07x10 - Episode 10

[bunniefuu]

We started with 12...
It'll be so exciting.
I'm bricking it. Absolutely bricking it!

..and, over nine weeks...

Come on! ..they produced
some scintillating ceramics.

From gorgeous gluggle jugs...
I love a muscly fish face.

You almost want to kiss them.
They look that good.

..to wonderful water features.

It looks stunning. The level
of detail, it's just beautiful.

Novelty teapots to Victorian toilets.

Fantastic!

Deep breath. Yeah. They brought
animals to life with fire...

Whoo! ..and tears of joy
to the judges.

They're wonderful. They really are.
I'll hand you over to Rich...

But each week, someone had to go.

It's OK, don't be sad.

Now for Dave...
I think "on", "on" is good.

..Dan... Oh, no, it's cracked! Nng!

..and Donna...
I was way too ambitious. Ahh!

..just two challenges remain

to decide who will be crowned
Britain's best home potter.

Welcome to the final of
The Great Pottery Throw Down!

Whoo!

Bit exciting, i'n't it?

Oh, can you believe
that the three of us are here?

To reach this year's
Throw Down final,

our three potters have travelled
very different roads.

I can't wait to make this today.
I'm absolutely buzzing.

Who is the GOAT, do you think?
Greatest of all time?

Uh-huh. It's definitely Donna.

A meticulous planner, from day one,

Donna's exquisite hand-building
and decoration

have wowed the judges.

It was a real risk
just doing one colour

and, my God,
have you pulled it off.

It's the best illustrated work
I've ever seen in the pottery.

But her lack of confidence
at the wheel...

Have we caught you
at a good time? No.

..has led to second-challenge
struggles. It's gone all wobbly.

Despite this, she's been
crowned Potter Of The Week

a remarkable five times.

I was up at the crack of dawn
this morning, super, super excited,

just full of all this
nervous energy.

Ohh... I've planned
the most crazy design.

Maybe a little ambitious.
But I do not want

to go home without that trophy.

Bring it. Oh, nice hairdo.

Looking good, Dan, looking good.

How many times have you
changed your design?

Today or..? Oh, my gosh.

Dan, the man without a plan,

has relied on instinct
to produce some incredible results.

It really does transform this wave
of porcelain. It's brilliant.

And his skill at the wheel was key

to an incredible three
second-challenge victories.

He's having the time of his life.

While decoration has sometimes
been a weak point...

Making a mess. ..week by week,
his glazing ability has grown,

leading to his first Potter Of
The Week win in the semi-final.

This is what
this whole thing's about.

It's about
you learning and it's fantastic!

It was good to win last week,
gives me a bit of confidence
going into the final.

I'd love to win. Obviously,
there's a Donna in the room!

This is a winning look, is it?
Yeah, this is a winner's look.

But I'm going to throw all I've got
into that build.

How you feeling, Dave? Ready?

This man is an engineering genius.

A natural born maker...
So I've built a canoe.

Built a canoe? Yeah. What?

..Dave has an engineer's approach
to ceramics.

This is my way of trying
to get it to stay upright.

While his skill with a brush
has sometimes been lacking,

his ability to bring stories to life
through his makes

has set him apart from the rest.

It's brilliant. It's brilliant.

Despite this, Dave has just one
Potter Of The Week win.

I've made it to the final.
I'm so excited.

But I think I'm certainly
the outsider in this.

If you were betting,
I would be long odds.

Are you in the zone? Game face on.
Stop distracting me.

Yeah, I know!

Sometimes the long odds win.

Hello, finalists. Congratulations,

you all should be very proud
of what you've achieved to get here.

Now, for your very last
main make challenge,

the judges would like you
to make a chandelier.

They want an ornate,
striking statement piece.

Now, Rich,
any tips for our finalists?

Well, your chandeliers
need to made of three parts

that will be fired separately
and fitted together for judging.

We'd like a ceiling rose,
a chain cover

and a base
that has five candleholders.

Now, this is a difficult make

because your finished piece
will require stability and balance.

So it's really going to test
your construction skills.

Now, we want your chandeliers

to tell us about you
as people and as potters.

Really showcase those decorative
and making skills in the process.

All right, then, potters,
for the very last time,

you have seven hours to make
and refine your chandelier

and your time starts...

Do you want to say it together?
- Now!

It's all exciting, innit?
It's such a big, complicated make,

I'm just hoping I remember
all the bits.

Trying to use this time
to kind of calm the nerves.

Feels amazing to be here, but
I don't think it's quite hit home

that this is what I'm doing
just yet.

I'm really hoping that I can pull
off what I've got planned today.

Feeling, uh, a bit shell-shocked.
It'll be good once I start making.

I've got the design in my head
and it's super-ambitious.

I really want to push the boat out
though.

But I don't want to sink the boat,
you know.

So, Rich, the final! Wahey!

And I think it's a really fitting
final challenge - chandeliers.

These are celebratory pieces,
aren't they?

They're beautiful, they're ornate,

but it presents a very, very
difficult challenge.

Yeah, our potters have not only
got to make something

really wonderful for us to look at,

but that main body has to be strong
enough to support those five arms.

Yeah. The arms worry me. Yeah.

It's such a technical challenge.

And we're asking our potters
not only to make a chandelier,

but to tell us something
about their life.

They could use sprigs, they could
decorate them with brushwork.

They could mark-make, incise -
I really want to get a sense

that our potters
are pushing themselves... Yeah.
..they're not playing it safe.

They want to get their hands on
that Pottery Throw Down trophy.

This is their last chance
to show us what they can do.

Hi, lovey. Hello. Hi, Donna. Hi.

