11 reasons why The Great Pottery Throw Down is perfect TV for now
Sometimes a TV show is just right for now. Whether it’s by canny scheduling or happy accident, a series can surf the cultural wave and perfectly suit the prevailing mood.
The lurid true-crime of Tiger King and nostalgic first love of Normal People got us through the first lockdown. The identity of Line Of Duty’s corrupt cop “H” provided national talking points at a time when we desperately needed to discuss something, anything, other than Covid. The cockle-warming series of Strictly Come Dancing, won most recently by deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, saw us through the last two winters. If a TV show feels right, it is right.
So it is currently, and somewhat surprisingly, with The Great Pottery Throw Down. Over the past eight weeks, this unassuming Channel 4 craft competition has become a soothing balm for the soul, as the contestants have quietly created fantastic clay creations.
Rarely have we needed it more. These are febrile and frankly anxiety-inducing times but for 75 minutes each Sunday evening, all is right with the world.
Ahead of tonight’s semi-final, here are 11 reasons why Pottery Throw Down is perfect TV for now…
1. Weepy Keith is all of us right now
Dyslexic ex-punk Keith Brymer Jones has stealthily become one of the best talent show judges on television. A 6ft bear of a man with the heart of a pussycat, the master potter radiates passion and he’s emotion made flesh. His childlike wonder over delicate ceramics is enchanting to watch. “I get emotional,” he says, “because it’s a craft I love. It’s my life.” Keith's equivalent of a Paul Hollywood handshake is to burst into tears over a pot, and clutch its creator in a bear-hug. We’re welling up just thinking about him.
2. Inspirational contestants
Last week’s quarter-final was the most affecting episode yet. For a self-sculpture challenge, 57-year-old youth worker Christine Cherry represented a model of herself 25 years ago when she survived breast cancer.
Her design, titled “Strong”, included a hole to symbolise her missing breast. Carved into it were the words: “Never be ashamed of a scar, it shows a battle won”. Christine was crowned Potter Of The Week and the programme promptly trended even higher than usual on Twitter.
3. It’s rooted in tradition
The show is filmed at the Grade II-listed Gladstone Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, the UK’s ceramics capital since the 18th century. This former factory once exported its earthenware to all corners of the Empire. Saved from demolition in the 1970s, it was turned into a museum and heritage site. All cobbled courtyards, redbrick bottle ovens and refurbished warehouses, the evocative location is part of British industrial history. And the chimneys are something to look at, too.
4. All human life is here
This year’s potters ranged in age from 21 to 63 and hailed from all four corners of the UK. The hot favourite is non-binary AJ, joined in the final four by three women in their 50s: Christine, Anna McGurn and Lucinda Lovesey. This shouldn’t feel revolutionary but it does.
5. They’re not in it for fame
You won’t find any Pottery Throw Down alumni posing on red carpets, entering other reality contests or bidding to become an influencer. These hobbyists are in it for the craft, not the limelight. The stars are their “makes”, not the potters themselves.
Many contestants have gone on to make profitable businesses out of their hobby. Reigning champion Jodie Neale has her own range of ceramics. Prince Harry's ex Florence St George, who competed two years ago, has just launched a collaboration with jeweller Monica Vinader. Potters use the show only as a platform into the ceramics world, rather than seeking C-list celebrity.
6. It’s reassuringly familiar
With its against-the-clock challenges and one-by-one eliminations, Pottery Throw Down is a blatant rip-off of The Great British Bake Off and The Great British Sewing Bee. But that’s fine, because they’re all made by the same company, Love Productions. Over 12 years of filming these contests, they’ve honed it to a fine art. Besides, the format’s familiarity makes it even more relaxing to watch. It’s like slipping into a warm bath.
7. The show has sparked a pottery boom
There’s a make-do-and-mend self-sufficiency here that’s reminiscent of that other recent comfort-viewing hit, The Repair Shop. Watching the potters create something out of nothing and craft order from chaos is a gentle joy. It’s restorative to see such quiet skill.
The series has duly sparked a pottery boom. “The Throw Down Effect” has seen demand for potters' wheels go through the roof, clay sales rise by 40 per cent and pottery classes become over-subscribed with impossibly long waiting lists. Who needs Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in Ghost?
8. It rivals Bake Off for innuendoes
No soggy bottoms here. Although the bottoms might be messy, dirty, tidy or firm. They could even have leaky cracks or unsightly rims.
Things get slapped. The words “moist” and “hump” are bandied about. Potters grapple with distinctly phallic shapes. A fortnight ago, during an animal table lamp round, someone exclaimed: “Oh my God, that is a massive beaver.”
9. The show looks after its own
When Jones’s fellow judge, ceramicist Sue Pryke, left two years ago, producers didn’t go out and cast a fancy name. They promoted studio technician Richard Miller, aka “kiln man Rich”.
It’s been pleasing to see him step up – a little like when Anton du Beke foxtrotted from the dancefloor to the judging panel. We like to see loyal service rewarded and unsung stalwarts get their dues.
10. It’s wholesome and kind
Pottery Throw Down is the anti-Apprentice. There’s no bitching or backstabbing. No sob stories, manufactured drama or audience manipulation. Just dedicated amateurs doing their best, while displaying mutual support and camaraderie.
When things go wrong, potters muck in to help each other. When they go well, they applaud. It’s a precious hour of positivity. A reminder of humanity’s essential goodness. Even Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds is a fan.
11. The hop-a-long host is hilarious
The show is presented by Irish cult heroine Siobhán McSweeney, best known as sarky nun Sister Michael from Derry Girls. She’s warm, witty and mischievous, like Mel and Sue rolled into one. Just one snag: McSweeney badly broke her leg in two places shortly before this series began.
No problem. Comedian Ellie Taylor stood in for six weeks until McSweeney was mobile enough to appear, albeit still on crutches. There’s no rivalry here either – Taylor returns as a special guest next weekend to co-host the final. This show truly is a kiln-fired delight. And now, as McSweeney says: “Potters dismissed.”
The Great Pottery Throwdown is on Sunday 7.45pm on Channel 4
