The Great British Sewing Bee

The Great British Sewing Bee is a BBC reality show that began airing on BBC Two on 2 April 2013. In the show, talented amateur sewers compete to be named "Britain's best home sewer".[1] A spin-off of the format of The Great British Bake Off, the programme was presented by Claudia Winkleman[2] for the first four series, with judges Patrick Grant, May Martin (series 1–3), and Esme Young (since series 4). After a three-year hiatus, the series returned in 2019, with Joe Lycett taking over as presenter. The sixth series began airing on BBC One in April 2020.

The Great British Sewing Bee
Genre	Reality Game show
Presented by	Claudia Winkleman Joe Lycett
Judges	Patrick Grant May Martin Esme Young
Theme music composer	Ian Livingstone
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	6
No. of episodes	26 (inc. 3 specials)
Production
Executive producer	Anna Beattie
Producers	Susanne Rock Suzanne McGairl
Production locations	Other Cafe and Gallery Metropolitan Wharf Bermondsey
Editor	Susanne Rock
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Love Productions
Release
Original network	BBC Two BBC One
Picture format	16:9
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	2 April 2013 – present
Chronology
Related shows	The Great British Bake Off The Great Pottery Throw Down
External links
Website
Production website

Series format

The show format is similar to The Great British Bake Off in that each episode features three challenges within an overall theme. The series starts with 10 amateur sewers, with the weakest eliminated each episode. In the Pattern Challenge, the judges give them the same pattern, which they must follow as accurately as possible. In the Alteration Challenge, each sewer is given an identical existing garment to reinvent. In the third Made-to-measure Challenge, the sewers design and create their own garments, and must adjust their patterns to fit human models.[3]

Series overview

Series 1 (2013)

The first series of The Great British Sewing Bee started on 2 April and aired for four episodes concluding on 23 April 2013. The series was hosted by Claudia Winkleman and the judges were WI tutor May Martin and Patrick Grant of Savile Row. The all-female final was won by Ann, with Sandra and Lauren as runners up.

Series 2 (2014)

A second series The Great British Sewing Bee began airing on 18 February 2014 on BBC Two. The series was filmed at Metropolitan Wharf in London, with Claudia Winkleman as host alongside May Martin and Patrick Grant as the judges. Once again it was an all-female final, which was won by Heather, with Chinelo and Tamara as the runners up.

Series 3 (2015)

The third series of The Great British Sewing Bee began airing over six weeks from 5 February 2015 on BBC Two. It was once again filmed at Metropolitan Wharf in London, with Claudia Winkleman returning as host alongside resident judges May Martin and Patrick Grant. This time, the final involveed of one female and two males. After six weeks of fierce competition, the ten sewers were reduced to the three finalists from which Matt was declared the winner, with Lorna and Neil as the runners up.

Series 4 (2016)

The fourth series of The Great British Sewing Bee began airing on 16 May 2016.[4][5] May Martin was replaced by new judge Esme Young.[6] The finalists were Jade, Charlotte, and Joyce, with Charlotte the winner.

Series 5 (2019)

The fifth series began on 12 February 2019 on BBC Two. Joe Lycett took over from Claudia Winkleman as presenter, and Esme Young and Patrick Grant returned as judges. The series was shot at 47-49 Tanner Street.[7] Exterior shots are of 1, Tanner Street, Bermondsey.[8][9] The finalists were Juliet, Leah, and Riccardo, with Juliet winning.

Series 6 (2020)

The sixth series began on 22 April 2020 on BBC One. Joe Lycett returned as presenter, and Esme Young and Patrick Grant also returned as judges. The finalists were Clare, Matt, and Nicole, with Clare winning.

The BBC Children in Need Sewing Bee

The BBC Children in Need Sewing Bee
Genre	Sewing
Presented by	Jenny Eclair Sara Cox Anita Rani
Judges	May Martin Patrick Grant
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	Anna Beattie Susanne Rock
Producer	Suzanne McGairl
Production location	Metropolitan Wharf
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Love Productions
Release
Original network	BBC Two
Original release	21 – 24 October 2014
External links
Website

The Great British Sewing Bee returned for three special episodes as 12 celebrities took to the sewing machines in a bid to raise money for Children in Need.[10]

  Winner

Episode 1

Sewer	Pattern Challenge (A Line Skirt)	Alteration Challenge (Hawaiian Shirt)		Made-to-measure (A Dress from their favourite era)	Presenter	Originally Aired	Viewers (millions)[11]
Edith Bowman	2	Cape	2	1950s Flared Dress	Jenny Eclair	21 October 2014	2.25
Dave Myers	4	Child's Dress	3	1960s A Line dress
Dawn Harper	1	Tunic Dress	4	1920s Flapper Dress
Wendi Peters	3	Sundress	1	1950s V-Neck Dress

Episode 2

Sewer	Pattern Challenge (Pyjama Bottoms)	Alteration Challenge (Onesie-Animal Costume)		Made-to-measure (Childhood Story Skirt)	Presenter	Originally Aired	Viewers (millions)[11]
Gaby Roslin	3	Dinosaur	2	Alice in Wonderland Tea Party	Sara Cox	23 October 2014	1.87
Louie Spence	2	Ladybird	3	Ra-ra Skirt
Mark Watson	4	Zebrafish		The Emperor's New Clothes
Pam Ferris	1	Cockerel	1	London Skyline at Night

