04x01 - Cheese Set & Port Chalices

[bunniefuu]

Hello, there. Good to see you.
We have a new home:

the glorious
Gladstone Pottery Museum.

I've been dusting off
the potter's wheel

and disinfecting everything.

Keith has even
washed his hankies.

And I am now new head
of social distancing.

Actually, get back. Yeah.

Do you know what?

We can get a little bit closer

because the potters,
the judges and moi

have been living in a
bubble 24-7 here in Stoke.

- Morning, judges.
- Morning.

What can possibly go wrong--
Sorry, Rose.

Welcome to the new series

of The Great Pottery
throw Down.

We've searched across
the country

to find 12 of the nation's
finest home potters.

My family said,
"You should go for it."

Now I'm actually here, I'm like,

"Oh, my goodness. Now I
actually have to do it."

One thing I
have learned is,

unless you go for it,
nothing's gonna change.

So I'm just going for it.

Oh, God.

Okay, nervous. I'm nervous.

To save this year's
Great Pottery Throw Down,

they've agreed to leave
their loved ones

to live and work together
in our very own potters'
bubble.

As a potter, often
you're working on your own,

whereas here you've got
people to bounce ideas off.

There's so much energy.

Each week,
they'll be asked

to transform lumps of clay

into unique and
beautiful ceramics.

I'm quite
nervous now,

but just sit me at that wheel,

and the stresses will disappear.

Sometimes you just sit
at the wheel,

you're connected,
everything works.

You never know.

Everything they
conjure up will be judged

by maverick master potter
Keith Brymer Jones.

Obviously, this has been
a bit of a year.

I just wonder if I'm gonna get

even more emotional
than ever before,

because it does feel
like a real family.

You've done
really, really well.

My father said, "Make sure
you make him cry."

I said, "I don't want to
make anyone cry

because that will make
me cry."

And this year,
we have a new judge:

our former studio technician,
ceramics expert Rich Miller.

I've been working
with clay for over 20 years,

and I absolutely love it.

It's malleable. It's tactile.

It can be made into any form.

And then you've got
the alchemy of the fire.

What's not to love about it?

So, are these potters
ready...

- How are you feeling?
- Terrified.

The most stressful thing
I've ever done.

...for 20 brand-new challenges?

- Can I touch it?
- No.

Bit of age, bit of
experience,
bit of calmness.

Quickly! Quickly! Hurry up!

And who will
go on to be named champion...

- Oh, my God.
- I'm speechless.

If you don't stop asking me
questions, I might cry again.

...of The
Great Pottery Throw Down?

Ladies and gentlemen,
we're gonna have a problem.

Are we gonna stop there?

- No.
- Do you--

We're back
in Stoke-on-Trent,

the home of British pottery,

and we've rolled our
wheels and clay

into the Gladstone
Pottery Museum,

a once-bustling manufacturer
of chinaware

in the heart of the city.

Our 12 potters will
kick-start
the competition

with two throwing challenges,

after which our judges,
Keith and Rich,

will decide who will be our
first Potter of the Week

and who will leave the pottery.

Good morning, potters.

- Morning.
- Hello.

Good morning. Look at
your faces.

Look at you, all full of hope.

Won't last long.

Don't worry. It's my
first day as well,

so we'll get through
this together.

Now, the judges, for your
very first challenge,

would like you to make
a cheese set

that must include a cheese dome
with a sculptured knob,

a fondue pot and two identical
pickle jars with lids.

It's a throwing challenge,
the first challenge.

Uh, right up my street.

And it's domestic ware.
It's got to be fit for
purpose.

Form and measurements are
critical in this challenge.

You've got to leave enough
space
under your dome for cheese,

and we want to see really
well-fitting lids

on those pickle jars.

The judges have generously
given you

three hours to make your
cheese set,

and your time starts now.

This is, like,
my dream to be here.

So whatever happens,

I've got to this stage.

It's all good.

A little nervous
about throwing.

I think just a couple of
minutes
of getting into it

and not to be like...

Before
they can begin,

the potters must wedge the clay,

a kneading process that
removes any air bubbles.

Then they'll have three hours

to throw their cheese
set on the wheel

and then another 90 minutes
to trim any excess clay

and refine every item.

Very excited and
out of breath.

I could have done a bit more
cardio before I came here.

So here we are.
Week one.

- I'm really, really excited.
- And it's a tough challenge.

The cheese dome,

that's quite a big thing
to throw on the wheel.

If they don't get
that curve right

and get that beautifully
domed shape,

there's not gonna be
sufficient volume

under there to contain
all that cheese.

And that dome has to fit
really
snugly on top of that plate.

When they think about
the fondue pot,

that base has to be
nice and flat

so heat can circulate evenly
underneath it.

They're domestic ware.
They have to work.

Good, clean rims.
All of those points

that your hand comes
into contact with

have to be beautiful
and pristine.

I guess I'm really keen to
see
how they use their design

to draw them all together
as a set

and make them feel like
they're
meant to be together.

- Morning, Jodie.
- Morning.

- Or should I say bore da?
- Bore da.

Thank you for having me.

Has anyone ever told you
you look like...

Alanis Morissette? Yeah.

- We won't mention it again.
- All the time.

- Wales's Alanis Morissette?
- Yeah, pretty much.

- Imagine how good your voice
is.
- No, it's not very good.

- Give us--
- I'm not giving you nothing.

Can you tell us about
your cheese set design?

So it's about a trip that I
took
to America with my father.

We went on motorbikes.

Jodie is
from the Rhondda Valley,

and when she isn't working
as a scrub nurse,

she hits the road as much as
possible with her dad, Colin.

Happy days.

Her cheese set will celebrate

their greatest road trip
along Route 66.

My decoration is based
on these red canyons,

and I'm gonna have the actual

dark, desert highway
going into the canyons.

- So, um--
- "Dark, desert highway"?

