We’ve discovered the behind-the-scenes secrets of The Great British Sewing Bee (Picture: BBC/Love Productions/James Stack)
The Great British Sewing Bee has returned to our screens for its 10th season, with a new batch of hopefuls trying to sew their way to victory.
The heartwarming competition has become a staple on the BBC since beginning in 2013, and follows a fairly similar format to The Great British Bake Off, where 10 creatives compete to impress judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young, hoping to be crowned Britain’s most sensational sewer.
The competition filters down as the initial set of contestants become just four in the finale, as they’re put through their paces in a series of challenges, with each episode featuring a pattern challenge, made to measure challenge and transformation challenge, all fitting an overall theme that test the budding sewers’ skills.
And while viewers are already sold on the beloved programme, there’s some things you may not know about what it’s actually like to take part.
We caught up with 2022 winner Annie about all the behind-the-scenes secrets of the fan-favourite show.
Annie was crowned winner in 2022 (Picture: BBC)
The application process is pretty lengthy
Annie explained how the beginning of the process was pretty straightforward, involving a questionnaire and video explaining why she wanted to take part.
But due to applying during Covid, things were a little more complicated when it got to the later stages, as she shared: ’It was actually a few Zoom calls, we had to make something at home, just while we were chatting to them.
‘I guess they were just trying to get a feel for how you are chatting and sewing but it’s really hard! I don’t think you realise when you’re watching, it is actually quite hard to do both things at the same time.’
Sewers get plenty of time to prepare their makes beforehand
Annie had the summer before filming to prepare for the competition (Picture: BBC)
Annie found out she was successful around June 2021, meaning she had the summer to prepare before going into filming in September.
Detailing her process, she said: ’It was a case of the first few weeks planning exactly what you’re gonna do for made to measure and obviously running it past [production].’
But due to the fact sewers can end up staying in the competition for a couple of months, it’s difficult to prep for how much they’re likely to develop over the course of their time on the show.
‘Obviously trying to find fabrics and things that you want to use was quite hard actually, because I think during the process you develop so much that to do it, almost plan it before it. It was kind of hard,’ the champion told us.
But they don’t always know exactly what’s in store
The competition is now hosted by Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Picture: BBC/Love Productions/James Stack)
The competitors would be given an overarching theme to stick to each week in order to help them come up with ideas beforehand.
However, this didn’t necessarily …read more
Source:: Metro
