Original subtitles

Hello, there. Good to see you. We have a new home:

the glorious Gladstone Pottery Museum.

I've been dusting off the potter's wheel

and disinfecting everything.

Keith has even washed his hankies.

And I am now new head of social distancing.

Actually, get back. Yeah.

Do you know what?

We can get a little bit closer

because the potters, the judges and moi

have been living in a bubble 24-7 here in Stoke.

-Morning, judges. -Morning.

What can possibly go wrong-- [exclaims] Sorry, Rose.

Welcome to the new series

of The Great Pottery throw Down .

We've searched across the country

to find 12 of the nation's finest home potters.

[man 1] My family said, "You should go for it."

Now I'm actually here, I'm like,

"Oh, my goodness. Now I actually have to do it."

[man 2] One thing I have learned is,

unless you go for it, nothing's gonna change.

So I'm just going for it.

[laughing] Oh, God.

Okay, nervous. I'm nervous.

[McSweeney] To save this year's Great Pottery Throw Down ,

they've agreed to leave their loved ones

to live and work together in our very own potters' bubble.

[woman] As a potter, often you're working on your own,

whereas here you've got people to bounce ideas off.

There's so much energy.

[McSweeney] Each week, they'll be asked

to transform lumps of clay

into unique and beautiful ceramics.

[man 3] I'm quite nervous now,

but just sit me at that wheel,

and the stresses will disappear.

Sometimes you just sit at the wheel,

you're connected, everything works.

You never know.

[McSweeney] Everything they conjure up will be judged

by maverick master potter Keith Brymer Jones.

Obviously, this has been a bit of a year.

I just wonder if I'm gonna get

even more emotional than ever before,

because it does feel like a real family.

[laughs] You've done really, really well.

My father said, "Make sure you make him cry."

I said, "I don't want to make anyone cry

because that will make me cry." [laughs]

[McSweeney] And this year, we have a new judge:

our former studio technician, ceramics expert Rich Miller.

[Miller] I've been working with clay for over 20 years,

and I absolutely love it.

It's malleable. It's tactile.

It can be made into any form.

And then you've got the alchemy of the fire.

What's not to love about it?

[McSweeney] So, are these potters ready...

-How are you feeling? -Terrified.

[screams]

The most stressful thing I've ever done.

...for 20 brand-new challenges?

-Can I touch it? -No. [laughs]

Bit of age, bit of experience, bit of calmness.

Quickly! Quickly! Hurry up!

[panicked gasping]

[McSweeney] And who will go on to be named champion...

-[Keith] Oh, my God. -I'm speechless.

If you don't stop asking me questions, I might cry again.

[McSweeney] ...of The Great Pottery Throw Down ?

-[gasps] -[groans]

Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna have a problem.

Are we gonna stop there?

-No. -[McSweeney] Do you--

[shrieks, laughs]

[McSweeney] We're back in Stoke-on-Trent,

the home of British pottery,

and we've rolled our wheels and clay

into the Gladstone Pottery Museum,

a once-bustling manufacturer of chinaware

in the heart of the city.

Our 12 potters will kick-start the competition

with two throwing challenges,

after which our judges, Keith and Rich,

will decide who will be our first Potter of the Week

and who will leave the pottery.

Good morning, potters.

-Morning. -Hello.

Good morning. Look at your faces.

Look at you, all full of hope.

-Won't last long. -[all laugh]

Don't worry. It's my first day as well,

so we'll get through this together.

Now, the judges, for your very first challenge,

would like you to make a cheese set

that must include a cheese dome with a sculptured knob,

a fondue pot and two identical pickle jars with lids.

It's a throwing challenge, the first challenge.

Uh, right up my street.

And it's domestic ware. It's got to be fit for purpose.

Form and measurements are critical in this challenge.

You've got to leave enough space under your dome for cheese,

and we want to see really well-fitting lids

on those pickle jars.

The judges have generously given you

three hours to make your cheese set,

and your time starts now.

[man] This is, like, my dream to be here.

So whatever happens,

I've got to this stage.

It's all good. [laughs]

[woman] A little nervous about throwing.

I think just a couple of minutes of getting into it

and not to be like...

[McSweeney] Before they can begin,

the potters must wedge the clay,

a kneading process that removes any air bubbles.

Then they'll have three hours

to throw their cheese set on the wheel

and then another 90 minutes to trim any excess clay

and refine every item.

[woman] Very excited and out of breath.

I could have done a bit more cardio before I came here.

[Keith] So here we are. Week one.

-I'm really, really excited. -And it's a tough challenge.

The cheese dome,

that's quite a big thing to throw on the wheel.

If they don't get that curve right

and get that beautifully domed shape,

there's not gonna be sufficient volume

under there to contain all that cheese.

And that dome has to fit really snugly on top of that plate.

When they think about the fondue pot,

that base has to be nice and flat

so heat can circulate evenly underneath it.

They're domestic ware. They have to work.

Good, clean rims. All of those points

that your hand comes into contact with

have to be beautiful and pristine.

I guess I'm really keen to see how they use their design

to draw them all together as a set

and make them feel like they're meant to be together.

-[Keith] Morning, Jodie. -Morning.

-Or should I say bore da ? - Bore da.

Thank you for having me.

Has anyone ever told you you look like...

-Alanis Morissette? Yeah. -[McSweeney laughs]

-We won't mention it again. -All the time.

-Wales's Alanis Morissette? -Yeah, pretty much.

-Imagine how good your voice is. -No, it's not very good.

-[laughs] Give us-- -I'm not giving you nothing.

Can you tell us about your cheese set design?

So it's about a trip that I took to America with my father.

We went on motorbikes.

[McSweeney] Jodie is from the Rhondda Valley,

and when she isn't working as a scrub nurse,

she hits the road as much as possible with her dad, Colin.

[engine starts]

Happy days.

Her cheese set will celebrate

their greatest road trip along Route 66.

[Jodie] My decoration is based on these red canyons,

and I'm gonna have the actual

dark, desert highway going into the canyons.

-So, um-- -"Dark, desert highway"?

-Yeah, it's a good song. -[Rich laughs]

Come on. There's a song out of you one way or the other.