How you doing? I'm really good.
I'm really excited.

I can't believe that
this is happening. Well, look,
we can believe you're here.

Thank you. So... Well deserved.

We're looking forward to seeing
what you're going to do this week.

I've, uh, got a little plan.
Wow, look at this.

Is this actual size? Yeah,
I couldn't work it out in my head.

I have to see things visually,
so I wanted to draw

the scale that it would be. Wow.

So it's based on
a Mexican tree-of-life candelabra.

Yes, yeah, yeah. Based on that idea
of the tree being strong

and having really good roots.

Built from over 100 separate pieces,

Donna will tell her life story
from budding acorn

to wife, mother and potter
through a series of thrown forms,

adorned with sprigs,
wire-hung accents

and her signature
beautiful brushwork.

It looks like a very complex form.

But it's fascinating because
you've actually given yourself

big areas to decorate. Yeah. Yeah.

Is it because you lean towards
the decoration? I...

Well, play to your strengths,
I suppose. Always.

I want to stick to the things that
I know and that I feel confident,

but a challenge for the make of it.
OK, good luck. Yeah.

Super, thank you. Thanks, Donna.

I think "on". "On" is good. "On"
is a good place to start, innit?

I'm going to start with the chain
cover because it's a big piece.

So this is the top of
the ceiling rose.

With just seven hours available,

all three potters have chosen
to throw their main pieces.

The quickest way to kind of
get these bases that I need.

But turning balls of mud
into stunning chandeliers

will test their skills to the limit.

Yeah, it's a good start.

It's an ambitious design.
It involves a lot of throwing.

Throwing is the thing
that I find most challenging,

but I want the trophy
at the end of it,

so I would regret it if I didn't
really kind of go for it.

Have you seen Donna's design?
You see it?

When did she find time to do that?

Mine's up here.

It's based on my job
as an engineer.

The general form is based around
digital signals

being converted
into analogue signals

and it's a metaphor for being
an engineer and being a potter.

Still a work in progress,
Dan's design

features three large thrown forms,

each meeting seamlessly
to create a vertical sine wave.

It'll be decorated with a film strip
depicting his life and hobbies.

His candleholders,
each dedicated to someone special,

will sit at the end
of five delicate hand-pulled arms.

So that's quite... Yeah,
it's a long pull. That a really
long pull. They're going to float.

Well, I'm going to flip the pot
over. Pull off the bottom.

Right. Come down to the table, let
them harden then flip it back up.

All five? All five of them, yeah.
And then flip them back up!

I mean, it's interesting because
I can tell that you can see it
in your head...

Yeah. ..and you know how
you want it to look.

But are you confident that
you will get everything done?

Very confident. Good!

But, look, Dan, I mean, one of
the reasons why you're here

is because you're very good
at form,

so I sincerely hope
it works for you.

This is another part
of the chain cover.

This represents university
and first teaching job in Luton.

I loved being a teacher.
It was the best job ever.

As Donna ticks off another
of her 100-plus pieces..

Feeling calmer. ..having already
remade his chain cover,

Dan's had to restart his base too.

First main body was
couple of inches too short.

I want a really delicate shape.

But it's big,
so it's quite tough to make.

Not only must the potters' bases
be beautifully thrown...

This is the bit where all
the candles are going to come up.

This is probably
the most important part.

..but robust as well.
It needs to be thrown

with enough strength
to hold the arms.

They're going to be the branches.

And Donna's not the only one
taking inspiration

from one of nature's superheroes.

It's going to be a tree.
At the end of the roots,

there will be candlesticks,
which will each represent

locations where I've put down roots.

Birkenhead, where I was born,
university in Lancaster,

played in a band, met my wife.

Cornwall, had children,

arguments about which order to put
jam and cream on your scone.

I stay out of it. I've got Cornish
children and a wife from Devon.

I mix it all up together,
so they hate me equally.

Dave's candleholders, decorated with
sprigs and detailed illustration,

will sit at the end of
twisted hand-built roots.

And sat atop a tree-trunk
chain cover is a ceiling rose,

which he'll cut away to create
his tree's branches and foliage.

This is like a thrown section
that you're cutting.

It's three thrown sections
inside each other.

Ooh. OK. That sounds interesting.

There's a lot of brown going on
here. There's a lot of brown,

but I'm putting some other features
on there - squirrels and kites
and various other bits.

This is a seriously pimped-out tree,
Dave.

I mean, there's a lot going on.
We'll see how it goes.

Well, good luck with it. Yeah, can't
wait to see it. Thanks very much.

Potters, you're halfway through.

How are you doing? On schedule.

Dave, how are you doing?
Yeah, it's going OK.

Dan? Don't have a schedule.

Bit ahead of schedule, I've still
got an absolute ton of stuff to do.

But I have finished all of the
elements that I was going to throw.

These candleholders
that I'm hand-building

are based on the umbrellas
that are in Belfast, my home city.

Whether they've chosen to hand-build
or throw their five candleholders...

They're going to be super-light
because the arms are very delicate.

..the potters must ensure that each
one is consistent in size and shape.

I need five that are
the same height.

They're boring, aren't they?

I'm going to make them more fun.
I'm going to facet it.

What you do is you just cut bits
off the clay and distort it.

You just put your finger
in the middle and make it expand.

Give us a nice spiral.

It's pretty cool.

My job as an engineer
is extremely rigid.

This is freedom to do
what you want.

Hence my complete allergy
to having a plan.

Dan's always been a creative type.
He loves pottery.

He loves passions,
ever since I've known him,

he's had hobbies
that really take over his life.

He used to make model boats
out of softwood when we were young.

He would sculpt the wood
into the shape that he wanted.

