Original subtitles

No, this isn't the bit they used to show

between old programs.

It's week five. Check out my pot.

Welcome to the Great Pottery Throw Down.

Previously.

It's got 20 more inches.

It was supersize sculptures for our potters.

Why have I just burst out into a sweat? It's ridiculous!

Matthew scored another huge win.

Well done Matthew, second week in a row.

While Sandra's piece failed to measure up.

Oh, no!

And she had to leave the pottery.

Now, our judges, ceramic artist Kate Malone,

and master potter Keith Brymer Jones,

have set three more challenges.

I don't know what I'm doing with it at all.

Including most delicate build so far.

Did that make you jump, Sara?

A bone china chandelier.

A mesmerizing spot test.

I were going under there. I was gonna be your command.

And a throw down that refuses to play ball.

Don't tickle it. You're the boss.

Oh no!

I think there are

a few people who really, really wants to do well

and can get through to the final.

I think everybody's gonna raise their game today.

I think we're all sort of ecstatic

to be here at the moment.

I can't wait to get on with the day.

I made it to the semifinals. Miracles do happen!

Feel really excited,

but nerve wracking 'cause I know the judges

are stepping up their critique. They don't take any prisoners.

And I can sense the tension in everyone.

There's not anyone here that doesn't want to go all the way.

It's the semifinal of the Great Pottery Throw Down.

- Banished to the back. -Yes.

Just five potters remain,

but only four can make it through to the final.

Well, good morning, potters.

- Morning! -And here we are

a brand new day in the pottery, and may I begin by saying

a huge congratulations to you guys?

You have reached the semifinal.

All that stands between you and the winner's trophy though,

is some pesky little tasks we're gonna make you do,

the first of which is the main make,

and Keith and Kate are really hoping

that your creativity and your skills

are gonna shine through with this one.

And here to enlighten us with more details are the judges.

We want you to produce a fine bone china chandelier.

You're gonna be using fine bone china slip,

and this has two beautiful qualities.

It fires very white, and it's also translucent.

We want you to slip cast.

Now slip casting is a process where you pour

liquid clay, slip, into a mold to create shapes or objects.

Use your imagination, be adventurous and experiment.

You have five hours to create and cast

your chandelier pieces.

Your time starts now.

It'll take five long days to create a stunning chandelier.

And if that isn't formidable enough,

making it out of bone china

makes it the toughest main make yet.

First of all,

they'll have to pour the bone china slip into plaster molds

where it's left to harden into a thin wall of clay.

The excess slip is tipped out, the molder cracked open,

and then the thin wall of clay inside can be cut and shaped.

These pieces are then dried and fired for 24 hours.

They then need to be finessed, carefully hung,

and the finished chandeliers

will be judged by Kate and Keith.

Look at these wonderful pieces here.

This is what we really want to see, isn't it? Fine china.

It's not like any other clay that they'll be using

throughout these challenges.

I mean, it's so extraordinary isn't it?

Clay can be brick clay that we live in, our houses,

and then it can be this. I mean the sound.

I mean, it's as almost glass actually.

It's sort of relatives of glass, isn't it?

We really want to see them use

the wonderful quality that this clay gives,

which is, obviously, the translucency.

So, if they use the clay at the correct thickness

we're going to see the light coming through.

The first time we're gonna see them casting,

and not only casting but casting fine china.

We really want to see them use the character of the material.

That's what's so exciting about this challenge.

The potters can choose from four shapes of mold.

My chandelier shape is based on jellyfish and seaweed.

I've gone for a cone, circular cylinder and two spheres,

which apparently was a bit of a crazy idea

because they're quite difficult to cast,

but I like the shape.

I'm aiming for using just one cylindrical shape,

but modifying with a play on circles and a play on cylinders.

Well, the inspiration comes from sort of a church organ.

I can't even get the lid of the slip open,

so I'm probably not gonna do very well in this.

These two molds here are square section tubes if you like,

I'm gonna use each face to cut out some very long leaf designs.

And the idea is

I'm gonna try and make it as spiky as possible.

I've got three cylinders and one cone,

but I'm hoping to get three or four feathers

out of each cylinder and perhaps, you know,

twist them and really use that

warping that fine bone china does apparently.

We're at the semifinals and we're

using something very difficult.

I kind of want like a quilt kind of effect.

Once I've got them, I'm going to cut them in half,

and then I'm going to sort of push into them

and just distort them.

I've never done this. I never dreamt of doing this.

