts at the
back?

- Yes.
- There we go.

- Shall I let go?
- Thank you. Yes.

- Oh, my Lord.
- Whoo!

- Thank you.
- High five.

Four pedestal sinks,

plumbed in
and ready for judging.

a place in the final.

What a feat of pottery engineering stands before us.

- Judges,
shall we start judging?
- Yeah.

You walk up to it,
it looks like two suitcases

sitting one on top
of the other.

Absolutely brilliant.

It's completely uniformed.
It had to be.

I mean, I know you've got
these stress cracks here,

but it's lying really flush
on the floor there.

You've got
a lovely flush bottom.
It's really, really amazing.

What you've managed
to achieve here

is an incredible quality
of build.

Really lovely, clean finish.
You can't see any of the
joins.

But then
you've got this handle,

which has been applied
a bit more roughly.

It feels a bit more
like aged leather.

And these pins
where it's attached on,

you get the sense
that it's been pushed
onto the surface.

It's so well observed.
It feels like
a proper suitcase.

Should we see if it works?

It's a nice, even
depth
around the basin.

I'm looking for the
drips.

- No drips.
- No drips.

Let's see how it drains.

Falling away very level.

Really nice.

You've come on so much
through this whole process.

Honestly, I can't believe it.

I'm inspired by you, mate.
I really am.

- Really brilliant.
- Thank you, appreciate that.

I'm going to ignore
the obvious in the room
for the moment.

What I've come to love
about your work...

and the way you use a brush,
it absolutely looks
wonderful.

The cobalt there for the
vase,
absolutely amazing.

This is really, really
good.
- Yeah.

This here,
where you've just got
the right amount

of coloured glaze
on that wax resist.

I love the fact that
you put this really thick

sort of roll-top rim
on there,

and I even love the kind of
irregularity of the basin.

It's a real mishmash,
but it all seems to work.

And the reason why it works...

is because it's from you.

But you've got
so many bloody cracks.

You've got
some big slabs there,

and it was always
gonna be difficult

to get those through the
kiln
in one piece.

But your overall design
concept
is wonderful.

So we just need to see
if it works now.

Let's have a go.

Uh-oh.

Oh, yeah.

- Oh!
- Oh.

You've got
a slight leak there

- because of the obvious crack
in the basin.
- Yeah.

Perhaps a bit
ambitious on the build,

but the joy that you've brought to
your design is really wonderful.

The decoration
works very nicely,

and you've got sprigs,
you've got relief.

Some of this has got
some lovely energy about it.

Makes you feel like
they're buzzing about,
flying around.

And that colour
in the basin there
really draws your eye.

This is the focal
point
of the basin.

It's so obviously a dragonfly.

But I would've just
liked to have seen it
slightly bigger,

and you could've probably
afforded to give your pedestal
at the top

just a slight curve,
just to marry
into the basin a bit.

There's a bit of a gap there.

And you've got a bit of
warping
on the pedestal.

- So, should we see if it
works?
- Yeah.

Seems to be
filling up nicely.

- There's no leaks.
- No visible leaks.

I'm gonna
release that plug.

Drains away beautifully.
It functions so well.

I wonder whether
the sort of form of it

is perhaps
a little conventional.

This is
basically a white basin.

It looks like you've played
a little bit safe.

It's definitely striking.

You've got
some wonderful reaction here.

That copper has reacted
really nicely
with that white glaze.

It really does look like
something that you would

- dig up from the sea.
- Yeah.

And all of those scales,

you can see where
you've really spent the time

colouring in each scale
with different colours

just so that
they catch the light
differently,

and it feels like
a beautifully smooth,
tactile skin.

And I love
little features like this,

where you've got a coil
that comes up and around
the back of the taps.

- We all want to come up here
and touch it.
- Yeah.

And for me, that's one of the things ceramics is about.

- Should we see if it works?
- Yeah, fingers crossed.

And the tap's on.

Oh, and that copper oxide
looks lovely under the water.