Lee's hobbies are perhaps a little less thrill-seeking.

I've decided to do my theme based on beekeeping.

-So those are my bees. -[Keith] Wow.

They take after you.

-Do you think? -I can see the resemblance.

Lee is a community nurse

and, as well as his bees, he lives in Huddersfield

with his rescue dog, Margot, and his tortoise, Reg.

[Lee] Bit of salad?

His set will feature handcrafted bees

on a classic hive-shaped cheese dome.

And that contouring of the cheese dome,

are you throwing that in?

-Partly. -[Keith] Right. Okay.

I am going to throw it thickly and then trim the butt off it.

-Right. Okay. Right. -So I'm not concerned.

I'm not worried.

[McSweeney] Throwing the cheese dome involves

wrestling around five kilograms of clay.

I'm very hot, very hot.

This is the largest piece.

Okey-dokey. I just need to check the depth.

[McSweeney] It starts life upside-down as a bowl,

and the potters need to pull the clay up

to shape what will be the curved sides of the dome.

The higher they go, the more space for the cheese.

[woman] It needs to come up just a bit more.

But throwing at this scale is always a gamble.

But the risk is now it gets too thin,

the clay's too wet, and it'll collapse.

Oh, it's going. It's going. [laughs]

One dead pot.

[McSweeney] Married mum of three Suz

is a library assistant

and lives in Aberdeenshire.

She has been potting for 16 years

and hopes to be able to combine her love of books and clay

by retelling the classic Treasure Island

through the forms and decorations

of her cheese set.

These are lovely little drawings. Really nice.

[Suz] I'm hoping to have the pirates

and then a skull and crossbones for the sculptural knob.

It looks like there's a lot of decorative work here.

Is there gonna be time to get everything in?

-Fingers crossed. -I think that sounds confident.

I'm willing to go with that. Yeah.

While Suz has had to start her cheese dome all over again...

Susan, just think.

...she's not the only one daunted by the dome.

[man] It's got the wobble.

I could fall off my stool any minute

'cause I do forget to breathe.

[McSweeney] Adam is a support worker

for adults with learning difficulties

and lives in Brighton with his fiancé, Dan, and their pug, Egg.

He will celebrate their trips out to sea

with a maritime cheese dome,

complete with a diving whale.

[Adam] Dodgy dome number one.

Sac magique.

[McSweeney] Even if the potters think

their domes are large enough to satisfy the judges...

Back, go back, go back-- Oh, bugger.

...this first make gets even trickier.

Every dome must sit on a matching plate,

and one potter plans to dish up

something very close to their heart.

My design is based on a beach where I used to live.

Me and my friends, we used to eat together on this beach.

[McSweeney] Henry now lives in Suffolk.

When he isn't honing his circus skills,

he works as an activities organiser for a retirement home.

He aims to throw a set

that reflects the contrasting textures

of his favourite coastal dinner spot.

How are you gonna bring this into your cheese set design?

There's gonna be some of the pots that are unglazed,

so they have this really rocky, brutal texture.

Then this lovely blue glaze hits up against it.

So you get the contrast of the two.

I've got the best memories of that place.

Dinner hasn't been the same since.

It's never been the same since.

[McSweeney] Perfectly matched plates and domes

are just for starters.

[Lee] Gone fondue potty.

The bottom of the fondue set is thicker

than you'd normally have it

because it has to withstand heat.

[McSweeney] But to serve fondue,

every pot will need a handle.

[Shenyue] The only times I've ever had fondue

have been when we go skiing,

and you just eat your body weight in cheese.

Oh, I'm hungry.

[McSweeney] Shenyue is a professional model

working and living in London with her boyfriend, Alex.

Her cheese set is inspired by her favourite moments

from their last holiday together.

I'm bad at skiing. My boyfriend's amazing at skiing.

We've only been once and probably not going again.

-But, um... -[chuckling]

So then I look forward to the dinner the most.

You're in the Alps, and there's the beautiful moon and stars.

And that's when the fondue comes out.

That's when the fondue comes out.

Almost like a cauldron of fondue.

Between two people?

You never finish the cheese in those things.

-Well, I beg to differ. [laughs] -I beg to differ, yes.

Potters, don't get yourself in a pickle,

but you are now halfway through your challenge.

[gasps] Ooh.

Good woman, Suz. It's coming finally.

-[laughs] -[potters applauding]

Slow start. It's gonna get better. [laughs]

[McSweeney] As Suz finally moves on

from the giant cheese dome...

[man] I'm just starting on my pickle jars now.

...for everyone else, throwing just got

a whole lot more intricate.

Keith and Rich have asked for two

identically formed pickle jars.

[Jodie] I've measured everything out,

because if they want identical things,

it's crucial that you get everything weighing the same

before you even start.

I've been religiously measuring it with my ruler.

[Lee] Pickle jars are supposed to be matching.

They could be sisters. Not twins. [laughs]

[McSweeney] Irina's jars could be of interest to Lee's bees.

These roses are gonna be my knobs.

Roses: my favourite things.

[McSweeney] Originally from far-eastern Russia,

Irina now lives in Essex,

and when she's not at work for a private jet company,

she obsesses over the roses in her garden and her kiln.

They'll dominate a set with a ruffle-edged plate

and surfaces hand-painted with rosebush stalks and leaves.

[Irina] In Russia, only hardy roses can grow,

because the climate, it's very, uh, harsh winter.

So when I came to the UK, I felt like paradise.

I got like, if I'm not lying, four bushes of the same rose.

I'm not really super professional making jar lids.

Hopefully it will be similar.

[gasps] Oh, I can't be engineer. Definitely not.

My father was an engineer. My grandfather was an engineer.

And because I was awarded a place at art school,

it didn't mean I was going to art school

He decided that I was gonna be an engineer.

And I applied for an engineering apprenticeship

at Hoover's in Perivale.

Massive art deco building.

[McSweeney] Peter's engineering career lasted 30 years,

but he's now returned to his first love:

to become a design and technology teacher,

a passion he shares with his ten grandchildren.

What about this? What do you think?