I've never wanted to do this.

So, yeah, this is very new and quite frightening.

Tom's not the only novice.

In fact, none of the potters

have slip cast with bone china before.

Nobody touches bone china.

it's kind of a nemesis for potters,

it's the monster in the castle.

The first stage of the process

is filling the molds with slip.

Casting slip is a liquid form of clay

which you pour into plaster molds.

When the slip touches the plaster

it starts drawing the water out of the slip.

And that starts forming a skin on the surface of the plaster.

How long they leave the slip inside the mold

will determine the thickness of the cast.

The potters want to make the thinnest pieces possible

so their chandelier will be delicate and translucent.

Timing is crucial here.

Leave the slip in the mold for too long

and the pieces will be too thick.

But remove them too soon.

And they'll be too fragile to work with.

It's important to pour it all in one go because otherwise,

if you only pour half of it then the plaster mold's

gonna suck moisture out of that half,

and then when you continue to pour it,

the thicknesses of the walls are gonna be different.

You've got to try and pour quite gently and quite evenly, really.

But unfortunately, I'm not feeling brave enough

just to handle the whole bucket.

So, I'm just gonna try and do it gently with this.

That was a bit messy.

I want them quite thin as well for the translucency

so that you do get light, some light just shining through it.

So I think, because otherwise,

there's no point in using bone china.

And I think that for what I want to achieve,

it should be just over three minutes.

The period of time that I'm allowing

the clay to soak into the mold is five minutes.

It's very important they end up with, essentially,

a creme egg inside your mold.

You end up with the chocolate

is the part you're going to keep.

It's a thin film of dryer clay on the inside of the mold.

And then the liquid in the center you're going to pour out.

That's the excess.

Just emptying the excess slip out of the molds,

but you have to try and sort of twist the mold.

According to what I've seen on the internet.

And now we just to leave them to dry in there.

After the potters have poured out the excess,

how long they leave the remaining clay in the mold

will dictate how hard the cast becomes.

We need to catch it at the time where it's still malleable

to be able to twist and cut, and make your shapes from it.

But not so soft that when you break open the mold,

it just completely collapses. So, it's quite a fine balance.

Right, what's next after we've poured it out?

Wait for it to dry!

Matt, what are you doing?

He's got a knife and stuff going on.

They put me in front of the room so I can't copy.

I need to be looking at everyone else,

seeing what they're doing. Jim, look at him.

He's all right, Jack.

Sure, I look relaxed now 'cause

I'm waiting for these to dry out.

And once they're out gotta set up the casting for the next lot,

so you're doing that at the same time as you're making,

and then hopefully you get this little routine in place

to create as much stuff as you can, actually,

This particular process really transformed pottery

into a real ceramics industry.

Because once you've got the mold,

you can make as many of them as you want.

So you can just repeat the process again,

and again, and again and produce thousands of things?

Of the identical same shape.

In the 18th century,

the finest tableware was made from Chinese porcelain,

but importing plates and bowls from China was expensive.

In 1748, in his quest to produce English porcelain,

Thomas Fry started adding cattle bone ash

to a clay found in Cornwall and bone china was born.

40 years later, the recipe was perfected by Josiah Spode,

and his white, light and strong alternative to porcelain

became a huge success and was produced

almost exclusively in the UK for the next 200 years.

Today, having gone full circle,

the world's biggest producer of bone china is China.

The potter's first casts have no firmed up enough

to be removed from their molds.

Yeah, I'm fettling, apparently.

That's a great word, actually, fettle. To fettle.

They must work fast to cut them into shapes

before the clay becomes too hard.

Well, I've taken the first one apart.

This is just a little bit thin.

So it's a bit of a learning process.

But they are still a bit sticky.

I should have left this in a little bit longer,

but I actually want them to be flexible to actually use.

So what's the key to getting this slip casting in spot on?

Well, the key to the whole task, for me,

is all about time and motion.

It's getting those molds working.

It's getting them out, getting more,

more slip in them and a continual process

to maybe build up your chandelier.

There's a lovely rhythm, really to filling the mold,

emptying them, filling them, emptying, cutting,

but you know, the sense of repetition and rhythm

is a lovely thing to do.

I'm staggering, the casting,

'cause while I'm fiddling with this, the others are casting.

And if you do them all at once

then you've got to deal with them all at once,

and by the time I've emptied this one,

gone back to that one,

then these are too thick, you see what I mean?

So it's kind of a, there's a plan of action there.