You can see when
Dan has made something

because it has his flow,
it has his lines.

And I can recognise that
from drawings when he was a child

to teapots that he makes now. Yeah.

It looks like it's come from
his hand, which is something

I'm really impressed with,
really in awe of, actually, I think.

Dan sometimes can come across like
he doesn't care about anything.

Yeah. But he does care.

I know that he's been practising
every hour behind the scenes.

Hey, Mum. What are you up to?

What are you making? Making
that teapot you asked for. Hello.

His affinity with the clay is... he
just loves it, you can see him...

Undisturbed, in the workshop
making pots. That's his ideal.

Oh, we'd love him to win it, yeah.
We're very proud of him.

Very proud of him. Very.

So this is the chain cover.

Even after you've thrown it,
there's a fair bit of work.

You've got to trim it down. It's
your opportunity to give the shape,

try and sort of symbolise
sine waves.

Ooh, I love this bit.
Do you like a bit of trimming?

It's the discipline
I find extraordinary.

I'd just keep on trimming
till I could trim no more.

It is quite fun seeing
how thin you can get.

Yeah. I want to know about your wife.

She's called Kate.
Kate, that's a nice name. Yeah.

But you met in university?
Met on the first day.

She was across the room from me and
I was a bit struck. Were you struck?

I was struck, yeah.

She's beautiful. Yeah.

Your hair's amazing there.
It's quite big hair, isn't it?

That's an out-of-focus
wedding-day photo.

That's 40 years ago.
I think it's going to work out.

We just adore each other
and we make each other laugh.

I'm excited that everybody else
is going to see

how brilliant a bloke he is.

Oh. You were always making stuff
for the kids. Their own car.

We were quite young parents.

He stayed at home
and looked after the kids.

I'd come home from work
and they'd made paper-mache masks

or some potato print.

He was such an amazing dad.

We spent all day every day
playing around the house.

Yeah, didn't sit in front of the TV,

it was always making, doing,
playing.

Exactly the grandad he is as well.
Yeah, yeah.

Vienna comes home with all sorts
that they've made.

Exhausted, filthy, covered in clay.
She adores him.

Do you think Grandad's
going to win? Yeah. Oh!

Could happen.
You just never know, do you?

I'm planning out the arms
of the chandelier,

the roots.
It's quite rough at the moment,

but I'm confident that I'll be able
to turn it into a thing of beauty.

So quiet in here today.
Everybody's hyper-focused.

I am just starting to put the arms
on the base.

There's going to be little figures
of the children

and of my family
on each of these branches.

The most important thing
in my life is family,

but it's been a long time since
I did anything that was just for me.

Donna had done ceramics as a degree

and then was a teacher
and a very good teacher.

She's been mum for a long time.
She's been an amazing wife to me.

And never went back to ceramics.

Me and Donna have been together
since 2000,

I've not seen her touch clay
or do any sort of pottery.

I think life just got in the way,
you know.

It was only last year
when she bought her first wheel.

She just fell in love with it again.

Doing this has been the best thing
that has ever happened for her.

This is all about doing something
for herself.

Nothing for me, nothing for the kids
and I think that's just important.

I think that's really important that
she can have something like that.

Yeah. Sorry.

Before Donna left Belfast to
take part in this year's Throw Down,

she and Rob made the decision

to keep it a secret
from their three children.

Donna and I have always expressed
to the kids that,

you know, nothing's impossible.
Things may be difficult,

there might be challenges but,
you know, you guys can do anything.

And I think when the kids
watch this, they'll realise that,

you know what? Mum's proved it.
It's not just empty words,

it really can be done.

Donna's life revolved
around her family

and we're just so happy that she's
able to shine now, this is her time.

To get to the final
is absolutely amazing

and we couldn't be more proud.

I just feel really, really happy
and really content.

This programme is very special,

I don't think people realise
just how special it is.

What this has done
is really affirmed

that this is what I want to do,
this is what I should've been doing.

I'm not going to let it go again.

Potters, that's five hours gone,
two hours remaining.

I'm just getting some sprigs
on the go.

Takes time to turn them round,
so I just want to get them in.

I've got a set of cars.

This is the ceiling rose.
The little acorn.

Trying to work as fast as I can
because I want to get on

as much decoration as I can.
I want to impress.

I want a really clean shape,
so I'm not using sprigs,

I'm just carving decoration in,
repeating patterns.

You weren't Potter Of The Week
last week. I know.

Do you know what?
I was very happy for Dan.

Thanks for lending me your crown
for a week!

Right, so I've got the waves. Next
step is to do the arms. Terrifying.

Getting some texture into
the tree trunk. Need me squirrels.

So I'm trying to just make sure
that these candle arms

are going to be strong enough
to hold the candles.
This is crucial to my build.

We're just admiring
your bravery, Dan.

Yeah? It's either bravery
or stupidity.

Brr!

Started to add on
these little hanging bits.

Still got quite a bit to do. What
bit of the chandelier will this be?

It'll go like that. It's going to be
the canopy layer of the tree.

There's quite a bit of work
still to do on it.

Are you behind already?
Yes, I'm well behind.

This hole is for the rod.

All of the pieces kind of hang down
from this.

Right, so I think that is it
for that piece.

So what do you have left to do?
Stick it in the drying room

so that I can flip it up once
it's dry. Cup of tea, feet up.

OK. Yeah. Is it going to work,
do you think?

No. No. Not a chance. OK.

Oh, no, it's cracked! Nng!

There we go. There's the risk.

Oh, Dan. I really need
to be getting on to the next bit.

Did not need this.

Lovely potters, final half-hour.
Half an hour left.