Out of a hundred,

-I'd give it 33. -Oh!

[McSweeney] His pickle jars

and his cheese dome will be decorated

with art deco features from the iconic Hoover Building.

Art deco is all about those sort of clean lines.

How are you planning to bring that precision into your make?

[Peter] I've designed these sprigs.

Then I'm going to sculpt my sculptured lady.

-[Keith] Wow. -[McSweeney] Look at her.

Well, not actually her, clearly.

-[Keith] No. -Mine is gonna have a much

larger bottom, I can tell you. [chuckling]

Modelled on me, isn't it? [laughs]

[McSweeney] Family and art will also come together

for Hannah's set.

[Hannah] My granddad was a painter,

and they're based on a painting that my granddad did.

Here's a really awful printout of the painting.

[McSweeney] Hannah works as a housing

project manager and lives in Bristol.

Her granddad Tim has been a source of inspiration

since she was little,

and her favourite painting by him

has inspired a cheese set

that has simple forms but bold, colourful decoration.

The design reminds me a bit of Patrick Heron,

-the painter in Cornwall. -I know who that is.

That wasn't your granddad, was it?

No. Oh, I wish. No, I don't know

if many people knew who he was, sadly.

Potters, you have one hour left.

Not gonna have everything finished at this rate.

[McSweeney] Having had time to dry,

the cheese sets are now leather-hard,

and the potters must refine them,

trimming away excess clay

to enhance the shape and finish of their pots

before getting them into the drying room,

ready for the first firing.

This is the fun bit, yeah.

-Is this the fun bit? -Yeah.

-Can I touch it? -No.

-Okay. -[laughs]

[McSweeney] But some potters aren't trimming away clay

to a smooth profile.

I'm gonna trim it and then add, like, the bumpy grooves

like an old-fashioned beehive.

I'm taking the raking that happens in a Zen garden,

and I'm going to carve that into each piece.

[McSweeney] Aralives in Folkestone.

A retired West End theatre wardrobe manager,

he accessorises his ceramic sculptures.

But his Zen garden cheese set will be a simpler affair,

harmonised with repeated patterns,

all enhanced with a pure white glaze.

[Ara] I really like concentric circles.

The geometry, the sharpness of it.

[McSweeney] But Alon doesn't seem to be a fan

of refining a perfect circle.

[Alon] I knew everyone would make something circular,

so I sort of wanted to just try to be a bit different,

change it up.

[McSweeney] At 20 years old,

Alon is this year's youngest potter.

Raised in Israel, he now lives with his family in London

and is an architecture student.

His square cheese set will feature

a motif of unique family roots.

All my family has names from nature.

-Oh, really? -Middle sister is Hadar,

which means "citrus".

Uh, older sister is Nitzan, which means "bud".

-[McSweeney] That's beautiful. -Lovely.

My name in Hebrew means "oak", and acorns could be great knobs.

-So, yeah. -Sorry, what?

[laughs] Acorns could be great knobs.

-Is that your dog, Sally? -Yeah.

-What was he called again? -Charlie.

[Adam] Aw.

Instead of throwing knobs for my pickle pots,

I thought I'll sculpt little Charlies.

And he loves cheese.

Cheddar, Camembert, Brie, goat's cheese, Stilton.

[McSweeney] Sal is a teacher and lives in Cornwall

with her partner, Hazel, and their dogs, Fred

and cheese-loving Charlie.

I haven't got nothing. All the cheese is gone.

[McSweeney] He will stand guard on top of her pickle jars

and cheese dome, and Sal will use fine brushwork

and glaze to draw him running around her set.

-Isn't he lovely? -[Sal] Thank you very much.

-And his little cheese. -Yeah.

-He eats a lot of cheese. -He does.

It's the only way to get him to do anything he's told.

-Bribery works a treat. -[McSweeney] Yeah.

I'm open to a bit of bribery,

-by the way. -Are you? Okay. Later.

Just letting you know.

Potters, you have half an hour left.

-[Irina gasps, splutters] -[Suz sighs]

I'm just trying to sculpt my queen bee as quick as I can.

[Peter] And I've got to sculpt three ladies.

[Jodie] This is the knob for the dome.

This is, like, the centrepiece

that I have to do in about five minutes.

[Henry] I've got my spoon. Everything's okay.

My favourite tool.

I'm trying to make, like, a rock archway.

I nicked it from the kitchen.

My mum still doesn't know that this is where it is.

So she'll find out now and be hopefully not too angry

but probably very angry.

[grunts] I'm pressing as hard as I dare.

But there she is in place.

[McSweeney] Even if their domes are complete,

there is even more complex refining to do.

[Sal] Oh, so close.

[McSweeney] The lid to every pickle jar

must be trimmed to fit perfectly.

You gotta take into account the shrinkage rate of the clay

from when it's wet to when it's dry

and from when it's dry to when it's fired.

[Alon] Should fit in like that, but it doesn't, really.

[Sal] There we go.

Potters, it is now five minutes to go.

[Suz] I'm gonna work to the wire, just keep going.

Put a little bit of that on there,

a little bit of that on there,

then put them together.

And the trick is to wiggle

until it won't wiggle any more.

We're talking about the last two minutes now, people.

Last two minutes.

Welcome. Congratulations, Sal. First item into the drying room.

How are we doing? We're nearly there?

-That's a good skull. -It'll do.

-[McSweeney] Quickly, quickly. -[gasps] What?

[bleep]

Good man, Peter. That's a determined walk.

-[Peter] Open the door. -In you go.

Thank you.

Oh, God. Fabulous.

[McSweeney] Okay, quickly, back to your benches.

Thus is your very first day finished.

Congratulations.

[Lee] All calm at the end of the day, eh?

I tell you what, I'm gonna have a glass of wine tonight.

-[laughs] -[Sal] Oh, too bloody right.

[McSweeney] The potters now face an agonising wait.

Once they're completely dry, our new studio technician, Rose,

will take the cheese sets for their first bisque firing,

which will harden the clay so that it's ready for decoration.

The petals of Irina's flowers have me worried.

You can already see there is a chance

that there will be some breaking there.