Three hours remaining.

The potters must use the brief time they have

between refilling their molds and casting to cut their shapes.

Matthew's advantage is that he's only producing one shape,

but he still needs a lot of them.

These are the first ones.

And these are starting to become leather hard now.

Just in the tops here, just put a small hole on each side

and then some wire will go through

then they'll all hang down.

These are the feathers that are gonna form the chandelier,

but I need so many of them to make it work.

But I'm trying to get some feather detail on them

before they harden up too much,

'cause I don't want them looking like leaves.

They've just definitely got to like feathers.

You got a really short windo of opportunity to work with this.

'Cause it's ever so thin is ever so soft

and it dries out really fast.

And if you want to play with it,

you've gotta play with it at the right moment,

otherwise you lose that opportunity.

That was fun.

Potters, you're halfway through your time,

two and a half hours left.

You finished yet, Matt?

Even Matt's broken into a sweat for this one.

I just, I just need to relax a little bit.

That's what I need to do. Take a coffee break.

Relax a bit? You'll go to sleep mate, honestly.

Despite casting and finessing over 20 pieces,

Matthew's now had a change of plan.

It's taken me til literally these three

to understand the best way to work with it.

And I think if I work with it when it's still in a cylinder,

'cause I started chopping them up at first-

And then working on them then?

Yeah, this way it kind of keeps it strength

and I can wiggle that into it.

And it creates some nice curves,

and where the cracks are as well,

I'm hoping, you know, you get some light just shining through.

Absolutely.

It will be a fine line between cracks and falling apart,

and light and no light, so. -Yes, yes it will, yeah.

- If it gets too hard, the clay, then it's,

I'm just trying to do it and it just splits it,

which is a little bit tiresome.

How are you finding this process?

I have to be honest,

I was absolutely dreading it this morning,

but actually wants to go into it.

I don't want to tempt fate too much,

but it's not as hideous as I anticipated it was going to be.

And as you were marking the surfaces with the shell,

you're now scratching a pattern and you're hoping that pattern

will show more light through it?

Exactly that.

With just over an hour to go,

Tom's having second thoughts about his organ design.

I'm probably gonna shelve that idea

and move on to having some more disks hanging down.

I'm just worried it's gonna look like a

sort of a kid's mobile or a wind chime or something

rather than a chandelier, but-

Try and get a circular cut.

That what I want to do?

It's probably gonna fail. But, let's do it again.

This is not gonna work. It's a waste of a whole piece.

I was trying to be clever. I know it's a forlorn hope.

The air of positivity in the air.

Oh, it's just awful. Yeek! Go with it.

And the thing with this task as well is there's no,

there's no decorating, there's no glazing.

There's no color, no pattern.

It's all done in the shapes we make today.

Apart, oh, there you go.

Next.

♪ Bend it, bend it, just a little bit ♪

♪ And take it easy, show you're likin' it ♪

It's behaving badly.

You obviously can't maneuver this clay too much

when it's damp because it becomes very jelly like.

It's been cast, and that should be kind of drying off now,

but it doesn't want to.

I think I'm gonna stop playing with this one,

I think I'm wasting a lot of time.

Oh, it looks like a goose down pillow has exploded.

I know, remnants of a pillow fight.

Beautiful feathers everywhere.

I was gonna be casting when I did this bit,

but, if I don't catch this quickly enough, it doesn't work.

They will just dry out and crumble.

Well, they look a bit like insoles,

I mean, I know that's not the plan.

- That's not helping. -Amazing.

They're beautiful feathers, so,

I'm just gonna let you, I'm sorry.

Insoles. Oh man.

Before firing,

the potters need to pack their pieces

in aluminium oxide or alumina,

as bone china can warp and become sticky

at temperatures of over 1,200 degrees C.

Alumina has a very high melting point,

which is over 2,000 degrees.

So you can use it in conjunction

with your firing your bone china,

because it's not going to melt or flux or become hard.

It can be used in quantities to support a free flowing shape.

If it wasn't there then the bone china

would probably just collapse on itself.

The alumina prevents the clay from sticking.

So it's the best stuff to put between your pot and the shelf.

Think about these disks that you're doing.

Think about how you're gonna stack them

with the alumina in between them, okay?

Right.

All right?

I don't know what I'm doing with it at all.

- So I'm doing, yeah. -Just think alumina.

Just always think alumina.

Also I would put a bit more alumina on the shelf.

You cannot underestimate the way this stuff is fluid in the kiln.