Yeah, it's a good song.

Come on. There's a song out
of you one way or the other.

Lee's hobbies are perhaps
a little less
thrill-seeking.

I've decided to do my theme
based on beekeeping.

- So those are my bees.
- Wow.

They take after you.

- Do you think?
- I can see the resemblance.

Lee is a community nurse

and, as well as his bees,
he lives in Huddersfield

with his rescue dog, Margot,
and his tortoise, Reg.

Bit of salad?

His set will feature
handcrafted bees

on a classic hive-shaped
cheese dome.

And that contouring
of the cheese dome,

are you throwing that in?

- Partly.
- Right. Okay.

I am going to throw it thickly
and then trim the butt off it.

- Right. Okay. Right.
- So I'm not concerned.

I'm not worried.

Throwing
the cheese dome involves

wrestling around five
kilograms
of clay.

I'm very hot, very hot.

This is the largest piece.

Okey-dokey.
I just need to check the
depth.

It starts
life upside-down as a bowl,

and the potters need
to pull the clay up

to shape what will be
the curved sides of the
dome.

The higher they go,
the more space for the
cheese.

It needs to come up
just a bit more.

But throwing at this scale
is always a gamble.

But the risk is now
it gets too thin,

the clay's too wet,
and it'll collapse.

Oh, it's going. It's going.

One dead pot.

Married mum
of three Suz

is a library assistant

and lives in Aberdeenshire.

She has been potting
for 16 years

and hopes to be able to
combine
her love of books and clay

by retelling the
classic Treasure Island

through the forms
and decorations

of her cheese set.

These are lovely little
drawings. Really nice.

I'm hoping to
have the pirates

and then a skull and crossbones
for the sculptural knob.

It looks like there's a
lot of decorative work here.

Is there gonna be time
to get everything in?

- Fingers crossed.
- I think that sounds
confident.

I'm willing to go with
that.
Yeah.

While Suz has had to start her
cheese dome all over again...

Susan, just think.

...she's not the only one
daunted by the dome.

It's got the wobble.

I could fall off my stool
any minute

'cause I do forget to breathe.

Adam is
a support worker

for adults with learning
difficulties

and lives in Brighton with his fiancé, Dan, and their pug, Egg.

He will celebrate their
trips
out to sea

with a maritime cheese dome,

complete with a diving whale.

Dodgy dome number one.

Sac magique.

Even if the
potters think

their domes are large enough
to satisfy the judges...

Back, go back, go back--
Oh, bugger.

...this first make gets
even trickier.

Every dome must sit
on a matching plate,

and one potter plans to dish up

something very close
to their heart.

My design is based on a beach
where I used to live.

Me and my friends, we used
to eat together on this
beach.

Henry now lives
in Suffolk.

When he isn't honing his
circus skills,

he works as an activities
organiser for a retirement
home.

He aims to throw a set

that reflects the
contrasting textures

of his favourite coastal
dinner spot.

How are you gonna bring this
into your cheese set design?

There's gonna be some of
the pots that are unglazed,

so they have this really
rocky,
brutal texture.

Then this lovely blue glaze
hits up against it.

So you get the contrast
of the two.

I've got the best memories
of that place.

Dinner hasn't been
the same since.

It's never been the same since.

Perfectly matched
plates and domes

are just for starters.

Gone fondue potty.

The bottom of the fondue set
is thicker

than you'd normally have it

because it has to
withstand heat.

But to serve fondue,

every pot will need a handle.

The only times
I've ever had fondue

have been when we go skiing,

and you just eat your
body weight in cheese.

Oh, I'm hungry.

Shenyue is
a professional model

working and living in London
with her boyfriend, Alex.

Her cheese set is inspired
by her favourite moments

from their last
holiday together.

I'm bad at skiing. My
boyfriend's amazing at
skiing.

We've only been once
and probably not going again.

But, um...

So then I look forward
to the dinner the most.

You're in the Alps, and
there's
the beautiful moon and stars.

And that's when the fondue
comes out.

That's when the fondue
comes out.

Almost like a cauldron
of fondue.

Between two people?

You never finish the cheese
in those things.

- Well, I beg to differ.
- I beg to differ, yes.

Potters, don't get yourself
in a pickle,

but you are now halfway through
your challenge.

Ooh.

Good woman, Suz.
It's coming finally.

Slow start.
It's gonna get better.

As Suz finally
moves on

from the giant cheese dome...

I'm just starting
on my pickle jars now.

...for everyone else,
throwing just got

a whole lot more intricate.

Keith and Rich have
asked for two

identically formed pickle jars.

I've measured
everything out,

because if they want
identical things,

it's crucial that you get
everything weighing the same

before you even start.

I've been religiously
measuring
it with my ruler.

Pickle jars
are supposed to be matching.

They could be sisters.
Not twins.

Irina's jars could
be of interest to Lee's bees.

These roses are gonna
be my knobs.

my favourite things.

Originally
from far-eastern Russia,

Irina now lives in Essex,

and when she's not at work
for a private jet company,

she obsesses over the roses
in her garden and her kiln.

They'll dominate a set
with a ruffle-edged plate

and surfaces hand-painted
with rosebush st*lks and
leaves.

In Russia,
only hardy roses can grow,

because the climate, it's
very,
uh, harsh winter.

So when I came to the UK,
I felt like paradise.

I got like, if I'm not lying,
four bushes of the same rose.

I'm not really super
professional making jar lids.

Hopefully it will be similar.

Oh, I can't be
engineer.
Definitely not.

My father was an engineer.
My grandfather was an engineer.

And because I was awarded
a place at art school,

it didn't mean I was going
to art school

He decided that
I was gonna be an engineer.

And I applied for an
engineering apprenticeship

at Hoover's in Perivale.

Massive art deco building.