[Irina] If you look through the whole set from a distance,

I think it's okay.

And the knobs, um...feels like they go in your hand

nicely on all of the pieces.

I'm really worried about the thickness of Suz's pieces.

You would put your lids together to have them shrink together.

These lids are also quite thick.

That might mean that there's still a lot of difference

between the shrinking of the lids and the actual pot.

Obviously, I lost a lot of time throwing the dome.

There's the chance of things blowing up or cracks appearing.

It's in the hands of the kiln gods. [laughs]

[McSweeney] The potters will now have to wait to discover

if their sets survive the 1,000-degree heat of the kiln

without cracking or even exploding.

Fingers crossed.

[McSweeney] Each week, the potters

will face a second challenge.

They'll never know what they'll be asked to make,

but this week, it could go rather well

with their cheese sets.

Welcome to your second challenge,

which is a throwdown,

and we would like you to make port chalices.

Okay.

[McSweeney] Master potter Keith,

if you would like to take to your wheel.

Right. Port chalice is basically another word for goblet.

Shove it on the wheel, centre it up,

lift your hands up just slightly off the wheel,

and you create your base.

Start making the cup when the stem is quite thick still,

because you've got that support of the stem

to really shape your cup nice and fine,

and then throw up that stem so it's nice and fluent.

Rib up the side and really accentuate that form.

It's just amazing.

[Keith] Finesse that stem. Make it a bit narrower.

And then I'm literally just gonna recentre it a bit.

It's growing out of that stem.

It's so beautiful.

[Keith] Tidy up the rim and then wire it off.

And there you go.

[potters applauding]

We're looking for quantity,

but as well, we're looking for quality.

Potters, you have 15 minutes

to make as many chalices as possible.

Oh!

And your time starts now.

Really difficult. I'm not that quick at centring,

and it's all about centring quickly.

[Suz] I can't even remember how he did the first bit.

-[laughing] -No hanging about.

-[Keith] Take your time. -But hurry up.

[all chuckle]

I don't wanna make a rubbish chalice,

but also I wanna make more than one.

I think I should be able to get seven, eight, I don't know.

How many do you think you'd be able to throw in 15 minutes?

Twelve, 13.

-Yeah, me too. -[laughs]

Most stressful thing I've ever done.

-[Keith] Irina's got one off. -She got one already.

[groans] What's happening?

It's terrifying. Oh! But I've made one. That's good.

Oh, wow! You have two done already.

They're not very good, though.

Come on, Jodie. Excellent. Some people have two done already.

-No way. -How are we doing, Henry?

-I'm struggling. -Well done, Adam.

Oh, thanks.

-They all want to be similar. -Ooh!

Good stuff, Peter. They're in the same family.

Little and large.

Five minutes gone, ten minutes left.

It took me five minutes to do one?

-[Lee] Ah! -[McSweeney] How many now, Lee?

-Uh, two and a half. -Two and a half.

Gotta get it right, but you've gotta do it quickly.

I can't seem to get both of those things at the same time.

It's so difficult to get that balance, isn't it,

between form and speed?

[Lee] That is terrible. That's gonna go in the bin.

Oh, no. My right leg is starting to shake now.

Oh, that's...

-Oh, oh, oh, oh... -Oh, here we go.

That's a nice sound. What are we doing?

Oh, look it's doing a little bit of whoa, whoa, whoa.

-Oh, dear. -Oh, my gosh. Shenyue has six.

No way.

Don't want to make the rest of you feel bad,

but you're doing dreadfully in comparison.

[laughs]

-Sal's look very accurate. -Yeah, nice. Yeah.

Remember, the speed of the wheel is important.

-The what? -[Keith] The speed of the wheel.

The speed of the wheel is important.

-You sound like an expert there. -I sound like an expert.

-[laughter] -Oh, dear.

-We're in the last five minutes. -[whimpering]

Who needs me to scream at them to encourage them more?

-All of us. -Hurry up!

Quickly! Quickly! Quickly!

That's brilliant advice.

[McSweeney] Last couple of minutes.

Oh, my life.

It so helps if you breathe in while you're doing it.

Focus, Jodie, focus.

Last minute, everybody.

-Oh, I've got it all over me. -[Keith] Come on, kids!

Oh, bugger.

[McSweeney] Finish that one and start a new one.

And make it your best one.

Yeah. Yeah, this is gonna be the best one.

Oh, I've lost my wire.

[together] Five, four, three,

two, one.

Step away from the wheel please.

Whoo-hoo!

[Lee] Oh, my God. Look at those.

[McSweeney] The potters now face the judges

for the very first time.

[Hannah] Oh, my gosh.

[McSweeney] Keith and Rich are looking for chalices

with a distinct stem, cup and smooth rim.

Any that don't measure up,

we recycle into Keith's bucket of doom.

-Hi, Jodie. -Hi, Jodie.

-Wow. -Hi.

-We've got plenty to look at. -We have got plenty to look at.

Fairly similar, which is good. This one's a little bit shorter.

Yeah, yeah. That's gotta go.

-[McSweeney] Oh! -[potters groans]

-There's a couple of fat stems. -That's not great.

I mean, look at the state of that one.

[Rich] It's a little bit square. [laughs]

Are we gonna stop there?

No.

-[squeals] -[all laughing]

[Keith] I think that has to go in as well.

But what I'm really noticing is the consistency of the rim.

They are all roughly the same thickness. That's not bad.

-Fantastic. -They're looking wonderful.

You've managed to get a really nice, even rim on all of them.

It's very consistent.

You've upped the ante in the shape and the form,

so there's a couple there that aren't up to your standards.

[Rich] This is it.

Although it's slightly slanting, it's really well proportioned.

-But this one here. -That one, yeah.

-That's going in the bin. -No.

-I mean, that is a great set. -[exhales]

You can see the elephant in the room.

-[McSweeney gasps] -[Rich] Tipping it over.

[Keith] This one. Yeah. Yeah.

-Look, it's even crying. -I know. I almost am.

[Rich] There's not much base to this one.

It has quite a fat stem.

But the cup is beautiful.

I'm gonna save that one but get rid of that one.