Oh, I can. -Yeah.

We'll let you get on Tom.

He's so intense when he works isn't he?

I don't like to see him getting so uptight.

Well, you haven't see me work, have you?

Yeah, I'm a bit the same really.

- Oh, yes? -You have to give yourself

a bit of a hard time to get the best out of yourself.

No one else is going to give you a hard time.

Oh I don't know.

Guys, the alumina. If you just pile it up

To support it, support the shape.

- Are you gonna do that, Matt? -What, the alumina?

Matt's won't slump 'cause their Matt's.

My porcelain's perfect.

You're a star potter, it doesn't happen to you.

Jane's design is made up of

strands of hanging seaweed, and she's come up with a plan

to make them look as authentic as they would in the sea.

The materials completely bonkers.

So, it's just drying so quickly

that I'm not getting the curve I was sort of hoping for.

And it's, ooh, you see, it's so difficult.

Whoop, they're so fragile.

So I've sort of, undulated the alumina.

I've just put really loads on.

And then I've used a rolling pin

to create contours on the surface.

And then I'm hoping as the,

as the clay sort of becomes

more malleable in the heat of the kiln,

it'll sort of follow those contours.

When it's in the kiln,

it's probably going to warp a bit more and change and alter,

but you know, that's down to the kiln gods really.

As well as the inherent fragility of bone china,

the alterations Matthew has applied

could create further problems in the kiln.

The only concern is like the cracks developing,

which could happen.

I think ceramics prepares you for disappointment, you know?

Yeah.

I'm doing the final cast now,

but they've only be drying for 10 minutes.

I thought I could get away with that one

a bit sooner then I can.

Just have to wait.

Oh, just about top open this.

Oh good. You're gonna crack, what's it called, crack a?

- Crack a mold, mold. -Crack a mold.

That make you jump Sara?

It's always exciting with you, Jim.

Ladies and gentlemen, five minutes left,

if you wanna get your chandelier pieces

in the drying room please?

- Just gotta keep going. -I'm sweating.

I'm loading this one up a little bit too much but...

And off she goes, like a gazelle.

Careful!

I have no idea what I've got. No idea.

Someone got one hole and some have got two holes.

It'll be all right. We'll be all right.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Time's up.

- Ay-ay-ay.

Stage 1 of the potter's main make is over.

- All right? -Yeah baby!

Well done!

Their chandelier pieces can not be altered anymore.

They will now dry for two days

and then fire for a further 24 hours.

You've worked very hard.

You can no go and have a bit of a breather

and enjoy the Stoke-on-Trent glorious sunshine,

but do come back here

because I know you've toiled for a good five hours,

but we think you wanna do a bit more work.

So more surprises in store when you come back up.

Thank you very much.

Another hurdle.

Well, it was a long time we were in there.

I'm pretty exhausted.

In fact, I'm shattered after the main make.

You sort of finish and you think,

"Oh God, I wish I could do it again, you know, tomorrow,

'cause I could get it much better."

Maybe I should have chose a different design,

which was a bit more challenging.

I think now, the success of my chandelier will all be,

it'll be on the hanging.

Whilst their chandelier elements dry,

Kate and Keith have set a spot test to challenge the potters.

♪ Turn it round, turn it round ♪

- The skilled workers of Stoke

would have needed a steady hand and keen eye

to provide the distinctive finish

associated with such names as

Shelley's, Wedgwood and Minton.

But can our potters match this standard?

Now then, welcome along to your semifinal spot test,

oh and it's a goody!

If you look underneath your hessian,

you will see six plates.

We are testing your skills of banding.

Banding is the process of putting a fine line

on the body of an object.

It must be consistently straight and we don't want any wobbles.

We want you to put two bands on these plates.

One on the outer rim and one on the inner rim of each plate.

You'll be banding with an enamel pigment.

Because you're using enamels,

you'll be able to wipe it off and redo it.

Now, as usual,

the judges won't be in there for this spot test.

We shall see you in a little while.

You have 30 minutes.

Best of luck to you. Potters, get banding.

So the first thing they've gotta do

is center the plate on the wheel.

If it's not centered,

then obviously their line's gonna be completely wonky.

It stands to reason.

You see that's moving off, on and off my finger there?

Ah yes. So there's a little bit of a wiggle in it.

The potters have been given their own color

with which to band their plates.

This will help the judges

distinguish between each set of six.

The secret of banding successfully

is to get the consistency of the enamel perfectly correct.