Peter's engineering
career lasted 30 years,

but he's now returned
to his first love:

to become a design
and technology teacher,

a passion he shares
with his ten grandchildren.

What about this?
What do you think?

Out of a hundred,

- I'd give it 33.
- Oh!

His pickle jars

and his cheese dome
will be decorated

with art deco features
from the iconic Hoover
Building.

Art deco is all about
those sort of clean lines.

How are you planning to bring
that precision into your make?

I've designed
these sprigs.

Then I'm going to sculpt
my sculptured lady.

- Wow.
- Look at her.

Well, not actually her, clearly.

- No.
- Mine is gonna have a much

larger bottom, I can tell
you.

Modelled on me, isn't it?

Family and art
will also come together

for Hannah's set.

My granddad
was a painter,

and they're based on a
painting
that my granddad did.

Here's a really awful
printout
of the painting.

Hannah works
as a housing

project manager and
lives in Bristol.

Her granddad Tim has been
a source of inspiration

since she was little,

and her favourite painting
by him

has inspired a cheese set

that has simple forms but
bold,
colourful decoration.

The design reminds me a bit
of Patrick Heron,

- the painter in Cornwall.
- I know who that is.

That wasn't your granddad,
was it?

No. Oh, I wish. No, I don't know

if many people knew
who he was, sadly.

Potters, you have one hour left.

Not gonna have everything
finished at this rate.

Having had
time to dry,

the cheese sets are
now leather-hard,

and the potters must
refine them,

trimming away excess clay

to enhance the shape and
finish of their pots

before getting them
into the drying room,

ready for the first firing.

This is the fun bit, yeah.

- Is this the fun bit?
- Yeah.

- Can I touch it?
- No.

Okay.

But some potters
aren't trimming away clay

to a smooth profile.

I'm gonna trim it and then
add,
like, the bumpy grooves

like an old-fashioned beehive.

I'm taking the raking that
happens in a Zen garden,

and I'm going to carve that
into each piece.

Aralives in Folkestone.

A retired West End theatre
wardrobe manager,

he accessorises his
ceramic sculptures.

But his Zen garden cheese set
will be a simpler affair,

harmonised with
repeated patterns,

all enhanced with
a pure white glaze.

I really like
concentric circles.

The geometry, the sharpness
of it.

But Alon doesn't
seem to be a fan

of refining a perfect circle.

I knew everyone would
make something circular,

so I sort of wanted to just
try to be a bit different,

change it up.

At 20 years old,

Alon is this year's
youngest potter.

Raised in Israel, he now
lives
with his family in London

and is an architecture student.

His square cheese set
will feature

a motif of unique family roots.

All my family has names
from nature.

- Oh, really?
- Middle sister is Hadar,

which means "citrus".

Uh, older sister is Nitzan,
which means "bud".

- That's beautiful.
- Lovely.

My name in Hebrew means "oak",
and acorns could be great
knobs.

- So, yeah.
- Sorry, what?

Acorns could
be great knobs.

- Is that your dog, Sally?
- Yeah.

- What was he called again?
- Charlie.

Aw.

Instead of throwing knobs
for my pickle pots,

I thought I'll sculpt
little Charlies.

And he loves cheese.

Cheddar, Camembert, Brie,
goat's cheese, Stilton.

Sal is a teacher
and lives in Cornwall

with her partner, Hazel,
and their dogs, Fred

and cheese-loving Charlie.

I haven't got nothing.
All the cheese is gone.

He will stand guard
on top of her pickle jars

and cheese dome, and Sal
will use fine brushwork

and glaze to draw him running
around her set.

- Isn't he lovely?
- Thank you very much.

- And his little cheese.
- Yeah.

- He eats a lot of cheese.
- He does.

It's the only way to get him
to do anything he's told.

- Bribery works a treat.
- Yeah.

I'm open to a bit of bribery,

- by the way.
- Are you? Okay. Later.

Just letting you know.

Potters, you have half
an hour left.

I'm just trying to sculpt my
queen bee as quick as I can.

And I've got to
sculpt
three ladies.

This is the knob
for the dome.

This is, like, the centrepiece

that I have to do in about
five minutes.

I've got my spoon.
Everything's okay.

My favourite tool.

I'm trying to make,
like, a rock archway.

I nicked it from the kitchen.

My mum still doesn't know
that this is where it is.

So she'll find out now
and be hopefully not too angry

but probably very angry.

I'm pressing as hard
as I dare.

But there she is in place.

Even if
their domes are complete,

there is even more
complex refining to do.

Oh, so close.

The lid
to every pickle jar

must be trimmed
to fit perfectly.

You gotta take into account
the shrinkage rate of the
clay

from when it's wet
to when it's dry

and from when it's dry
to when it's fired.

Should fit in like
that,
but it doesn't, really.

There we go.

Potters, it is now five
minutes to go.

I'm gonna work to the
wire, just keep going.

Put a little bit
of that on there,

a little bit of that on there,

then put them together.

And the trick is to wiggle

until it won't wiggle any more.

We're talking about the
last two minutes now, people.

Last two minutes.

Welcome. Congratulations, Sal.
First item into the drying
room.

How are we doing?
We're nearly there?

- That's a good skull.
- It'll do.

- Quickly, quickly.
- What?

Good man, Peter.
That's a determined walk.

- Open the door.
- In you go.

Thank you.

Oh, God. Fabulous.

Okay, quickly,
back to your benches.

Thus is your very first
day finished.

Congratulations.

All calm at the
end of the day, eh?

I tell you what, I'm gonna
have a glass of wine tonight.

Oh, too bloody right.

The potters now
face an agonising wait.

Once they're completely dry,
our new studio technician,
Rose,

will take the cheese sets
for their first bisque
firing,

which will harden the clay so that it's ready for decoration.

The petals of Irina's flowers
have me worried.

You can already see
there is a chance

that there will be some
breaking there.