Not enough definition in the stem.

You were obviously really concentrating on that first one,

and then you kind of were rushing them.

I was going for quality, I was going for...

-Were you really? -[all laughing]

-[Ara] I was going for-- -[Keith] No, that's going.

[all] Oh!

The definition between the stem and the cup wasn't great.

-Okay. -I think that one.

[Keith] Yeah. No, that's no good.

-[Ara gasps] -[Rich] I'm sorry.

-Don't do this to me. -[McSweeney laughing]

What's really interesting is that the rims are nice and thin.

There's definitely a finesse there,

so I just wonder about this.

-[groans] Bye. -Just get rid of that.

[Keith] There's definitely a style there, isn't there?

[Rich] Yeah, a more angular cup to it.

[Keith] This has hardly got a stem at all.

Oh, yeah. I've already said goodbye to that one.

-No, that's a bit hopeless. -Okay.

-That's going. -Ooh.

I think we can stop there.

I think that's grand, actually.

I think we could keep going.

We can keep going. Yeah, yeah.

I already created names for them.

[McSweeney] Oh, go on.

Tanya, Sveta, Irina, Natasha, Svetlana,

Aliona, Marina, and this one, Sara.

-Oh, and this one, Margarita. -[Rich] Wow.

-Well, Margarita can go. -[all laughing]

-[Rich] I'm not sure about Sara. -Poor old Sara.

Please leave poor Sara!

Some of the bases are a little bit thin.

-This one is starting to crack. -Sure, yeah.

We're gonna have to get rid of that, I think.

-That one is... -Which one? No.

[McSweeney laughs] I like how you tried to hide him.

[Keith] ...is hopeless.

This one, the definition isn't brilliant.

Oh!

-This is wonderful. -[Lee] It is a good one.

-Shall we talk about the others? -This is absolutely terrible.

[Lee] That was my "last ten second" one.

This looks like me after a couple ports.

Ah, right, okay. Yeah, that's gonna have to go, I think.

-[Rich] I think it's gotta go. -Yeah, yeah. That's gotta go.

-Wow. Ooh! -And that's gotta go.

Fair play. I thought you were just gonna sweep them all in.

-[Keith] No, no, no. -So it's fine.

There's definitely quantity here.

-Well, there is at the moment. -[McSweeney and Rich laugh]

This one isn't brilliant definition.

[Rich] Yeah, you need a very definite...

[Keith] We'll have to get rid of that one.

That's not a great look.

[Rich] No stem. My eye just keeps being drawn to this one.

[Keith] Well, let's just take that one away then as well.

-Shall we stop there? -I think so.

I think that's fair.

-Maybe after that one. -[all] Oh!

[Keith] And I think we can stop there.

They could have been slightly taller.

They're not perfect by any stretch.

But I can really appreciate the consistency in them,

and I'm kind of loath to throw any of them away.

-[Rich] I think they look great. -Well done.

-Yeah. -Oh, thank you!

[McSweeney] Keith and Rich will now rank

the potters' chalices

from the worst set to the best.

In 12th place, with four chalices, is Henry.

Peter, Ara, Hannah, Lee and Suz each threw five chalices.

Adam, Irina and Alon threw six.

And with Sal, Shenyue and Jodie all throwing eight,

the judges will rank these top three

on the quality of their throwing.

In third place: Shenyue.

In second place...

Jodie.

-First place: Sal. -Thank you.

Well done, Sal. Well done. Brilliant.

-Thank you so much, guys. -[McSweeney] Really good.

And well done, all of you. Well done, everyone.

-Brilliant. -Thank you.

It's 20 years of learning how to do it,

and all of a sudden somebody says,

"Yeah, all right, you're pretty good at that."

It's kind of awesome.

And if you don't stop asking me questions, I might cry again.

[McSweeney] It's day two of the main make,

and after a 24-hour firing,

the cheese sets are ready to be decorated.

But the potters won't know if their work has survived

the intense heat of the kiln

until they remove the hessian.

I think we're all feeling a bit vulnerable today, really.

Have I got intact pieces?

Worst-case scenario, the sprigs have blown off.

-The dome might not come out. -The sculptures have fallen off.

The jars might snap off.

I hope there will be something to decorate.

[McSweeney] Good morning, potters.

Now, your cheese sets have been bisque-fired,

and they're hiding under the hessian,

so hopefully no cracks or broken knobs.

We'd like to see you enhance your pieces

and really bring your cheese sets together.

This is a domestic ware challenge,

so these have to be user friendly.

Think about the areas that you're glazing,

but also think about the areas you're not glazing.

You have two and a half hours to decorate your cheese sets.

Potters, your time starts now.

[gasps] Yeah!

Do a little dance!

Just to see the piece not broken, it's overwhelming.

Absolutely overwhelming.

I try to hold my tears back.

[McSweeney] But while some might be relieved

to find intact forms and functioning pots...

Hey!

...Alon's round lids don't quite fit his square jars.

Maybe. Come on.

-[McSweeney] And he's not alone. -I might have to tap it.

No. No, no, no, no.

It's getting glazed in place.

[McSweeney] But to begin decorating,

the first substance the potters need to apply

to their cheese sets isn't glaze.

First job is to put wax resist on all of the bits

that I don't wanna get glaze on.

[McSweeney] As well as decoration,

the wax is also a crucial substance for function.

The dome is fired together,

so you have to keep the glazes separate.

So this shiny bit is wax resist.

The dome will go on top. The wax resist will burn away,

and the dome shouldn't, fingers crossed, stick to the plate.

Otherwise, I'll have a cheese dome

with no way of getting the cheese in.

No way of getting the cheese out. An actual nightmare.

The potters are free to use

any of the glazes available in the studio.

[Shenyue] Electric blue.

But in ceramics, all is not what it seems.

[Jodie] I got a feeling the tu tu tango

isn't gonna be very tango.

Glazes can radically change colour

in the heat of the kiln.

[Shenyue] You never know exactly

how it's going to be.

I'm going in completely blind.

[McSweeney] And Jodie's dark desert highway

could end up lighter than she and her dad remembered.