If it's too thick, it'll sit in this lovely,

big, fat, long haired brush.

If it's too thin, it'll just run out.

I just dribbled it, ugh!

Cor, it's a tricky one this isn't it?

Yeah, it's all about the consistency.

I've watered it, thinned it down too much,

'cause it's just dribbling.

Is that Jim off?

He's right swanning it.

I've gotta give him- -Getting boring.

Yeah.

God, Jim, have you done one already?

Oh, God!

Gah, every time somebody walks past me,

my paintbrush wobbles.

They need to charge the brush up with enough enamel

to get a full circular rim.

If they don't have enough,

you'll get something called chattering

where you'll run out of color

and you'll get this sort of juddery effect

all the way around the plate.

A loaded brush,

a steady hand, and a calm demeanor.

For Matthew, this should be a doddle.

Is it harder than you thought, or?

Yeah, I've never, ever, ever even thought about banding.

It's like a dance. You have to be so graceful.

You actually have to go down very gently

and you have to let the enamel flow out of the brush

and just come back up like a bird or a swan

taking off from my Lake.

It's gotta be so gentle and so graceful.

If you're heavy-handed and you go down hard and fast,

you're gonna get a splodge or a wobble.

I think I'm drawn to yours

'cause it's like there's a bit of gravy left on a plate.

- Are you breathing? -I'm not-

Are you breathing? I'm not breathing!

I were goin' under then. I was gonna be at your command.

- Yeah, back in the room. -Quite hypnotisiling isn't it?

With 12 minutes still remaining, Jim has finished.

But should he have made use of all the allotted time?

Jim, well done. That's your sixth plate complete.

It's my best one yet, getting better.

Oh, Jane! Oh, I wanna marry that plate!

It's a beauty. I could eat my dinner off it!

Look at that!

And Matthew has six plates at the front of the room.

Thank you very much, Matthew.

All right there Jim?

Do you want to run round with a hoover or something

while you're hanging about?

I don't wanna disturb anybody, actually.

A lot of concentrating over there.

Jane's got six up at the front there.

Everybody has actually, well done, apart from Sally-Jo.

Two minutes left and Sally-Jo has finished her final plate.

Well done.

♪ Painter man, painter man ♪

Has anyone achieved the precise banding

Kate and Keith demanded?

- Should we start at the end? -Yeah, absolutely.

The strength of color is there,

but there is a bit of inconsistency

with the application, don't you think?

Yes. Further up it looks like there's a bit of chattering

or some of the color is slightly spreading.

This end one, there's quite a bit of chattering on it.

So shall we move to these darker blue?

We're actually seeing a tonal change through all the color.

Yeah. And we're also seeing

the start of the band there.

- Or a blip, yeah. -Yeah, this kind of blip here.

- Hmm. Move along? -Yeah.

It looks well centered.

It looks as though the outer one is nicely on the edge.

Not bad, actually quite consistent in color.

Yes.

So let's look at the yellows.

I'm loving the delicacy of the banding in this.

- It's really, really nice. -It's superb, actually.

That to me is almost a set of plates.

It's dead on.

- And now to the orange. -Yeah, last but not least.

I think there's a bit too much

of the white rim of the plate showing here for my liking.

- It's not right on the rim. -Hmm.

But a pretty good effort actually.

Yeah.

But who served up a winning set of plates?

The person who goes into 5th place, whose are these?

- Oh right! -Matthew!

Just a bit inconsistent with your application.

There's a lot of blobs on the lines

and the color is inconsistent throughout the whole set.

In 4th place.

The green row at the end here who's are those? Sally-Jo?

Yes, there was chattering on the brush.

And it was, there are thicker and thinner lines.

In 3rd place.

Who's done the orange ones, Tom?

Really nice thickness of line.

Just the placing of the outside line

could have been just a bit further on that edge.

The color consistency is slightly out as well.

So we've obviously got two sets of plates at left,

belonging to Jim and to Jane.

So in 1st place, is these!

Ah, well done, Jim.

Really nice, concise lining there,

a consistency throughout the whole set.

So very good, yeah, really good.

Well done Jim.

And of course Jane, well done, 2nd place. Awesome.

Now then, you've had a really busy day

and we appreciate all your hard work.

So you are free to leave the pottery

and we will see you back here

when we have a look at your chandelier pieces.

Thank you very much.

Well done you! Very good!

I never imagined it's that difficult.

It makes me want to sort of,

well not get home and do it again straight away,

but it's definitely something I'm going to do again.