If you look through
the whole set from a distance,

I think it's okay.

And the knobs, um... feels
like they go in your hand

nicely on all of the pieces.

I'm really worried about
the thickness of Suz's
pieces.

You would put your lids
together
to have them shrink together.

These lids are also quite thick.

That might mean that there's
still a lot of difference

between the shrinking of the
lids and the actual pot.

Obviously, I lost a lot
of time throwing the dome.

There's the chance of things
blowing up or cracks
appearing.

It's in the hands of the
kiln gods.

The potters will
now have to wait to discover

if their sets survive the
1,000-degree heat of the
kiln

without cracking
or even exploding.

Fingers crossed.

Each week,
the potters

will face a second challenge.

They'll never know
what they'll be asked to
make,

but this week, it could
go rather well

with their cheese sets.

Welcome to your
second challenge,

which is a throwdown,

and we would like
you to make port chalices.

Okay.

Master potter Keith,

if you would like to take
to your wheel.

Right. Port chalice is
basically
another word for goblet.

Shove it on the wheel,
centre it up,

lift your hands up
just slightly off the wheel,

and you create your base.

Start making the cup when
the stem is quite thick
still,

because you've got
that support of the stem

to really shape your cup
nice and fine,

and then throw up that stem
so it's nice and fluent.

Rib up the side
and really accentuate that
form.

It's just amazing.

Finesse that stem.
Make it a bit narrower.

And then I'm literally just
gonna recentre it a bit.

It's growing out of that stem.

It's so beautiful.

Tidy up the rim
and then wire it off.

And there you go.

We're looking for quantity,

but as well, we're looking
for quality.

Potters, you have 15 minutes

to make as many chalices
as possible.

Oh!

And your time starts now.

Really difficult. I'm not
that quick at centring,

and it's all about
centring quickly.

I can't even remember
how he did the first bit.

No hanging about.

- Take your time.
- But hurry up.

I don't wanna make a
rubbish chalice,

but also I wanna make
more than one.

I think I should be able to
get
seven, eight, I don't know.

How many do you think you'd
be able to throw in 15
minutes?

Twelve, 13.

Yeah, me too.

Most stressful thing
I've ever done.

Irina's got one
off.
- She got one already.

What's happening?

It's terrifying. Oh!
But I've made one. That's
good.

Oh, wow! You have two
done already.

They're not very good, though.

Come on, Jodie. Excellent. Some
people have two done already.

- No way.
- How are we doing, Henry?

- I'm struggling.
- Well done, Adam.

Oh, thanks.

- They all want to be similar.
- Ooh!

Good stuff, Peter. They're
in the same family.

Little and large.

Five minutes gone,
ten minutes left.

It took me five minutes
to do one?

Ah!
- How many now,
Lee?

- Uh, two and a half.
- Two and a half.

Gotta get it right,
but you've gotta do it
quickly.

I can't seem to get both of
those things at the same time.

It's so difficult to get
that
balance, isn't it,

between form and speed?

That is terrible.
That's gonna go in the bin.

Oh, no. My right leg
is starting to shake now.

Oh, that's...

- Oh, oh, oh, oh...
- Oh, here we go.

That's a nice sound.
What are we doing?

Oh, look it's doing a little
bit
of whoa, whoa, whoa.

- Oh, dear.
- Oh, my gosh. Shenyue has six.

No way.

Don't want to make the
rest of you feel bad,

but you're doing dreadfully
in comparison.

- Sal's look very accurate.
- Yeah, nice. Yeah.

Remember, the speed of the
wheel is important.

The what?
- The speed of the
wheel.

The speed of the wheel
is important.

- You sound like an expert
there.
- I sound like an expert.

Oh, dear.

We're in the last five
minutes.

Who needs me to scream at them
to encourage them more?

- All of us.
- Hurry up!

Quickly! Quickly! Quickly!

That's brilliant advice.

Last couple
of minutes.

Oh, my life.

It so helps if you breathe
in
while you're doing it.

Focus, Jodie, focus.

Last minute, everybody.

Oh, I've got it all over
me.
- Come on, kids!

Oh, bugger.

Finish that one
and start a new one.

And make it your best one.

Yeah. Yeah, this is gonna be
the best one.

Oh, I've lost my wire.

Five, four, three,

two, one.

Step away from the wheel please.

Whoo-hoo!

Oh, my God. Look at those.

The potters
now face the judges

for the very first time.

Oh, my gosh.

Keith and Rich
are looking for chalices

with a distinct stem,
cup and smooth rim.

Any that don't measure up,

we recycle into Keith's
bucket of doom.

- Hi, Jodie.
- Hi, Jodie.

- Wow.
- Hi.

- We've got plenty to look at.
- We have got plenty to look
at.

Fairly similar, which is good. This one's a little bit shorter.

Yeah, yeah. That's gotta go.

Oh!

- There's a couple of fat
stems.
- That's not great.

I mean, look at the
state of that one.

It's a little bit
square.

Are we gonna stop there?

No.

I think that
has to go in as well.

But what I'm really noticing
is the consistency of the
rim.

They are all roughly the same
thickness. That's not bad.

- Fantastic.
- They're looking wonderful.

You've managed to get a really
nice, even rim on all of them.

It's very consistent.

You've upped the ante
in the shape and the form,

so there's a couple there
that
aren't up to your standards.

This is it.

Although it's slightly slanting, it's really well proportioned.

- But this one here.
- That one, yeah.

- That's going in the bin.
- No.

I mean, that is a great
set.

You can see the elephant
in the room.

Tipping it over.

This one. Yeah. Yeah.

- Look, it's even crying.
- I know. I almost am.

There's not much
base to this one.

It has quite a fat stem.

But the cup is beautiful.

I'm gonna save that one
but get rid of that one.

Not enough definition
in the stem.

You were obviously really
concentrating on that first
one,

and then you kind of were
rushing them.