Ooh. That's not long, is it? No.

Oh, my goodness. Right.

Cracked candle arm repaired,
Dan's base hits the drying room.

If it's not fully firmed up
when it's time to flip,

he could be presenting
an armless chandelier.

Just, yeah,
all the heat in the world.

Cars are on. Now I'm going
to move on to the roots.

I'm really, really nervous
about attaching

fragile candlestick holders
to very fragile bits.

I'm trying to just get
all of the hanging bits on.

Just trying to get everything on
so that when it comes to

the decoration, I don't have
an absolute hill to climb.

Falling a little bit behind.
A lot of work to do. Not rushing.

Potters, final ten minutes.

Right. I'm adding some roots
on the base.

I want to make it look like
what's under a tree.

This is the last bit. Trim this,
get that base piece, flip it over.

I was obviously way too ambitious
and I thought that

I would get loads more on
that what I've actually got on.

I'm going to do some flipping.
Would you like Dave? Dave?

Let's do it. What's the plan?

Flipping it over, so it needs to go
onto the kiln shelf.

I just don't want any of them
to snap.

Almost there.

Put that back down
before I tempt fate.

Maybe it'd be easier just...
Just to pick the thing up?

All right, all right, all right.
Hang on.

What? Yeah.

Wow. Wow.

Yeah, cool.
One minute left, the final minute.

Please make it two!

Please start bringing things
into the drying room.

Oh, it looks great.

Oh, marvellous, Dave.

Dan! Five, four...

You all right, Dave? I've just got
this board to take in.

..three... Ahh!

Ohh... Wow, well done.

Oh... Back to your benches! Two...

..one. Well done, well done,
well done, well done!

That's it, that is the end
of your making.

Oh, my good...

I am an emotional wreck.

I'm gutted. I'm gutted
that's all over.

Oh, yeah, I've just... I've
just loved every minute of this,

it's been the most incredible,
incredible thing I've taken part in.

That was awesome, guys.

I just wanted to give it
as much as I could.

I feel like I've done that.
There are bits I didn't get to do,

I didn't have the time,
but I know I can pull that back

in the decoration.
So, yeah, I'm... I'm really happy.

Got a lot done. What's concerning
me is it's a complicated make.

Complicated makes
are tricky to fire.

These roots and candlesticks -

will all the elements
come through OK?

I went in today
with lots of questions
about what I was going to make

and really pleased
with how it's come out,

but there is a risk
that the handles will pop,

so, yeah, there's mega risk there.

It's the final of
The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Ahh!

And, hiding beneath the hessian...

What's that?
..is the second challenge

that will help decide our winner.

I'm going to beat you in this one.
Are you? Yeah.

Welcome back, potters,
to your very last second challenge.

And this week, it is a throw down.

Yay!

This week, the judges would like you
to throw off the hump

and make multifaceted bowls.

Off we go, Keith, thank you. Right.
So you'll be throwing off the hump,

so you've got quite a large
piece of clay to start with.

I kind of throw it in sections,
so I'll throw the top bit.

Once I feel that's centred,
I just grab a bit more

and, gradually, you've centred
the whole lump of clay.

I'm now going to go down
through the middle.

Don't make the sides really thin

because you need that clay
on the outside

to really cut away those facets.

I guess if the clay's too thin,
you risk "faceting" it up.

Wow.

He's not even sorry.

You get your harp
and I'm just cutting the clay down

underneath the rim.
So this is the faceting?

Yeah. Make sure that
they're all the same thickness.

Now, you don't really want
to disturb that outside of the bowl.

So you have to kind of throw
from the inside.

You really need to keep
the pressure even

to make that bowl shape.

And then just follow that tool
as it goes underneath the bowl

and raise it off the hump.
So what we're looking for

is as many as bowls as you can do.

Nice, fluent bowl shape
on the inside.

Those facets are clean,
we want a nice clean rim

and we want a clean base
when you take that off.

Fantastic.
Back to your benches, please.

Dan, how are you feeling, considering
you've done this in your make?

Quietly confident. Well, that would
make a nice change, the quietness.

Erm...

OK, potters, you have been given


To produce one?

To make as many multifaceted bowls
as possible

and your time starts,
for the very last time,

now!

Ohh!

I am really happy
that this is the last challenge.

Right, OK.
Let's see what we're doing.

Can't get the bloody thing centred.
For the first one,

I'm going to try and make it
a good one.

Quality all the way for me.
I'm going to beat Dan!

You all right there, Donna?
I'm getting there, I think.

It is actually quite similar
to my candleholders.

Oh, Dave's going in
with his first facet.

Are you going bottom
to top or top to bottom?

I was doing bottom to top -
is that a radical departure?

Whoa! That's crazy.
I'd go top to bottom.

Shall I start again?

So what do you reckon the trickiest
bit is? I think, actually,

it's not cutting the facets,

it's actually getting
the basic shape right
to be able to cut the facets.

It's not very bowly yet,
but we're getting there.

Lovely. Not lovely.
Lovely. Not lovely at all.

Harder than you think, innit?
Yeah, and the variety of approaches

is just facet-inating. Yea...

I'm really trying, Siobhan.

I'm afraid that I'm going to
take out the bottom when I go.

Just go well underneath. We'll
give it a bash. Give it a bash.

It's not as good as Keith's,
obviously,

but it's all right.
Is it a bit bigger?

Two fingers, gently.
Pulling on either side very gently,

very gently. Am I helping you? Yeah.

It's a big help.

Ahh... It's a little bit
on the short side.

But the next one's
going to be great.

Halfway through!

Dan's on his second one.
It's quality as well as quantity.