Zam!

Yeah, I'm very chuffed about coming 2nd in the spot test.

I needed that for my confidence.

It has been mentioned that I needed to

sort out my game a little bit,

so, that's what I'm endeavoring to do.

I'd have loved it if I'd have beaten him.

That would have been amazing.

Power to the Jimbo!

The potters now face an anxious wait

for their chandelier pieces to dry

and be given their one and only firing.

♪ Woke up this morning feeling fine ♪

The five remaining potters

returned to Middleport for the last day of the challenge.

At the end of today,

only four will make it through to the final.

So as we approach semifinal judging,

who is looking really strong for the final?

We're looking at Matthew and we're looking at Jim really

as being the ones riding at the front of the wave.

You know, obviously we haven't

seen their chandeliers yet.

So anything could happen.

With fine bone china,

it's a very different kind of firing process.

They could have all stuck together.

Then who's in danger from leaving the pottery

and not making it to the final?

Well, there's Tom. He was 3rd in the spot test.

What are you hoping to see from Tom's chandelier, Kate?

He came in with one idea and he seemed to steer off it.

So whether he's added to the original idea

and added some dynamism, which is what we want to see from Tom,

or whether it's really taking it a step too far away

from what he wanted to show us, I don't know.

Who else is looking at, like they can't quite keep up?

Jane and Sally-Jo are.

Such a shame. Let's start off with Sally-Jo.

I'm just hoping that her chandelier design

is just going to pull her right to the top of this.

So let's talk about Jane.

All throughout this contest she's been pretty consistent.

She's had a couple of hiccups, what's going on with her now?

KATE"She's trying so hard and she's so focused.

I just don't know whether she's done enough

for this main make.

I don't know whether she's done enough actual pieces

to make her chandelier look so dramatic.

Before the potters are judged on their chandeliers,

they have one last chance to impress Kate and Keith,

- Hello! -Hello!

And secure their place in the final.

Welcome back to the pottery.

We've got the little matter of a throw down.

This is the bit where you go up against each other.

You go up against the clock, and you go up against this man,

Keith, king of the wheel.

What delights do you have in store

for our five fabulous semifinalists please, Keith?

Well, we've got a goodie this week, peeps.

Today, you're going to throw a perfectly closed sphere.

And we want that sphere to be as large as you can make it,

but we don't want to see any evidence of that closed top.

We want a smooth top hemisphere.

- This is not easy. -Not easy.

Beautifully put Tom. It's quite a tricky one.

Now we're not just going to set

you off to do it all by yourselves.

Of course, first, you can watch the master at work.

- So Keith? -Yep.

Sit at the wheel, sunshine!

Here we go.

The great discipline with this is obviously

the speed of the wheel when you're closing it up.

And it's the control of the wheel

throughout the whole process, really.

The speed of the wheel is always altering

depending on what you're doing.

So, close it up.

Could you just do that bit again?

So you really need to come in to the base,

Get that knuckle hurting.

I'm now using the sponge to throw with

because I can't really get my hand in there.

The old sponge on the stick trick.

This is the tricky bit.

Yeah, this is the crucial bit, closing it in.

Nice work, sir, nice work.

So really is bringing it together bit by bit.

Can you see him close, ah, there, it goes.

- Oh, ho. -Whoop!

Not quite there yet.

That'll do.

- That'll do won't it? -That's great!

- Yeah, that'll do. -Not bad, mate, not bad!

We're looking good.

Let's see what it is.

Well, that's, that's 17 and a half centimeters.

- That one. -Nice.

And make sure that the inside is like a bowl shape.

There, so look, you've got a nice even thickness.

And then when you come down, you would turn that.

So it would be a complete sphere.

You're going to have 12 minutes to make your sphere, okay?

So go and get yourselves settled at the wheels please.

- Good luck guys. -Good luck.

- Good luck, dudes. -Magic.

Okay, semifinalists.

This is your throw down. 12 minutes for one sphere.

Time starts now.

Keith made throwing a sphere look almost too simple.

So what could possibly go wrong?

That's it, just relax.

You got plenty of time to get it centered.

Looking good Jim, looking good.

- How's it going, Jane? -Yeah, it's going fine.

Yeah. It's going fine.

Jim's trying to close his in now.

- Wow! -Yeah.

- How's it going, Jim? -Trying to take it easy.

Hope I've left enough there to do that join at the top.

- It's kind of roughly shaped... -It's looking.