I was going for quality,
I was going for...

Were you really?

- I was going for--
- No, that's going.

Oh!

The definition between the
stem
and the cup wasn't great.

- Okay.
- I think that one.

Yeah. No,
that's no good.

I'm sorry.

Don't do this to me.

What's really interesting is
that the rims are nice and
thin.

There's definitely a
finesse there,

so I just wonder about this.

- Bye.
- Just get rid of that.

There's definitely
a style there, isn't there?

Yeah, a more angular
cup to it.

This has hardly
got a stem at all.

Oh, yeah. I've already
said goodbye to that one.

- No, that's a bit hopeless.
- Okay.

- That's going.
- Ooh.

I think we can stop there.

I think that's grand, actually.

I think we could keep going.

We can keep going. Yeah, yeah.

I already created names
for them.

Oh, go on.

Tanya, Sveta, Irina,
Natasha, Svetlana,

Aliona, Marina,
and this one, Sara.

- Oh, and this one, Margarita.
- Wow.

Well, Margarita can go.

I'm not sure about
Sara.
- Poor old Sara.

Please leave poor Sara!

Some of the bases are
a little bit thin.

- This one is starting to
crack.
- Sure, yeah.

We're gonna have to get rid
of that, I think.

- That one is...
- Which one? No.

I like
how you tried to hide him.

...is hopeless.

This one, the definition
isn't brilliant.

Oh!

- This is wonderful.
- It is a good one.

- Shall we talk about the
others?
- This is absolutely terrible.

That was my
"last ten second" one.

This looks like me after
a couple ports.

Ah, right, okay. Yeah, that's
gonna have to go, I think.

- I think it's gotta go.
- Yeah, yeah. That's gotta go.

- Wow. Ooh!
- And that's gotta go.

Fair play. I thought you were
just gonna sweep them all in.

- No, no, no.
- So it's fine.

There's definitely
quantity here.

Well, there is at the
moment.

This one isn't
brilliant definition.

Yeah, you need
a very definite...

We'll have to
get rid of that one.

That's not a great look.

No stem. My eye just
keeps being drawn to this one.

Well, let's just
take
that one away then as well.

- Shall we stop there?
- I think so.

I think that's fair.

- Maybe after that one.
- Oh!

And I think
we can stop there.

They could have been
slightly taller.

They're not perfect
by any stretch.

But I can really appreciate
the consistency in them,

and I'm kind of loath
to throw any of them away.

I think they look
great.
- Well done.

- Yeah.
- Oh, thank you!

Keith and Rich
will now rank

the potters' chalices

from the worst set to the best.

In 12th place, with four
chalices, is Henry.

Peter, Ara, Hannah, Lee and
Suz each threw five
chalices.

Adam, Irina and Alon threw six.

And with Sal, Shenyue and
Jodie all throwing eight,

the judges will rank
these top three

on the quality of
their throwing.

Shenyue.

In second place...

Jodie.

- Sal.
- Thank you.

Well done, Sal.
Well done. Brilliant.

- Thank you so much, guys.
- Really good.

And well done, all of you.
Well done, everyone.

- Brilliant.
- Thank you.

It's 20 years of learning
how to do it,

and all of a sudden
somebody says,

"Yeah, all right, you're
pretty good at that."

It's kind of awesome.

And if you don't stop asking
me questions, I might cry
again.

It's day
two of the main make,

and after a 24-hour firing,

the cheese sets are ready
to be decorated.

But the potters won't know
if their work has survived

the intense heat of the kiln

until they remove the hessian.

I think we're all feeling
a bit vulnerable today,
really.

Have I got intact pieces?

Worst-case scenario,
the sprigs have blown off.

- The dome might not come out.
- The sculptures have fallen
off.

The jars might snap off.

I hope there will be something
to decorate.

Good morning,
potters.

Now, your cheese sets
have been bisque-fired,

and they're hiding under
the hessian,

so hopefully no cracks
or broken knobs.

We'd like to see you
enhance your pieces

and really bring
your cheese sets together.

This is a domestic
ware challenge,

so these have to be
user friendly.

Think about the areas
that you're glazing,

but also think about
the areas you're not glazing.

You have two and a half hours
to decorate your cheese sets.

Potters, your time starts now.

Yeah!

Do a little dance!

Just to see the piece not
broken, it's overwhelming.

Absolutely overwhelming.

I try to hold my tears back.

But while
some might be relieved

to find intact forms
and functioning pots...

Hey!

...Alon's round lids
don't quite fit his square
jars.

Maybe. Come on.

And he's not
alone.
- I might have to tap it.

No. No, no, no, no.

It's getting glazed in place.

But to
begin decorating,

the first substance the
potters
need to apply

to their cheese sets
isn't glaze.

First job is to put wax
resist
on all of the bits

that I don't wanna get glaze on.

As well
as decoration,

the wax is also a crucial
substance for function.

The dome is fired together,

so you have to keep the
glazes separate.

So this shiny bit is wax resist.

The dome will go on top.
The wax resist will burn away,

and the dome shouldn't,
fingers
crossed, stick to the plate.

Otherwise, I'll have
a cheese dome

with no way of getting
the cheese in.

No way of getting the cheese
out. An actual nightmare.

The potters are free to use

any of the glazes available
in the studio.

Electric blue.

But in ceramics,
all is not what it seems.

I got a feeling the
tutu tango

isn't gonna be very tango.

Glazes can radically
change colour

in the heat of the kiln.

You never know exactly

how it's going to be.

I'm going in completely blind.

And
Jodie's dark desert highway

could end up lighter
than she and her dad remembered.

I really hope it comes
out orange.

Peach canyons.

So this is Monument Valley.

So you can see the
orange canyons

contrasting with the blue sky,

so that's something I've
incorporated into my design.