Need it a bit taller.
That's a better shape now, Donna.

Yeah, I'm much happier
with this one.

Oh, well done. They look great.

Nice one, Dan, well done.

They're not
similar. They're not similar.

OK. I'll back away.
They're not similar.

Oh, come on, you so and so.

Oop.

I think they are improving. Really
want to win it, really want to win.

Much longer left? Don't worry,
Dave. You've got plenty of time.

Five minutes left!

You've got one, two, three, four...
Time for another two.

Yes, Siobhan. That's the spirit.
Two more. Yoo!

Come on, let's get a proper one out.
Facet, facet!

Oh, it's so bloody hard.

Ohh...

One minute, final minute left, guys!

What? Is it enough time
to do one more?

If they're really facet
with the wheel. Oh...

It's gone a bit thin.


Oh, [BLEEP].
And it's lost the rim as well. Ahh!

Throwing that one away.
Think it's too late, innit?

Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five... Ahh!

..four, three, two, one!

Tools down! Well done.
Step away from your humps.

Your lovely pottery humps.

The judges are looking for identical,

fabulously faceted bowls
with neat rims and clean bottoms.

And Keith's bucket of doom is on
hand for any that fail to deliver.

Hello, Dave. Hello.

So how did you find that?
I started off badly.

Yes. I did improve a little bit.

They're all a bit small,
aren't they?

They're just disappointing,
aren't they? Well, you know,

the facets are quite clean.
The rims not so much.

No. And it's not even worth
talking about that one

because it's actually not a bowl.
It's got a hole in it. So...

But they are consistent in size.
Yeah, this one isn't.
That's going in as well.

The inside of the bowl's got
quite a nice curve to it though.

Yeah, I'll give you that, but
if you'd just finished off that rim,

it would've helped,
but not a bad effort though.

I think they look lovely. Do you?
Yeah. Are you the proper judge?

Let's face it, I'm the real power
behind the throne here.

Jolly good.

How did you find that, then?
I thought I did rather well.

This was the first one. Yeah.
That was the last one.

That's almost half the lump
of clay, isn't it? Yeah.

Let's just have a look at that one.
Oh. Oh, no. Oh, dear.

Oh, no... That one's hopeless.
That one's bloody hopeless as well.

Yeah, but nice bowl shape there.
Nice even rim.

Perhaps a little variety in terms
of the width, but same height.

You've got a style there
of cleanliness

that we've seen in your main makes
as well, so not a bad effort at all.

So have you done this before?

No, I've never tried it before.
It's really good to do!

I mean, what were the chances, eh?

Yeah, I mean, we noticed that,
when you were throwing,

you were going quite fast, so
you've got that twist on that facet.

This one particularly
went pretty quick! Yeah.

Yeah. I quite like that one.
No, I don't like that one.

The rim was a bit uneven
on that one.

But, yeah, they look very clean
at the bases,

you've trimmed them off nicely.
That rim is really nice.

I think that's a really good effort.
Thank you.

Thanks.
You jammy, jammy, jammy potter.

The judges will now rank

the finalists' faceted bowls
from bottom to top.

So, in third place, we have...

..Dave. Just a bit messy on
those bases as you took them off

and a bit on the small side.
But a really good effort.

Thanks. So, in second place...

..Donna. Just those bases
slightly on the wide side,

but really nicely finished off
and a nice smooth bowl shape

on the inside.
Really good effort, well done.

Oh, he's going to be unbearable.

So, in first place - Dan.

Well done, Dan.
Really lovely size, nice facets,

interesting rims, really well done.
Cheers, cheers. Thanks.

That is his favourite thing to do,

like, literally, his favourite thing
to do is to facet on the wheel.

Oh, I can't believe it.

Hmm, very lucky.

Kind of makes up for my lack
of Potters Of The Week a bit.

I do love a bit of faceting.

Oh, I didn't half muck that up.
Aghh!

Onwards and upwards.
But it's the last week, you know,

so there's only a little bit more
to go. So that's the concern.

Ahh..

It's day two of the final make

..and the potters' chandeliers
are emerging from Rose's kiln,

having undergone a bisque firing.

Now it's time for decoration.

Excited, want to get going, I am
attempting stuff with the decoration

that I would never have done before.

It's the big one, got to make it
spectacular as much as I can.

This is probably the most worried
I've been about the decoration.

It's ambitious. I want to get
as much of my story in there
as possible.

Just that anxiousness -

I'm looking forward to not having
that feeling any more.

First-week nerves again.

Yeah, really nervous.
Find out whether they survived,

my delicate arms, whether
they're still holding hands
at the end or not.

But if it comes out and they're all
attached, I'm in with a good shot.

All right, then, potters,

your chandelier pieces
have been bisque-fired

and are ready for decoration.
Rich, any advice?

Your chandeliers are still
in separate pieces.

Remember, these are going
to come together

as a stunning statement centrepiece
after the gloss firing.

Bear this mind with your decoration
and make sure it's coherent enough

to bring all of those
separate pieces together.

Now, your chandeliers have lots
of fiddly and ornate parts to them

that are going to make decoration
difficult.

So take time and use
those glazing oxides wisely

to make the most of all that
lovely detail you've created.

OK, potters, you have
a range of glazes and oxides

and four and a half hours
with which to use them.

Your time starts... now.

Potters, get decorating.

Oh, wow.

Ooh.

Dan, how that survived,
I do not know.

It's amazing.

It's brilliant. One tiny crack.
One little one, but amazing.

Quite happy with that,
no major problems.

One of me little roots came off,
but I didn't really like it anyway.

Oh, no.

Gosh, I've got a few wee cracks
in mine.

