The Great Pottery Throw Down
Contents |
Host
Sara Cox (2015-17)
Melanie Sykes (2020-)
Co-hosts
Judges:
Keith Brymer-Jones (all series)
Kate Malone (2015-17)
Sue Pryke (2020-)
Broadcast
Love Productions for BBC Two, 3 November 2015 to 23 March 2017 (14 episodes in 2 series)
Love Productions for More4, 8 January 2020 to present
Synopsis
Following the success of The Great British Bake Off, and shows about baking, sewing, hairdressing, gardening, and many many more, the latest traditional craft to get a competitive series is pottery.
Clay sculptors are tested on various competences, with Sara Cox from Radio 2 as host.
The assembled cast of series 2Each episode features one main make, and while the potters are waiting for their work to dry there are two other rounds: the throw down which involves making something on the potter's wheel (often several of the same thing within a time limit) and the spot test in which the contestants are given something already made to decorate or otherwise embellish.
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Champions
| 2015 | Matthew Wilcock |
| 2017 | Ryan Barrett |
Key moments
Judge Keith Brymer-Jones getting tearful at a particularly good make. To the extent that it's become this show's equivalent of GBBO's "Hollywood handshake" and in the second series, several contestants mentioned a specific ambition to make him cry.
Theme music
The original opening theme was "I Can't Explain" by The Who, replaced for series 2 with "Making Time" by The Creation, which survived to the More4 revival.
The show also has an original score by Bake Off composer Tom Howe, which is more prominent since the channel-hop. Previously it had been mostly sidelined in favour of various 60s and 70s rock songs (still used to a lesser extent in the More4 version) and tracks from the album Acid Brass by the Williams-Fairey Brass Band.
Trivia
During series 2, Johnny Vegas appeared as a guest judge for a "throw down", challenging the contestants to make five teapots in five minutes. Also making a guest appearance in that series was former Dancing on Ice pro skater Sylvain Longchambon, who modelled for the spot test in the final.
After a few years lost in television history, Throw Down followed another of Love Productions' shows, The Great British Bake Off, to Channel 4. Episodes premiered on More4 on Wednesday nights, repeated on Channel 4 the following weekend.