Hopefully I'll be able to
capture a bit of depth to
them

so they just look
a bit more alive

rather than just like
a flat painting.

But a
flat painting...

...is at the heart
of Hannah's design.

My granddad's paintings
are all over my parents' house.

It's very inspiring.

Extremely chilled guy,

and I don't wanna
plan it out too much.

Irina and Sal, however...

Writing on a curved surface
is interesting.

...are taking the time
to plan every brushstroke.

Opposite the handle
is my halfway spot.

So I wrote this one forwards

and then started at the
halfway
and wrote this one backwards.

And I'm dyslexic, but
that's ridiculous.

Suz has managed
to come up

with a design that requires

more preparation
than anyone else's.

Palm trees, desert
island,
pirates going round the sides,

treasure map, and the
jars to be painted

to look like wooden barrels.

So a lot to do.

Lee's preparation
should be

a little more straightforward.

Need a bigger brush.

But he will have to coat
every
inch of his beehive set

in multiple layers of
glaze.
- Coat number two.

To make it look like
it's been smothered in
honey.

Just to get
the sheer volume of it all
on,

I'm literally using
a paintbrush from home.

- Are you?
- Yeah.

Ara will be even more
reliant
on just one colour.

Everything's gonna be dipped
in white

because I'm hoping the grooves
will actually do the work for
me

with the light and shadow
and stuff like that.

Okay, so that's just gonna
have
a white glaze on it?

Yeah, my gut says just
go for it.

- Simple but effective.
- Hopefully.

Bit like me, really,
quite frankly.

Oh, I don't know.

Potters, you have one hour
remaining for your decoration.

It runs away with you,
doesn't it?

The time. It's just,
like, "What?"

I do enjoy glazing,
and especially brush-on
glazes.

I think it's very personal.

I've got to draw
my Charlies.

When I paint them,
it won't just be flat grey.

I'll use maybe four or
five different greys

and sort of try and
create some texture

and some life in his coat.

But something even
more lifelike

has washed up on
Treasure Island.

- Is that meant to be Rich?
- Yes.

We have Keith here.

And this must be...

- What am I doing?
- Yeah, that's you.

I'm holding a barrel.

- I thought we were friends.
- I know, I know.

I thought we were the
stripy sisterhood.

Well, I thought
you should be in on the act.

Well, you know what?
I cannot believe

I'm being immortalised
in a cheese set.

Bring the list. I have
something
to cross off my bucket list.

Having just about got away
with squared forms...

It's manganese, so super
toxic.
Whoo!

...Alon is taking an even
bigger
risk with his decoration

by mixing glaze with
metal oxides.

What have you got
on the go there?

So this has got a lot
of manganese,

a bit of copper, and
a bit of cobalt.

If carefully
mixed in with glazes

during the final firing,

metal oxides can create
some of the most
unpredictable

but spectacular colours
in ceramics.

What's it got in it?
Manganese, you were saying?

It's got manganese,
like 60-something per cent.

- Wow.
- Yeah, it's a lot of
manganese.

- So where are you putting
this?
- On the acorns.

Quite risky, 'cause it
could turn out

bronzy gold, which is
the ideal,

but it also could go
very dark brown.

How do you think that's gonna
interact with other glazes?

Are you hopeful they'll be...

No idea. We'll see.

This is a glaze I've
never tried.

That's a bold move.

- Yeah.
- Week one.

Good place to try it out.

- No pressure.
- I know. No pressure at all.

Ladies and gentlemen,
you have half an hour left.

Oh, my God.

It's not a problemo.

Not only
do the potters

have to complete
their decorations...

as these are homeware pieces,

to be functional, every item

must also be coated in
a second clear glaze.

That glossiness
is so you can wash it.

None of your food is gonna
soak into that clay.

But
transparent glaze

doesn't start life clear.
It's used to coat

all their decorative work,
which
means the potters won't know

if it's succeeded until
it's been fired.

But for some, a final glaze
will have to wait.

It's the finessing.
You shouldn't rush.

Gotta get her face on.

I've cut out
some stencil-y things,

so I've got some blobby stuff,

but then I've also got
some sharper stencils on top.

That's an atomiser.

So I've put a half-and-half
mix of water and glaze,

and I've sprayed it
over the stencils

so I'll get the "dusk till
dawn"
kind of thing, you know?

I think I saw it
in a craft shop.

I was like, "That's brilliant."

Ladies and gentlemen,
we're gonna have a problem.

Things aren't going
so brilliantly for Ara.

The glaze is a bit
too thick.

If I don't get the stuff
out
that I've put in,

it can actually disappear
under the thick glaze.

Big blob in the middle.
Oh, my God. That's terrible.

But it'll have to do,
'cause I've got to move on.

What's the time?

Ten minutes left.

Hurry up, Irina.

Get those flower
petals petalled.

I'm pushing it now. Then I've
got ten of these to do so...

- Oh, looking good. Quickly!
- Oh, I know!

- How are we doing, Peter?
- Bottom's nearly waxed.

We've got a wet bottom here.
We must not have that,

- so quickly.
- Everybody needs

to wax their bottoms.

A bit of advice from Sal.

Everybody needs to wax
their bottoms.

They do things differently up
in Stoke, apparently.

I'm sorry.

I'm probably gonna need
to go last

on the clear, guys.

- Oh, bugger.
- What are you dipping here now?

- Transparent.
- Come on, come on.

Do you want me to do the rim?

I'd really appreciate it.

This isn't great timekeeping.

The bees would know better.

Oh, my God.

Do you want me to
clean the rims?

Just grab my...

We are in the last minute now.

- Which one's your bench?
- Uh, that one.

- Put it on your board.
- Thank you, love.

Oh, my God.

Cheers, guys.

Well done. Such great work.

Congratulations.

Oh! My God.

The potters must now take
their finished work to Rose

for the final firing.

Gonna do a little prayer?

