Amateur sewers will compete to impress judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young as the Great British Sewing Bee returns to TV screens this week. Since last year, Sara Pascoe takes over hosting duties from Joe Lycett, who has stepped down following three series in the role. The comedian and actress took over in last year's Christmas special.
In the first episode, the sewers will be asked to create wool mini skirts with piped patch pockets before transforming lockdown loungewear into tops suitable for a night out. But when exactly does the series start?
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When is it on?
The Great British Sewing Bee returns on April 27, 2022 at 8pm on BBC One. It will be available to watch after on BBC iPlayer.
Who is taking part?
Here is a rundown of this year's contestants:
- Angela, a Lancashire-based NHS health visitor and school nurse who was taught to sew by her mother
- Annie, a Surrey-based buyer for a high street fashion brand who rediscovered her love of sewing during the pandemic
- Chichi, a London-based research analyst with a passion for upcycling vintage clothing, originally from Zimbabwe
- Christian, a manager of a high street store in London who grew up near Transylvania
- Brogan, a Spanish and French teacher originally from Edinburgh who was inspired to start sewing after watching the very first series of The Great British Sewing Bee
- Debra, an Anglesey-based collector of vintage designer accessories who began sewing when she was just nine years old
- Gill, a public health intelligence analyst who has been a keen sewer for the last three years
- Man Yee, a London-based actuary originally from Hong Kong
- Marni, a Devon-based vet originally from Canada
- Mitch, a keen sewer who runs a university theatre in Cumbria
- Richy, a professional baker who enjoys knitting in his spare time
- Steve, a Newcastle-based running coach who got into sewing during the Covid-19 lockdown
Welsh fans will no doubt be routing for north-Walian, Debra. According to the official Sewing Bee website: Debra is an active outdoorsy person who can usually be found sailing or snorkelling in the chilly waters off Anglesey with her son and husband, or on a wild and windy day she’ll be up at 6.30am for a spin class.
For Welsh-speaker Debra, her sewing journey began at nine years old when she would make outfits for her dolls. This passion would lead her to work her way up to full-sized garments for herself.
Debra admits to being a bit of a messy sewer with lots of random fabrics and assorted projects all over the place. She prefers to develop her own designs and freestyle than to rigidly follow a pattern. She works for a multinational company and likes to dress up in some of her more colourful designer-inspired creations to brighten up the workplace.