It does, doesn't it?
Absolutely wonderful.

Can't see any leaks.

- Ooh.
- Sounding good.

Lovely. Ta-da!

- Yay!
- Great.

- Really good.
- Phew.

We can tell that you've put
a hell of a lot of work
into this,

and we can tell that
it's from you, you know?

It's so much
an Adam pedestal and basin.

- Really lovely.
- Thank you.

- Brilliant.
- Thanks.

Potters dismissed.

I threw everything,
including the sink,
at it.

If I got
Potter of the Week
now,

that would give me a nice confidence boost to go into the final

What I love about getting
to this stage of the process

is that they're all
coming through so strongly

with their personalities
within their builds.

Who would've thought
Jodie has a huge tattoo

all across her
back
of a dragonfly?

I wish her dragonfly
had been as big on her sink

- as it was on her back.
- Yeah.

It was a wonderful build.

We've seen that
from Jodie before,

but she just played it
a bit safe.

How did Adam get on?

Fantastic.

It's just about being wowed.

We wanted a real centrepiece
for the bathroom.

They both felt like they'd
come
from the bottom of the sea.

And they felt like Adam.
The same maker
with the same voice.

You have to remember,
of course,

that in the second
challenge,
he came first.

So could Adam be
Potter of the Week,
then?

For me, yes.

For me, Peter.
Absolutely loved it.

He's really gained
so much knowledge
and so much more skill,

and you can see that
with every single time
he does another build.

It's absolutely fantastic.

I can't bear to ask
who's going to miss out

on a chance
of being in the final,

but who do you think
is in danger of
leaving?

It's between Jodie and Hannah.

And for completely
different reasons.

Jodie because
she played it too safe

and Hannah because
she probably risked too much

and it kind of
went wrong for her.

So it's just where you place
the most importance.

Whether it's that sink
that works properly

or the beauty
in that decoration.

It's really tough.

Okay, well, I will
leave it
in your capable hands.

But remember,
the eyes of a nation
are upon you.

Good luck.

I don't know if I'm going
to get into the final,
but I'd love to.

This is the last hurdle,
really, isn't it?

I know I'm gonna be
sick to my stomach
standing there.

We've all worked extremely hard
to get here.

Potters, this has been
the week I've been
dreading.

We don't want to say
goodbye
to any of you.

But first of all,
the good news.

This week's
Potter of the Week
is...

Adam.

Your first
Potter of the Week.

Yay!

Unfortunately,
now the bad news.

The potter leaving us
this week is...

Hannah.

I'm so sorry, Hannah.

I'm leaving with
such a heightened

sense of
confidence
in doing pottery.

Being encouraged
and validated

that it's worth
spending the
time

doing something
that you love
doing.

You've got
some immense
skills.

You know,
the way you use a
brush

and your affinity for colour
and surface is just
incredible,

so just make sure
you keep going, keep
pushing.

I've just had an amazing time.
It's the most unique experience ever.

So, sadly,
Hannah misses out
on a place in the final.

For Adam, his pedestal sink
is his first piece
in the Throw Down gallery.

Totally thrilled.
Really, really happy.

And yeah, in the final,
never saw that happening.

I'm in the final.
I can't believe it.

I just got to think of
everything I've learned
over the last nine weeks

and bring everything into it.

I just want to wow those
judges
as much as I can.

I'm in the final.

As much as I love
my two opponents,

I'm here to win.
Of course I am.

So, bring it on.

- Next time...
- Gone like a rocket.

...it's the final.

I can't quite believe it.

- As Peter...
- Oh, this is not good.

- ...Jodie...
- Absolutely gonna
go for it.

- ...and Adam...
- Ooh.

...step into the 1920s.

- Mind yourself.
- I got it.

And also face the tiniest
throwing challenge...

For one of
these!

...for their final...

...clay contest.

I'm struggling here, man.

Who will win
is completely in their
hands.

The winner of
The Great Pottery Throw Down
is...