The Great Pottery Throw Down is back!

Judges, presenter and 12 new potters in The Great Pottery Show Down 2022

I love The Great Pottery Throw Down. It's the televisual equivalent of real comfort food on cosy evenings in winter.

The good news is that they have managed to film the fifth series in the Gladstone Pottery Museum (part of Stoke on Trent Museums), despite you know what (as 'you know what' now seems to called to avoid being "filtered" and/or "moderated")

It starts this evening (Sunday 2nd January 2022) at 7.45pm on Channel 4

Here's who's participating - 

• the Judges Keith Brymer Jones and Rich Miller are same as last year - as is the kiln technician Rose Schmits
• but they've got a new presenter - Ellie Taylor has replaced Siobhán McSweeney (who replaced who Melanie Sykes who replaced Sara Cox) and 
• 12 new potters who are for a challenge or two - and you can read about who they are and their backgrounds and experience in this article. See if you can pick a winner just from the descriptions!

The first two challenges are to throw:

• a children’s crockery set and 
• ceramic milk bottles!

As I commented in March last year

What I like about this programme

• it's a genuinely "feel-good" programme. Very Sunday evening family entertainment - of the educational and involving kind.
• It has lots of very nice people all working very hard - and collaboratively - to do the best they can. Absolutely no bitching!!
• Both Judges are very experienced and highly skilled practitioners. (see the websites of master potter Keith Brymer Jones and ceramics expert Rich Miller) I'm a big fan of this series because they take both their professional occupations and "Judging" seriously.
• Participants all vary in their experience and skill levels but virtually all have a significant level of knowledge and skill which allows them to participate in the various "make" challenges during the series.
• Every series you can see potters getting better and better as they apply themselves to the challenges (known as "going on a journey"). Soon you begin to see who are the ones who might make it all the way to the end of the series - based on their application, experience, skills and creative imagination
• The presenter was excellent light relief without having an ego which meant she tried to make the programme about her
• who went home every week got more and more difficult to predict as the series progressed - and there were some real surprises.

In the meantime for those not familiar with the series, you can 

• watch all the previous episodes in 2020 and 2021 on demand including via your via desktop
• follow the show on
• Facebook
• Twitter

Previous posts about The Great Pottery Throw Down

• Current Art Shows on Channel 4 (March 2021)
• The Great Pottery Throwdown starts tonight (January 2021)
• Third series of The Great Pottery Throw Down on Channel 4 (January 2020)
• Book Review - The Great Pottery Throw Down (March 2017)
• The Great Pottery Throwdown - Series 2 starts tonight (February 2017)

Plus my previous post about The Ceramics Gallery at the V&A.