The next time they
will see their cheese sets

will be when they're
revealed
in front of the judges.

I hope they're kind of blue,
white and yellow.

How I wanted them to be.

Not the grey-colour smear.

I think I, uh, probably

overstretched what
I could do in the time.

I honestly feel as though every
second of every minute, I used.

Time management would obviously
be something

I would really have to look at.

I got everything finished.

I got everything the colours
that I want them to be.

And I hope to God none of it
sticks together in the
firing.

It's judgement day.

The cheese sets have had
their final 24-hour firing

at 1,000 degrees centigrade,

and there is nothing more
that the potters can do.

They won't see their
finished work

until it's revealed
to the judges.

Potters, well done
on your first week.

We have before us
12 cheese sets,

and I'm sure you are
as keen as us

to see how they all turned out.

So without further ado, Jodie,

could you please bring your
cheese set up for the judges?

Whoa. Oh, yeah.

How you feeling,
Jodie?
- Nervous.

So am I.

- Colours are a bit washed out.
- My initial thoughts are...

you've done really well.

- Oh, really?
- Really.

The cheese dome is a perfect
size. Feel the weight of
that.

- It's brilliant.
- It's lovely. Beautifully
made.

Absolutely brilliant.
I love that you lift up

the cheese dome,
and you see the road there.

Technically speaking,
the make is fantastic.

The lids couldn't fit
any better,

the pickle jars to the
cheese dome to the pan.

And in terms of the
proportion,
they're bang on.

I was really worried that the
design might just look flat

because you hadn't brought
any other texture into it.

But the way you've sprayed
it on creates real depth,

and the stencils,

you've got that hard edge,

you've got the softness
of the spray.

I think it's really
effective.
It works really beautifully.

- Really well done, Jodie.
- Thank you.

- Fantastic.
- Thank you.

How are you feeling?

I'm speechless.

Very blue. I love the leaves.

That blue colour
really,
really works for you.

You've managed to get
some definition on the leaf.

This is an accent.
It works really well.

It's nice and consistent.

Where the glaze is on some
of the very ends

of some of the petals,

it's a bit sharp,
and I was worried

it might feel a bit delicate.

But actually, it feels like it

handles the weight of the dome.

Not as bad as I thought.

It was all about
the waves hitting the rocks.

The cheese dome's a bit small.

But this works really well.
I'm loving the facets.

It's a lovely contrast
between the glaze and texture.

It does sort of feel
like it's a rock.

Carved it with my spoon.

Your magic spoon's
done you proud.

As a set, it seems to work

really well, doesn't it?

Thank you.

I would've liked
to have seen

a bit more sparkle.

A bit more of that night sky.

Yeah.

I love the barnacles.

I just think they really
tie
everything together,

and they make it feel like
it's of the sea.

This works really well.
It's actually

surprisingly nice to hold.

A bit like you, Rich. You're
surprisingly nice to hold.

Why, thank you.

Are you ready?

It would've been
nice
to get it finished.

You did give yourself
an awful lot of work.

And obviously,
you had troubles in the make,

which I think have sort of
shown
in some of these pieces.

The lid is stuck.
That really won't come off.

Let's take the centrepiece
here.
It's a bit on the heavy side.

But look at
those illustrations.

This one's crying,
so I think that must be...

- You, Rich. You.
- Possibly. Possibly.

- This is Rich?
- Rich, the cabin boy.

And then, who's this?
- Aphrodite, I
think.

That was it. Venus.

You're obviously very, very
talented with your
illustration.

This having the map underneath
is absolutely brilliant.

It's an awful shame
you didn't finish it.

I think there's the makings
of something

that could've been
really special.

These ladies aren't as elegant
as I wanted.

Art deco as a concept
is quite precise, isn't it?

Yes, very.
- And it's quite
sharp.

There's an elegant woman
in there somewhere

waiting to get out.

But I think the colours
actually draw it together

really nicely as a set.

I'm very disappointed

because I had real trouble
with the glaze.

Yeah, it's completely fused.

The glaze has obviously

really moved over that resist.

Absolutely.

And the pickle jars. Again,
the lid comes off this one,

but we can't get the lid
off that.

Ah, again, it's run down.

You've gone for a very
simple look,

and the simpler the look,

if it doesn't work, it's
like,
"Oh, my God."

Bit nervous, 'cause I think

I took a bit too many
risks in this one.

But I had to.

Oh, my God. Whoo!

It turned out gold. Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

Oh, love. This is
absolutely brilliant.

Almost looks like metal.

That's just so much
pure oxide in the glaze.

The way the light catches
this
is really quite beautiful.

You took a risk
not just with that,

but you took a risk with
squaring up the cheese dome.

You're showing the real
attributes

of the material itself,

that you can manipulate it
into what you want.

But obviously, the elephant
in
the room here is the fact

that we can't take the lids
off the pickle jars.

But I really admire
your ambition,

because to come in here
week one,

take something from the wheel

and make it into
a completely different shape,

I mean, it's a recipe for
disaster, really,

but you went for it.

Well done, Alon.
Well done.

Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, it's all right.
It's not too bad.

Your overall design

is brought together by
this yellow

that's coming through
the whole lot.

And it's faultless as a colour.

It almost feels like
liquid honey.

The form is incredible.

The fact that you've managed
to get those lovely,

soft thrown lines

right through everything--

They're all straight-sided,

perfectly matching pickle jars.

They feel evenly thrown.
I want to hold it.

I can't emphasise enough
how difficult it is

to get that fluidity
in the throwing.

Although this
could've been slightly
taller,

could've been slightly
more generous

with the cheese, please.

Next time. But I think

that's taken away
by the charm of it.

- It's fantastic. Brilliant.
- Yeah. Outstanding set,
really.

Great, thank you.
- Well done,
darling.

Okay?

A bit nervous. It's
just inspired by my granddad,

and, um, tried to make
a cheese set

that I could picture being
in his home.