Have you?
Yeah, just where I've joined,

but everything's still intact
so I've got a lot of decorating.

I'm going to just try and be
as focused as I was

during the make stage
and get it all done.

How's it going, Dave? Lovely.
Yeah? Yeah.

Just getting your artistic juices
flowing. That's it.

To help show off their chandeliers,
the potters have a huge range

of underglazes and oxides
at their fingertips.

So I need a light green,
a dark green,

a blue, I need the pink
and a red and a brown.

And Donna plans to use
as many as she can

to help tell her tree-of-life story.

I want them to see that
I'm not a one-trick pony -

the one colour in different tones.

But I feel a wee bit anxious
about it,

I want to make it look like
it's all one piece

rather than separate pieces and
I don't want it to be too garish.

But before she starts
her technicolour treatment,

Donna's mapping out every stroke
of her brush.

I'm going to just draw on
all of the pieces

on each of the layers
using the carbon paper.

Everything has been planned out.

I didn't want to come in today and
wing it, not in the final, no way.

I haven't done that all through,
so I'm not going to start now.

That's your brown, is it? I'm doing
a fairly light, almost pinky brown.

And, conscious of Keith's concerns,
Dave's taking care

to add depth to his tree's
brown roots and bark.

I want it to be a base colour

and then I'm going to be
rubbing this back

so the brown will only sit in the
places where I've engraved into it.

So there's not going to be
any blocks of colour on this.

Hey, Dan. Whoa!
Big relief. It's in one piece.

Look at that. It's fabulous. Yeah.
And is it fully intact?

One little crack
on one of the handles.

But it doesn't look too major.
So it's all good.

Ohh. So what is your plan
with the decoration?

I'm presuming there is a plan.

There is, it's only taken
until the very last week.

I'll take these frames
that I've made,

I'm going to get the print to go
across the pieces like that. Right.

Wow. And join it up, then paint in
little scenes from my life.

Like a film, effectively. OK.
And then put some flags

from where my family live.
You've given yourself quite a task,

I mean, there's a lot to do.
There is, yeah.

All right, good luck. Cheers, Rich.

Potters, that's one hour gone.

Right. The only problem
with the print

is you only get one chance,
so I'm nervous, yeah.

Gaining pace a bit now.
Once I've got the base colours on,

I'm going to start doing
the candlesticks.

I've got a lot of really,
really fine paintwork to do.

Got all the drawing done,
I'm just going to start

with the painting now.
Just really worried about lifting it

with all these bits
that I've put on.

Oh, [BLEEP].

Ohh, it's going to be
one of those days.

Oh, that's cool.
Let's get painting. Little bicycle.

This represents my triathlon
in North Wales with my mate.

I broke down halfway through and
he stopped and fixed my bike for me.

I'm trying to add a little bit
of shading just to make it
feel three-dimensional.

I haven't risked this before
because I've been scared of it.

I have been putting off
doing the big, important pictures

and I can't put it off any more,
I don't think.

I've never been much of a painter,
but over the course

of these last few weeks,
I've really found a joy in it.

Starting to add all the details.
This is the chain cover.

This one is about Rob and I
when we got married.

We got married 17 years ago.

He's just a really brilliant human,
so he is.

I was really lucky.

Although, I do think
he struck gold as well.

So are these the film of your life?
Yeah,

so we've got some engineering,
university stuff, got a dolphin...

That's when you were a dolphin?
That's when I was a dolphin.

We had dolphins down in Weymouth.
That's when you were an octopus.

It's supposed to be
a Welsh dragon, that one.

What is it? A Welsh dragon?

Potters, that's one hour left.

How are you getting on?

Not good.

Full-scale panic mode here.
I'm trying to get the pattern on

because that's what is going
to tie it all together.

Got all the cells filled in, now
it's flag time. Trying not to panic.

I've got one more detailed picture

and then I've got a lot of texture
to put on, so I'm up against it.

It's too much,
I just give myself too much to do.

But as much as it looks like
I'm stressing out,

I am enjoying it.
I'm doing this for me,

I'm doing this for my children.

I'm always saying to them,
"Nice things don't happen

"if you don't put yourself
out there." But I've never
shown them me doing that.

I don't want to walk away from here
and say, "I could've done more."

Ten minutes left, potters.
Ten minutes.

No...

I'm just putting on some oxides

to use texture on the tree trunks
and the roots.

I'm also going to use oxides
on the canopy.

Going over the carving.

I'm just rubbing it back
to reveal the detailing.

How is this looking? Yeah, I'm quite
happy with how it's turning out.

Good. Just worried about how
much blue there is sploshing about.

I've got to get this finished,
but get it finished well.

Right, OK. Glaze.

Dipping their decorated pieces
in transparent glaze

will not only ensure
their colours pop...

...but will create a shiny surface

to help reflect
their chandelier's candlelight.

One minute remaining, guys.

Start wiping those bottoms
for the very last time.

I'm going to flick some oxides on
because if you don't spend your time

flicking oxides on something,
you feel like you haven't lived.

How are you doing?
Are you nearly done?

Panic. My candles will not fit in

if there's any glaze on the inside.

Ten, nine,

eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one,

tools down, step away
from your benches.

Oh, my gosh.

Well done. Brilliant. Awesome.

Yeah, that's it. Finished.

Felt I got a lot done.
My brush skills,

I was really trying ever so hard
not to have the wobbly hand,

but, you know, you always think
you can do better.

I think, generally speaking,
there'll be a lot of it

that I'll be happy with
and, er, maybe a few bits

that I'll... I'll need to not look at
too closely, you know.

That was a huge amount
of decoration to do.

So much. I was really happy
with the little paintings.