I really hope it comes out orange.

Peach canyons. [chuckles]

So this is Monument Valley.

So you can see the orange canyons

contrasting with the blue sky,

so that's something I've incorporated into my design.

Hopefully I'll be able to capture a bit of depth to them

so they just look a bit more alive

rather than just like a flat painting.

[McSweeney] But a flat painting...

[winces]

...is at the heart of Hannah's design.

[Hannah] My granddad's paintings are all over my parents' house.

It's very inspiring.

Extremely chilled guy,

and I don't wanna plan it out too much.

Irina and Sal, however...

Writing on a curved surface is interesting.

...are taking the time to plan every brushstroke.

[Sal] Opposite the handle is my halfway spot.

So I wrote this one forwards

and then started at the halfway and wrote this one backwards.

And I'm dyslexic, but that's ridiculous. [laughs]

[McSweeney] Suz has managed to come up

with a design that requires

more preparation than anyone else's.

[Suz] Palm trees, desert island, pirates going round the sides,

treasure map, and the jars to be painted

to look like wooden barrels.

So a lot to do.

[McSweeney] Lee's preparation should be

a little more straightforward.

Need a bigger brush.

But he will have to coat every inch of his beehive set

-in multiple layers of glaze. -[Lee] Coat number two.

To make it look like it's been smothered in honey.

[Lee] Just to get the sheer volume of it all on,

I'm literally using a paintbrush from home.

-[Sal] Are you? -[laughing] Yeah.

Ara will be even more reliant on just one colour.

Everything's gonna be dipped in white

because I'm hoping the grooves will actually do the work for me

with the light and shadow and stuff like that.

Okay, so that's just gonna have a white glaze on it?

Yeah, my gut says just go for it.

-Simple but effective. -Hopefully.

Bit like me, really, quite frankly.

Oh, I don't know.

Potters, you have one hour remaining for your decoration.

It runs away with you, doesn't it?

The time. It's just, like, "What?"

I do enjoy glazing, and especially brush-on glazes.

I think it's very personal.

[Sal] I've got to draw my Charlies.

When I paint them, it won't just be flat grey.

I'll use maybe four or five different greys

and sort of try and create some texture

and some life in his coat.

But something even more lifelike

has washed up on Treasure Island.

-Is that meant to be Rich? -Yes.

We have Keith here.

And this must be...

[laughing]

-What am I doing? -[Suz] Yeah, that's you.

-I'm holding a barrel. -[Suz laughing]

-I thought we were friends. -I know, I know.

I thought we were the stripy sisterhood.

Well, I thought you should be in on the act.

Well, you know what? I cannot believe

I'm being immortalised in a cheese set.

Bring the list. I have something to cross off my bucket list.

Having just about got away with squared forms...

It's manganese, so super toxic. Whoo! [chuckles]

...Alon is taking an even bigger risk with his decoration

by mixing glaze with metal oxides.

What have you got on the go there?

So this has got a lot of manganese,

a bit of copper, and a bit of cobalt.

[McSweeney] If carefully mixed in with glazes

during the final firing,

metal oxides can create some of the most unpredictable

but spectacular colours in ceramics.

What's it got in it? Manganese, you were saying?

[Alon] It's got manganese, like 60-something per cent.

-Wow. -Yeah, it's a lot of manganese.

-So where are you putting this? -On the acorns.

Quite risky, 'cause it could turn out

bronzy gold, which is the ideal,

but it also could go very dark brown.

How do you think that's gonna interact with other glazes?

Are you hopeful they'll be...

-No idea. We'll see. -[Rich laughs]

This is a glaze I've never tried.

That's a bold move.

-[Alon] Yeah. -Week one.

Good place to try it out.

-No pressure. -I know. No pressure at all.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have half an hour left.

-Oh, my God. -[whimpering]

It's not a problemo .

[McSweeney] Not only do the potters

have to complete their decorations...

as these are homeware pieces,

to be functional, every item

must also be coated in a second clear glaze.

[Jodie] That glossiness is so you can wash it.

None of your food is gonna soak into that clay.

[McSweeney] But transparent glaze

doesn't start life clear. It's used to coat

all their decorative work, which means the potters won't know

if it's succeeded until it's been fired.

[singing softly]

But for some, a final glaze will have to wait.

It's the finessing. You shouldn't rush.

Gotta get her face on.

[Hannah] I've cut out some stencil-y things,

so I've got some blobby stuff,

but then I've also got some sharper stencils on top.

[Jodie] That's an atomiser.

So I've put a half-and-half mix of water and glaze,

and I've sprayed it over the stencils

so I'll get the "dusk till dawn" kind of thing, you know?

I think I saw it in a craft shop.

I was like, "That's brilliant."

Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna have a problem.

[McSweeney] Things aren't going so brilliantly for Ara.

[Ara] The glaze is a bit too thick.

If I don't get the stuff out that I've put in,

it can actually disappear under the thick glaze.

Big blob in the middle. Oh, my God. That's terrible.

But it'll have to do, 'cause I've got to move on.

What's the time?

Ten minutes left.

Hurry up, Irina.

Get those flower petals petalled.

I'm pushing it now. Then I've got ten of these to do so...

-Oh, looking good. Quickly! -Oh, I know!

-How are we doing, Peter? -Bottom's nearly waxed.

We've got a wet bottom here. We must not have that,

-so quickly. -[Sal] Everybody needs

to wax their bottoms. [laughing]

A bit of advice from Sal.

Everybody needs to wax their bottoms.

They do things differently up in Stoke, apparently.

[Hannah] I'm sorry.

I'm probably gonna need to go last

on the clear, guys.

-Oh, bugger. -What are you dipping here now?

-Transparent. -[McSweeney] Come on, come on.

Do you want me to do the rim?

I'd really appreciate it.

This isn't great timekeeping.

The bees would know better.

[Adam] Oh, my God.

Do you want me to clean the rims?

[Lee] Just grab my...

We are in the last minute now.

-Which one's your bench? -Uh, that one.

-Put it on your board. -[Lee] Thank you, love.

[exclaims] Oh, my God.

[Lee] Cheers, guys.