Episode 3

Sewer	Pattern Challenge (Jersey T-shirt)	Alteration Challenge (Old Prom Dress)		Made-to-measure (Child's Garment)	Presenter	Originally Aired	Viewers (millions)[11]
Gemma Cairney	4	Covered Prom Dress	4	Silk Brocade Cape	Anita Rani	24 October 2014	1.86
Helen Lederer	3	Camden Lock '84	3	Silk Party Dress
Kathryn Flett	2	Playsuit	2	Little Red Riding Hood Cloak
Timmy Matley	1	Gathered Skirt	1	Michael Jackson Pleather Jacket

Transmissions

Series

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	2 April 2013	23 April 2013	4
2	18 February 2014	8 April 2014	8
3	5 February 2015	12 March 2015	6
4	16 May 2016	4 July 2016	8
5	12 February 2019	2 April 2019	8
6	22 April 2020	24 June 2020	10

Special

Date	Entitle
15 December 2013	Christmas Special
26 December 2020	Celebrity Christmas Special
31 December 2020	Celebrity New Year Special

International versions

Broadcast

• Australia — The series premiered on 15 December 2014 on The LifeStyle Channel.[12]

• Japan — broadcast since 3 October 2019 on NHK Educational TV. [13][14]

Country	Local title	Host(s)	Judges	Channel	Premiere
Denmark	Klar, parat, sy[15][16] (Ready, Set, Sew)	Lene Beier	Jesper Høvring Jette With[17]	TV 2	14 March 2015[18]
France	Cousu Main[19] (Hand Sewn)	Cristina Córdula	Amparo Lellouche Julien Scavini	M6[20]	30 August 2014
Germany	Geschickt eingefädelt (Skillfully Threaded)	Guido Maria Kretschmer	Inge Szoltysik-Sparrer Anke Müller	VOX	3 November 2015
Netherlands	Door Het Oog Van De Naald (Through the Eye of the Needle)	Nicolette van Dam	Nelleke Rimmelzwaan Maik de Boer	RTL 4	28 January 2015
Norway	Det store symesterskapet[21] (The Great Sewing Championship)	Christina Hope	Tine Solheim Andreas Feet[22]	NRK[20]	19 November 2014
Portugal	Cosido à mão[23] (Hand Sewn)	Sónia Araújo	Susana Agostinho Paulo Battista Mariama Barbosa	RTP1	4 November 2017
Spain	Maestros de la Costura[24] (Masters of Sewing)	Raquel Sánchez Silva	Lorenzo Caprile María Escoté Palomo Spain	La 1	12 February 2018
Sweden	Hela Sverige Syr[25] (The Whole of Sweden Is Sewing)	Linda Lindorff	Lisbeth Stålborg Frederik Andersen	Sjuan[20]	14 October 2014[26]

Etymology

Historically the word bee has been used to describe a get-together where a specific action is being carried out, such as a husking bee, a quilting bee, or an apple bee. In the USA, the Scripps National Spelling Bee champions have been held annually since 1925. Its etymology is unclear, but the word possibly derives from the Old English word bēn, meaning prayer.[27]

References

1. "BBC One - The Great British Sewing Bee". BBC.
2. Meltzer, Tom (10 April 2013). "Review: The Great British Sewing Bee". The Guardian.
3. Bussmann, Kate (18 February 2014). "Behind the scenes of Great British Sewing Bee". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
4. "The Great British Sewing Bee 2016: Everything You Need to Know - Sewing Blog".
5. "Basic Construction, Series 4, The Great British Sewing Bee - BBC Two". BBC.
6. "New Judge for The Great British Sewing Bee". The Sewing Directory. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
7. "Ugly Duck - The Loft".
8. "BBC Two - The Great British Sewing Bee, Series 5, Episode 1". BBC.
9. "BBC Two - The Great British Sewing Bee, Series 5 Trailer: The Great British Sewing Bee". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
10. Fletcher, Harry (13 October 2014). "Edith Bowman and Louie Spence for Children in Need Sewing Bee specials - TV News". Digital Spy. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
11. "Weekly Top 30". Broadcasters Audience Research Board. 20–26 October 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
12. Higgins, D. (15 December 2014). "NEW THIS WEEK: The Newsroom finale, The Killing S3, Cordon, Test match cricket and Christmas programs". The Green Room. Foxtel. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
13. "ソーイング・ビー". NHK.
14. "ソーイング・ビー2". NHK.
15. White, Peter (18 July 2014). "Sewing Bee heads to Denmark's TV2". Broadcast. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
16. Sørensen, Sola Kruchov (21 August 2014). "Topdesigner i nyt program på TV 2 FRI". Retrieved 9 May 2015.
17. "Sewing Bee". Retrieved 9 May 2015.
18. "Ups... Vi kan ikke finde siden! - TV 2 PLAY".
19. "Cousu main en replay sur 6play : Rediffusion gratuite en streaming". 6play.
20. Krewen, Nick (18 July 2014). "BBCWW sends "Sewing Bee" to Denmark". realscreen. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
21. "The Norwegian Sewing Bee - Willy Sews!". willy.foreviget.no.
22. "NRK TV - Se Det store symesterskapet".
23. "Cosido à Mão".
24. "Lorenzo Caprile, María Escoté y Palomo Spain serán el jurado de 'Maestros de la Costura', que presentará Raquel Sánchez Silva". rtve.es. 26 October 2017.
25. "Hela Sverige syr".
26. "De kämpar med nål och tråd i Hela Sverige syr (They compete with needle and thread in Whole Sweden Sews)". 11 September 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
27. "noun] Merriam-Webster: bee [3".

External links

• The Great British Sewing Bee at BBC Programmes
• The Great BBC Children in Need Sewing Bee
• The Great British Sewing Bee at IMDb
• The Great British Sewing Bee at UKGameshows.com