- So shall we have a look?
- Yes.

Oh, no.

I take it from that
you're not that impressed?

No.

I didn't leave myself time
to glaze,

and I literally threw them
in the bucket,

so there is no way
that's coming off that
plate.

Well, I mean, I would say--

It's a miracle!

The pottery gods have spoken.

That is one thing that is
better
than I thought. That's good.

And actually, Hannah, don't
give yourself too much of
a...

It's-- This is great.

This reaction you've got
here,
it's absolutely brilliant.

Pottery-- It's a wonder,
isn't
it? You know...

Oh, sorry.

We'll just cry together.

Yeah, I'll take
over, shall I?

You guys have a moment.

Honestly, you were
going
for that abstract painting.

It's actually worked really,
really well for you.

I just think it's got
energy,
it's got life about it.

The fact that you've got
different decoration

on each part of your set,

but it does really feel
like
it comes together

as a coherent design,

is really testament
to your creativity

in the application
of the glazes.

Thanks.

- So how you feeling, Sal?
- Oh, I'm nervous. Terrified.

Shall we have a look at
Charlie?

Okay. It's a little patchy,

which is a bit of
a disappointment.

It's brilliant, mate.
It's brilliant.

- Thank you.
- It's fantastic.

I haven't even picked it up
yet,
and it looks good.

The definition of the dog there

and the way that you've used
those pigments,

it's absolutely fantastic.

Just the way you've added

different colours onto
the surface,

and then you've put
that transparent over the
top,

and it's sucked into all that
texture that you've got put
on.

It just makes it feel like fur.

The attention to
detail
in the sculptural knobs there

is absolutely fantastic.

You've even got
little holes in the cheese.

You've not distorted
or smudged any of the writing.

It just looks like it's been
written on with confidence.

And as for pickle jars,

they're identical,
they're sublime.

I mean, there is literally

no element on this set
that we can fault.

- Fantastic. Brilliant.
- Thank you.

Yeah, really lovely
set.
- Well done.

Thank you. Yeah, don't cry.
I'll do it again.

Yeah.

Well done.
It's a pleasure to look at.

- Yeah.
- Thanks, Keith. Thank you.

When Keith cries, I cry.
It's hard not to.

He's so emotional about it.

And I'm passionate about it,

so the two of us--
a terrible pair.

I just wish you could lift
the dome.

At least it stuck together
very uniformly.

Feeling pretty nervous
just now.

I think there's a really
strong chance of me going home.

Keith and Rich
must now decide

who'll be our first Potter
of the Week

and who will be going home.

So that moment,
it was absolutely amazing

to see when the hessian
is pulled off the set,

and they get to see their set
for the very first time.

The reactions were
extraordinary.

It also just shows how
passionate they are

about what they've done.

You've gotta love that.
It's absolutely brilliant.

So, Potter of the Week?

Well, I mean, Sal is
certainly up there.

Sal won the
port chalices.

And her cheese set
was just beautiful.

For me, another
person up there is Jodie.

She'd done that landscape
with that road

disappearing off into
the distance.

It was brilliant.
- I've got to mention
Lee.

The way he put those undulating
surfaces into the forms,

it just made you want
to touch it.

It was so tactile.

As much fun as
it is talking

about all the potters
who've done well,

unfortunately, a few didn't
do as well.

Well, the big cheese dome in
the
room for me has got to be Ara.

He talked about the
simplicity of design

and how he wanted the glaze
to really enhance that
surface.

Unfortunately, he put it
on too thick,

and it fused the whole
thing together.

Is there anybody else
who you think is in danger?

- Suz, unfortunately.
- Yeah.

There were little glimmers
of absolute excellence,

but that was meant to be
across the whole set.

You now have a decision to make.

- Do you need more tea?
- Yeah, more tea. Yeah.

- We need more tea and biscuits.
- Maybe a little bit of cheese.

Potters, well done on
your first week in the
pottery.

Your cheese sets
were magnificent.

You're all winners to me.

But unfortunately,
I'm not a judge.

Which came as a bit of
a surprise to me,

I'm not going to lie.

Firstly, the good news.

This week's Potter
of the Week is...

Sal.

Aw!

Well done, Sal. Congratulations.

Okay. Now the really,
really rubbish bit

that I don't want to do,

but I checked, and
contractually I have to do
this.

The potter who's going
to leave us is...

Ara.

- I'm so sorry, Ara.
- I know. I know.

It's fine. No, no, honestly.

- It's all right.
- Oh!

I'm being crushed here,
by the way.

I hate white glaze.

- So much love to you, Ara.
- Honestly--

Gutted. There's no point
in ifs and buts and things.

It just didn't work for me
on the day.

In these sort of weird times,

we're all in this
bubble together.

And I do feel that we've
created
a bit of a family here.

And you are one of those
members of the family.

Thank you. Thank you.

Well done.

- Well done.
- Well done to you.

I have no idea
what's just happened.

I'm Potter of the Week.

I can't think of a word to...

Honestly, you've addled
my brains.

If you talk to anybody
who knows me,

they'll say I've always got
something to say.

And I just can't think
of anything.

Sal's cheese set
is the first work

that Rose will place
in our Throw Down Gallery.

I'm chuffed for
Sal.

Every time I speak to her,
I just wanna grab a notepad,

because she's just got
so much knowledge about
pottery.

So, yeah, well deserved.

I texted my husband yesterday
and said, "I'll see you."

And I honestly
thought I was out.

Take over the world.

Next time...

- Whoa!
- Nice one!

...it's bricks...

Ah, not good.

...and buildings.

Respect to the hand builders
of the world.

A towering clay construction
challenge.

Ooh!

And a gruelling spot test...

Come on, get your backs into it!

...will reveal
which potter's
foundations...

- Oh, no.
- ...are about to collapse.