Well done. Such great work.

Congratulations.

Oh! My God.

The potters must now take their finished work to Rose

for the final firing.

Gonna do a little prayer?

[laughing]

The next time they will see their cheese sets

will be when they're revealed in front of the judges.

I hope they're kind of blue, white and yellow.

How I wanted them to be. [laughs]

Not the grey-colour smear.

I think I, uh, probably

overstretched what I could do in the time.

I honestly feel as though every second of every minute, I used.

Time management would obviously be something

I would really have to look at.

I got everything finished.

I got everything the colours that I want them to be.

And I hope to God none of it sticks together in the firing.

[McSweeney] It's judgement day.

The cheese sets have had their final 24-hour firing

at 1,000 degrees centigrade,

and there is nothing more that the potters can do.

They won't see their finished work

until it's revealed to the judges.

Potters, well done on your first week.

We have before us 12 cheese sets,

and I'm sure you are as keen as us

to see how they all turned out.

So without further ado, Jodie,

could you please bring your cheese set up for the judges?

Whoa. Oh, yeah.

-[Keith] How you feeling, Jodie? -Nervous.

[laughing] So am I.

-Colours are a bit washed out. -My initial thoughts are...

you've done really well.

-Oh, really? -[Keith] Really.

The cheese dome is a perfect size. Feel the weight of that.

-It's brilliant. -It's lovely. Beautifully made.

Absolutely brilliant. I love that you lift up

the cheese dome, and you see the road there.

Technically speaking, the make is fantastic.

The lids couldn't fit any better,

the pickle jars to the cheese dome to the pan.

And in terms of the proportion, they're bang on.

I was really worried that the design might just look flat

because you hadn't brought any other texture into it.

But the way you've sprayed it on creates real depth,

and the stencils,

you've got that hard edge,

you've got the softness of the spray.

I think it's really effective. It works really beautifully.

-Really well done, Jodie. -Thank you.

-[Keith] Fantastic. -Thank you.

How are you feeling?

-I'm speechless. -[judges chuckle]

Very blue. I love the leaves.

[Keith] That blue colour really, really works for you.

You've managed to get some definition on the leaf.

This is an accent. It works really well.

It's nice and consistent.

Where the glaze is on some of the very ends

of some of the petals,

it's a bit sharp, and I was worried

it might feel a bit delicate.

But actually, it feels like it

handles the weight of the dome.

-Not as bad as I thought. -[Keith laughs]

[Henry] It was all about the waves hitting the rocks.

The cheese dome's a bit small.

But this works really well. I'm loving the facets.

It's a lovely contrast between the glaze and texture.

It does sort of feel like it's a rock.

Carved it with my spoon.

Your magic spoon's done you proud.

As a set, it seems to work

really well, doesn't it?

Thank you.

I would've liked to have seen

a bit more sparkle.

A bit more of that night sky.

Yeah.

[Rich] I love the barnacles.

I just think they really tie everything together,

and they make it feel like it's of the sea.

This works really well. It's actually

surprisingly nice to hold.

A bit like you, Rich. You're surprisingly nice to hold.

Why, thank you.

Are you ready?

[exclaims] It would've been nice to get it finished.

[Rich] You did give yourself an awful lot of work.

And obviously, you had troubles in the make,

which I think have sort of shown in some of these pieces.

[Keith] The lid is stuck. That really won't come off.

Let's take the centrepiece here. It's a bit on the heavy side.

[Rich] But look at those illustrations.

This one's crying, so I think that must be...

-You, Rich. You. -[Rich] Possibly. Possibly.

-[Keith] This is Rich? -[Suz] Rich, the cabin boy.

-And then, who's this? -[McSweeney] Aphrodite, I think.

-That was it. Venus. -[all chuckling]

You're obviously very, very talented with your illustration.

This having the map underneath is absolutely brilliant.

[Rich] It's an awful shame you didn't finish it.

I think there's the makings of something

that could've been really special.

These ladies aren't as elegant as I wanted.

Art deco as a concept is quite precise, isn't it?

-Yes, very. -[Keith] And it's quite sharp.

There's an elegant woman in there somewhere

waiting to get out.

But I think the colours actually draw it together

really nicely as a set.

I'm very disappointed

because I had real trouble with the glaze.

Yeah, it's completely fused.

The glaze has obviously

really moved over that resist.

Absolutely.

And the pickle jars. Again, the lid comes off this one,

but we can't get the lid off that.

Ah, again, it's run down.

You've gone for a very simple look,

and the simpler the look,

if it doesn't work, it's like, "Oh, my God."

Bit nervous, 'cause I think

I took a bit too many risks in this one.

But I had to.

Oh, my God. Whoo!

It turned out gold. Oh, my God.

[all laughing]

Oh, my God.

Oh, love. This is absolutely brilliant.

[Rich] Almost looks like metal.

That's just so much pure oxide in the glaze.

The way the light catches this is really quite beautiful.

[Keith] You took a risk not just with that,

but you took a risk with squaring up the cheese dome.

You're showing the real attributes

of the material itself,

that you can manipulate it into what you want.

But obviously, the elephant in the room here is the fact

that we can't take the lids off the pickle jars.

But I really admire your ambition,

because to come in here week one,

take something from the wheel

and make it into a completely different shape,

I mean, it's a recipe for disaster, really,

but you went for it.

[Keith] Well done, Alon. Well done.

Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, it's all right. It's not too bad.

[Rich] Your overall design

is brought together by this yellow

that's coming through the whole lot.

And it's faultless as a colour.

It almost feels like liquid honey.

The form is incredible.

The fact that you've managed to get those lovely,

soft thrown lines

right through everything--

They're all straight-sided,

perfectly matching pickle jars.

They feel evenly thrown. I want to hold it.

I can't emphasise enough how difficult it is

to get that fluidity in the throwing.

[Keith] Although this could've been slightly taller,

could've been slightly more generous

with the cheese, please.

Next time. But I think

that's taken away by the charm of it.

-It's fantastic. Brilliant. -Yeah. Outstanding set, really.

-[exhales] Great, thank you. -[McSweeney] Well done, darling.