Hopefully, my piece is good enough
to be a winning piece.

Maybe. Don't know.

I'm feeling a bit deflated.

Final time. Yeah.

I kind of wish I'd have stuck
to just one colour.

But there's nothing I can do now.

It's in the hands of the kiln gods
and then in the hands of the judges.

So I just have to wait and see
and hopefully I've done enough.

The chandeliers have had
their final gloss firing...

..and for the potters,
there's nothing more they can do.

I'm hoping that
it's all come out bright,

colourful, that it's not too garish.

Rose is smiling. Hello, potters.
Morning.

I just can't believe that I've got
to here. It feels... awesome.

Yeah, really nervous
to see how it all went.

Terrible dreams about it,
like that blue on the edge.

Hope it's a bit faded off
and it doesn't look like I've...

..rubbed it in with my fingers
or something. Ohh...

I'm looking forward to seeing it.
I didn't make it dark

because Keith said he didn't want
that much brown on it.

That's what was worrying me
at three in the morning.

Now of course, I'm just like,
"Oh, come on,

"let's just get the thing out.
Let's have a look."

Right, Dave. OK. All right.

I am relieved
and it still looks tree like.

Yeah. Yeah, so, phew.

Donna. Ooh.
Oh, I'm well pleased with that.

Fantastic. Yeah.

Oh, that's made me feel
a bit emotional.

Right, Dan. Ooh, it worked.

Nice. Wow. The blue worked.

And I got the little illustrations
in. Yeah, well done.

It's awesome! It's really worked.

Yep, very, very happy.

That's fabulous, yep.
Just got to get it up these stairs!

Potters, your chandeliers
look amazing.

Well done, you should be very proud
of yourselves.

I suppose there's nothing else for it
- will we start with the judging?
Absolutely.

All right.

Hi, Dave. Hello. Well, Dave,

I think it's the best thing
you've made in the pottery.

Wow.

We've seen from you
time and time again

the wonderful narrative
that you put into your designs

and this is wonderful.

There's a real subtlety
in the decoration.

I'm loving the oxide, that reaction
with that underglaze.

I love the mark-making on the trunk,
you know,

I think that captures the light
in a really beautiful way.

And because you've wiped it back,
it doesn't look too brown.

It doesn't look too heavy.

The piercing, I think,
is an absolute triumph.

A tree-m. I... A tree-m...

Erm, it does slightly concern me

that you can kind of see
all of the fixings.

It would've perhaps been nice
to have had something

to go underneath
just to cover that up.

But I just admire the ambition
that's gone into this.

Yeah. You've got the sprigs.
I mean,

the squirrels running
round the trunk are so fun.

The illustrations
are just beautiful.

You've really, really gone for it.

Do you feel like you've grown
as a potter?

I think I've discovered stuff
that I can attempt with pottery

that I would never have dreamed
of attempting. Yeah,

and I think the more, ha...

..the more you do something creative
and you live and learn,

it gives you that extra confidence
to do bolder makes

and you can't get much bolder
than this.

And you should be really, really
proud of it because it's fantastic.

Yeah, it's wonderful. Really
well done. Thanks ever so much.

Well done, lovey. Thanks.

Hi, lovey. Hello. Hi, Donna.

So how do you feel about it?
I am really proud of it.

Well, Donna. Yeah...

Ha! You bloody should be.
It's fantastic.

It's so colourful, it's so cheerful

and it's so of you. It's wonderful.

Yeah, completely. I mean,
the thing that I admire

most about you, Donna, is, every
week, you've just pushed yourself.

You had a clear plan
and you just went for it.

I love all of the extruded sections
and the way you've used the colour

and the decoration
to kind of draw those together.

But then you've got leaves
that are kind of stuck on...

Yeah. ..and some that are put in
with nichrome so they move,

so it just draws your eye around it
in such a wonderful way.

It's the way that you work
with the clay.

Everything is beautifully
finished off.

OK, there's a couple of cracks,
but they're minor, minor cracks.

What's your favourite part? Bristol.
I like the bits that are hanging.

The danglies.
Yeah, the danglies, yeah.

It creates movement, doesn't it...
Yeah, ..within the chandelier?

You've managed to create
the most spectacular centrepiece.

That was a bag of mud.
Yeah. And because of your brain

and your skills,
you've created this.

And I just love your story, how
you've come back to doing pottery

after that first realisation
that you wanted to do it.

It's wonderful.
It's just really wonderful.

You should be so proud of yourself.
Thank you. You really should.

Yeah. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Well done. Super.

Hi, lovey. Hi.
So, Dan, pleased with it?

Yeah, yeah. Thrown everything at it.

You do have incredible skills
with the clay.

The throwing and the pulling
on those handles

and the way they join onto
that central section is exquisite.

And what we've seen from you is
your ability to manipulate the clay,

sometimes completely defying
the... Laws of physics.

The laws of physics, yeah. You know,

when you were turning
that main structure...

Mm. Still... Yeah.
I still feel it in the...

He hasn't slept since.
He wakes up going, "No, no!"

Yeah, I mean, you had in your mind
what you were doing

and it's paid off -
the arms and the candleholders

are an absolute triumph, but I
sort of feel a bit like the middle,

although beautifully made
and has a lovely flowing line,

sort of doesn't quite capture
the same energy.

But, you know, the decoration
is such a leap forward -

it's beautiful, it's got subtlety,
it really speaks of your narrative.

I really, really like the film strip

and I love these candleholders
and that twisted form

and the way you've incorporated
the flags in them.

It's really beautiful. Yeah. Cheers.
Well done.

Really well done. Thank you.

That was pretty good.
With the, er, delicacy of the arms.