- We're kind of getting there. -Yeah.

- Don't let that collapse, Jim. -Cheers mate. No pressure then.

Sally-Jo is taking it really slowly.

- Hey, Sally-Jo. -Hiya!

I'm literally shaking.

- Are you enjoying it? -Loving it, yeah.

Yeah, he's getting the height now, isn't he?

He's getting a decent bit of height.

Matthew's got a great height at the back there.

One minute to go.

Don't tickle it. You're the boss.

- Look at the horizon. -Ten,

- Look at your horizon. -Nine, eight,

Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!

Time's up, guys!

I made an egg.

On the upside, for one of you,

that's your last ever throw down.

Woo hoo!

Okay guys, should we come and have a look?

We're gonna come and check out your spheres.

Right then, let's have a look here, Jane.

Looks a bit like a head, argh!

Oh, 17 and a half.

Got it.

It's a really nice shape. It's not quite a sphere.

Oh, it's got a square bottom, hasn't it?

- Square inside. -It's got a flat bottom,

but it's definitely closed up,

but really good effort there, Jane.

- Brilliant. -Good effort, Jane.

- Oh, Sally-Jo! -I know.

As a sphere, it's absolutely hopeless,

but, you actually finished it off incredibly well.

If there was a mark for dignity, I think that would win.

Hi, Matthew.

Looking good.

I wanna wolf whistle it it's that good.

So that's 18 centimeters.

The northern hemisphere looks really good, doesn't it?

Lovely finish on the top of it there,

the bottom part could have come out a bit more.

Let's have a look at the cross section here.

It's a really nice profile, isn't it?

And look at that top seal. Good.

Yeah, it's great.

Excellent. Well done, Matthew. Thank you.

- Thank you. -Good.

- Hi, Jim. -Hello.

- Let's have a look at yours, shall we?

Just over 18 centimeters.

It's a really, really good shape.

- That is good, that is- -You look at that base.

That is pretty good.

You've got a lovely curve in there.

Beautiful closing up. The profile is absolutely dead on.

Yeah, well done Jim. That's a really good one.

Last but not least.

The southern hemisphere is,

is not so bad up to about a third of the way.

And then it just goes into a bit of a beehive shape there.

I mean it's definitely closed up.

- Good. -Great, Tom.

- Great work, Tom. -Thank you.

So, who's thrown the most impressive sphere?

In glorious 5th place, which is special in a way, is?

Sally-Jo!

Best bowl in the room though.

- Best bowl, I thought. -Best bowl in the room.

- Yeah, the best bowl. -4th place, goes to Jane!

It was very close, wasn't it. -It was close, yeah.

Jane, you finished it off really, really nicely.

It was just a bit too straight at the base.

3rd place please, judges.

3rd place today goes to Tom.

What we liked about Tom's was

he'd actually made the bowl shape

at the beginning of his sphere.

Who have you put into 1st place, please?

So 1st place today-

is...

Jim.

Ah, how lovely.

- Well done, Jim. -Well deserved.

And really Jim,

you had a great curve on the inside of your base.

You had a good overall shape.

It could have been turned into a really lovely sphere.

2nd place goes to Matthew.

Really nicely finished, really nicely closed in.

Just could have bellied out the bottom a bit more.

That was the semifinal throw down. Still to come.

We're gonna have a look at your bone china chandeliers.

So we'll see you in a little while.

Two out of three.

Oh, my luck is holding up.

A place in the final now rests

on what emerges from the kiln.

4th in the spot test, last in the throw down.

Yeah, I am a bit concerned now about my place in the final.

I'm really hoping to get through to the final.

No one wants to go out at this stage.

Not to go all the way, you know, it would be a real shame.

Hopefully your chandelier will carry on in the same vein.

I'll be, I'll be very pleased. I might even celebrate! Yeah.

I'm not too concerned about winning,

it's taking part that's important, I think you'll find.

The bone china pieces are out of the kiln.

Once the potters have dusted off

the alumina and tidied them up,

they can begin hanging their chandelier's.

I put the alumina on the kiln shelf

and I'd sort of run a rolling pin

just create some sort of soft undulations,

hoping that the tentacles would sort of slump into it.

But they haven't.

No, I'm slightly worried on some of these holes actually,

because they have shrunk quite considerably.

Yeah, so these little holes here, if they're too small,

then obviously we're not gonna be able

to thread our line through to hang them.

I thought they were gonna be more translucent.

Yeah, that might just be our process.

Maybe because I've just made them too thick?