-[exhales] -Okay?

A bit nervous. It's just inspired by my granddad,

and, um, tried to make a cheese set

that I could picture being in his home.

-So shall we have a look? -Yes.

Oh, no. [groaning]

[Keith] I take it from that you're not that impressed?

[Hannah] No.

I didn't leave myself time to glaze,

and I literally threw them in the bucket,

so there is no way that's coming off that plate.

Well, I mean, I would say--

-[gasps, exclaims] -[all laugh]

It's a miracle!

The pottery gods have spoken.

That is one thing that is better than I thought. That's good.

And actually, Hannah, don't give yourself too much of a...

[chuckles]

It's-- This is great.

This reaction you've got here, it's absolutely brilliant.

Pottery-- It's a wonder, isn't it? You know... [laughs]

Oh, sorry.

We'll just cry together.

[Rich] Yeah, I'll take over, shall I?

You guys have a moment.

[Keith] Honestly, you were going for that abstract painting.

It's actually worked really, really well for you.

I just think it's got energy, it's got life about it.

The fact that you've got different decoration

on each part of your set,

but it does really feel like it comes together

as a coherent design,

is really testament to your creativity

in the application of the glazes.

Thanks.

-So how you feeling, Sal? -Oh, I'm nervous. Terrified.

Shall we have a look at Charlie?

Okay. It's a little patchy,

which is a bit of a disappointment.

It's brilliant, mate. It's brilliant.

-Thank you. -It's fantastic.

I haven't even picked it up yet, and it looks good.

The definition of the dog there

and the way that you've used those pigments,

it's absolutely fantastic.

[Rich] Just the way you've added

different colours onto the surface,

and then you've put that transparent over the top,

and it's sucked into all that texture that you've got put on.

It just makes it feel like fur.

[Keith] The attention to detail in the sculptural knobs there

is absolutely fantastic.

You've even got little holes in the cheese.

You've not distorted or smudged any of the writing.

It just looks like it's been written on with confidence.

[Keith] And as for pickle jars,

they're identical, they're sublime.

I mean, there is literally

no element on this set that we can fault.

-Fantastic. Brilliant. -Thank you.

-[Rich] Yeah, really lovely set. -Well done.

Thank you. Yeah, don't cry. I'll do it again.

Yeah.

Well done. It's a pleasure to look at.

-[Rich] Yeah. -Thanks, Keith. Thank you.

When Keith cries, I cry. It's hard not to.

He's so emotional about it.

And I'm passionate about it,

so the two of us-- a terrible pair.

I just wish you could lift the dome. [chuckles]

At least it stuck together very uniformly.

[Suz] Feeling pretty nervous just now.

I think there's a really strong chance of me going home.

[McSweeney] Keith and Rich must now decide

who'll be our first Potter of the Week

and who will be going home.

So that moment, it was absolutely amazing

to see when the hessian is pulled off the set,

and they get to see their set for the very first time.

The reactions were extraordinary.

It also just shows how passionate they are

about what they've done.

You've gotta love that. It's absolutely brilliant.

So, Potter of the Week?

Well, I mean, Sal is certainly up there.

[McSweeney] Sal won the port chalices.

[Rich] And her cheese set was just beautiful.

[Keith] For me, another person up there is Jodie.

She'd done that landscape with that road

disappearing off into the distance.

-It was brilliant. -[Rich] I've got to mention Lee.

The way he put those undulating surfaces into the forms,

it just made you want to touch it.

It was so tactile.

As much fun as it is talking

about all the potters who've done well,

unfortunately, a few didn't do as well.

Well, the big cheese dome in the room for me has got to be Ara.

He talked about the simplicity of design

and how he wanted the glaze to really enhance that surface.

Unfortunately, he put it on too thick,

and it fused the whole thing together.

Is there anybody else who you think is in danger?

-Suz, unfortunately. -Yeah.

There were little glimmers of absolute excellence,

but that was meant to be across the whole set.

You now have a decision to make.

-Do you need more tea? -Yeah, more tea. Yeah.

-We need more tea and biscuits. -Maybe a little bit of cheese.

[laughing]

Potters, well done on your first week in the pottery.

Your cheese sets were magnificent.

You're all winners to me.

But unfortunately, I'm not a judge.

Which came as a bit of a surprise to me,

I'm not going to lie.

Firstly, the good news.

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

Sal.

[all cheering]

Aw!

Well done, Sal. Congratulations.

Okay. Now the really, really rubbish bit

that I don't want to do,

but I checked, and contractually I have to do this.

The potter who's going to leave us is...

Ara.

-I'm so sorry, Ara. -I know. I know.

It's fine. No, no, honestly.

-It's all right. -Oh!

I'm being crushed here, by the way.

[all laughing]

I hate white glaze. [laughs]

-So much love to you, Ara. -Honestly--

Gutted. There's no point in ifs and buts and things.

It just didn't work for me on the day.

In these sort of weird times,

we're all in this bubble together.

And I do feel that we've created a bit of a family here.

And you are one of those members of the family.

-[kisses] -Thank you. Thank you.

Well done.

-Well done. -Well done to you.

[Sal] I have no idea what's just happened.

I'm Potter of the Week.

I can't think of a word to...

Honestly, you've addled my brains.

If you talk to anybody who knows me,

they'll say I've always got something to say.

And I just can't think of anything.

[McSweeney] Sal's cheese set is the first work

that Rose will place in our Throw Down Gallery.

-[Lee and Sal laugh] -[Jodie] I'm chuffed for Sal.

Every time I speak to her, I just wanna grab a notepad,

because she's just got so much knowledge about pottery.

So, yeah, well deserved.

I texted my husband yesterday and said, "I'll see you."

[laughs] And I honestly thought I was out.

[interviewer]

Take over the world. [laughs]

[McSweeney] Next time...

-Whoa! -Nice one!

...it's bricks...

Ah, not good.

...and buildings.

Respect to the hand builders of the world.

A towering clay construction challenge.

Ooh!

And a gruelling spot test...

Come on, get your backs into it!

...will reveal which potter's foundations...

-Oh, no. -...are about to collapse.

[gasps]