But it's hard because you only hear
the negative stuff about the shape.

I did put everything I could
into it, so nothing else I can do.

The state of the base of
that chandelier, absolutely right,

but there were
lots of lovely comments.

The narrative they picked out on,

we had a little tear from Keith

and that's always a nice thing,
isn't it?

I couldn't have hoped
for better with that.

That feedback
was absolutely amazing.

I don't think they realise just how
much confidence that has given me.

Hopefully, they've seen in me
someone that is worthy of winning,

but Dave and Dan made
really extraordinary pieces today.

So I definitely think they've got
a tough decision ahead of them.

Keeping everything crossed. Yep.

What a final.
This has been so brilliant.

And do you know
what I particularly like

is, looking at those three
chandeliers, you totally know

who had done what. And I truly
believe they've all made their best.

You know, Dave's, it's the best
thing he's done in the pottery.

It was wonderful. The way
he created that tree trunk

and the roots,
they were really beautiful

and they weren't too brown...
No, no, no.

And then there was lots of lovely,
subtle, playful elements

that he'd added in -
the squirrels... It's so sweet!

It just had bags of character
and charm. Amazing.

We have to talk about Donna.
Her chandelier - oh, my gosh.

I was a bit blown away by Donna's.

It just had so many techniques
on display.

The quality of the brushwork
and the decoration... Yep.

The colour just carried across
all of the sections.

She plans out what she's going to do

and she then methodically
goes through it.

She really wanted to push herself
and it's paid off.

Yeah. But, then, Dan, his chandelier
was extraordinary on so many counts,

mainly the technical aspects
of the build.

But credit to him, he managed it

and he built in
the most beautiful fluidity.

I mean, he just has an affinity
for the material.

We've seen from Dan,
he has really learnt a lot.

The ability to decorate
with underglazes,

which was a real weak point of his.
But she's shown us real subtlety.

It's wonderful. So do you know
who's going to be winner

of The Great Pottery Thrown Down?

Yeah. Yeah, I think we do.
Yeah? Well, that's great

because I can hear friends and family
coming.

I'll see you out there.

Oh, Vienna, are we going to see
Grandad?

As our finalists await
the judges' decision...

How many candles are there?
One, two,

three, four, five. Yeah!

There's me and your daddy.

..their family, friends and the past
potters are here to cheer them on.

Oh, it's really lovely to be back,
seeing everyone,

and you've made it look so pretty!
All the lanterns!

I mean, it's magical. It's just
great to see people. Yeah.

Absolutely fantastic. It's like
coming back to see my family again.

You know, it's really nice.

Straight away, looking at their
work, you can tell whose is whose,

they've got their style
in their pieces.

Oh, and the upside down...
Upside down umbrellas.

I think Donna would be my winner.
From the very beginning,

she's been my inspiration, like,
she's just an amazing potter.

I knew Dan's would be the biggest,
just because he loves throwing.

He's blossomed into a wonderful
person and a really good potter,

so I would like to see Dan win.
I would very much like Dave to win,

just for us over-60s!

Hello!

Hello!

Look at their little one! Hello!

Welcome!

And a special welcome
to our lovely past potters.

Look at you all. Fantastic.

Now, without any further delay,

please give a very warm welcome
to our finalists -

Dan, Donna and Dave. Come on down!

Hello, potters, and thank you so much

for your incredible hard work.
I hope you're proud of yourselves.

The results are in.

The judges have made their decision.

The winner of The Great Pottery
Throw Down is...

..Donna. Congratulations!

Well done.

Well done!

Oh, well done!

Well, well done!

Well deserved. Well deserved.

Here we go, this is yours.
Congratulations. Thanks, Rich.

I can't... I just
can't believe that I've got it.

It feels amazing.

Really amazing.

I love you!

I really wanted to go home with this
and I can't believe I have it
in my hand.

I feel really proud of myself.

This is my second chance and I'm
going to grip it with both hands.

Yeah, this is going to be the start
of something for me.

Oh, Donna is a fabulous person
and an amazing potter,

so it's really well deserved.

Donna and I had a really nice,
kind of fun - I'll say rivalry,

but she's beaten me every week.

It's been really fun
being challenged by Donna

and knowing that she's going to make
something amazing every week

and just desperately trying
to match her level.

She plans meticulously,

she's got a fantastic vision
of what she wants to make

and she's got all the skills
to realise that vision.

Brilliant, well done. Thank you.

I think she's so well deserved
as the winner.

Donna, you are a living testament

to picking up where you left off,

following your passion,
following your dreams.

Donna, you're wonderful.

Well done.

Donna never held back
and she always pushed herself.

But in that final, she gave us
what she knew she was good at

and, boy, did she give it to us.

Well done, lovey.

Her attention to detail
and the discipline

and her decoration
has just been sublime
throughout the whole process.

Congratulations. Well done.

From that roast-dinner set
in week one

with the exquisite red decoration

through to the end, she's challenged
herself and it has paid off.

And I just hope winning
The Great Pottery Throw Down

is that boost that she needs
to reinvigorate her life with clay.

My kids are going to see me
at the end of this,

I'm going to get to see their faces
when they see

that I have... I am coming home
with the trophy.

It's just amazing.

Like, look what I did!

This is for your guys
and I love youse very much.

Who is that?! Ohh!

Have a guess where I've been.

Meanwhile, this spring...

Yay! ..a completely different
challenge... Ow.

..for our man Keith...
I'll try not to get too emotional.

..and partner Marge... Ughh...

..an abandoned Welsh chapel...

Kilns over there.
..and a monumental dream.

It will be lovely.
It's just not lovely yet.