I wasn't really,

just wasn't sure what sickness I was aiming for, were you?

No.

Look at that. I've made myself a little needle.

Wow!

You should have some more alumina on your face.

- It's a good look. -Have I got alumina on my face?

Could you just actually add a bit more?

- That's not bad. -Looking good.

- Can I pick one up? -Yeah, pick one up, that's fine.

Oh, you've got the light coming through haven't you?

That looks really good.

Should be all right, I think.

Not surprised to see Matt's come out exactly as he'd hoped.

He clearly understands the material really well.

Which is great.

With their bone china pieces now prepared,

the potters have two and a half hours

to bring their vision to life and light.

The judges are looking for skillfully shaped,

well-designed, and full chandeliers.

I can't even get my wire open, that's a good start.

Now, how do we go about this?

I've got 80-odd pieces, quite literally 80 odd pieces as well.

The only problem that I've got is time really,

because I've got to hang every one of them

pretty much to make it look less mobiley

and more chandeliery.

- Cor, this isn't easy, is it? -It's a little bit fiddly.

- A third hand would come in useful, wouldn't it?

I envisaged it as a longer column with more feathers,

sort of a bit more dramatic,

but within the time that we've got,

that's pretty much what I thought.

I'd like to say it is my week for top potter,

but I don't think that would be the case.

That'd be nice. It'd be nice.

It's Sally's week for top potter.

Now, come on girls, that time?

- Yeah. -Oh, Jim.

- That's fighting talk. -Steady on.

Maybe, they could be a tiny bit thinner,

but no, I think the translucency is quite good.

You can definitely see,

when I held them up, I could see my hand through it.

Oh, you all right?

Yeah. Look that, actually stuck into the floor.

Death by chandelier.

Quite a lot still to do then.

Could have done with being a bit more busy.

I would have done a lot more of these,

but, as an overall effect, I'm quite chuffed with that.

I think it works.

Sounds great.

I could jingle that all day long.

Oh, that sound is like music to my...

We know that I don't mean that.

It's all right. ou got plenty extra.

Let's go for a couple more.

- It's all right, is it? -Oh, look at that.

- Wow, the dome's okay? -Oh, the dome's okay.

Jim, would you mind just cupping my jellyfish?

- Cupping your jellyfish. -Cupping it.

- Cupping it, of course. -There we go, thanks dude.

You found your vocation in life.

Yeah.

Five minutes to go before the chandeliers

need to be ready for the final judging.

Yeah. I don't think I can do this in time.

It didn't appreciate quite how long

this assembly was going to take.

If I did it again, I'd hang the flowers so they were angled

just to get more of the effect of the flower.

But other than that it was on the right tracks.

And that's good enough for me.

Yeah, I'm all right with that.

I can live with it.

I think small fiddly stuff just doesn't look so good.

And I think larger, larger shapes that have repetition

to allow you to see that shape in different angles,

'cause these are all twisting,

and with the light and the glint, and you know,

that's the way I think, to,

to really impress with these chandeliers.

Looking a little bit like a wind chime,

which is not really what I was going for.

Bit concerned now.

Everyone's done a really nice job.

Five days, five bone china chandeliers,

but Kate and Keith can only send

four potters through to the final.

Potters. Talk about all things bright and beautiful.

They look gorgeous.

Five days ago, the judges asked you to design and create

a bone china chandelier, which you have done,

and they look great. It's time now for the judging.

I think it's really successful. It's really lovely shape.

Well, what's interesting, I think for me,

is that the whole thing is very compact

and it's very full isn't it? It's a very full design.

I'm a bit disappointed by the flowers.

I just like to see marks on those flowers,

you could have done better with the flowers.

I was really excited to see what these were gonna do.

And actually they're not as

impressive as actually your leaves,

and I'm loving this double leaf.

I think it's a really, really good idea.

The leaves and the fluidity that you've got there,

they're very, very nice flowing forms. Great, Jim.

To me, it's lost its direction.

Really, you should have been thinking about

your original design and strengthening it.

And I was very worried that you were weakening it.

And that's how I feel with this.

- It's interesting, 'cause it's slightly diluted

as you go down the chandelier, isn't it.

I can see the strong message around the top

and as we come down, it gets more and more sparse.

I really think you have salvaged the design

quite a lot by hanging it so well.

Yeah, it's very, very symmetrical, isn't it?

It's very nicely balanced

on the whole surround of the chandelier.

Thank you, Tom.

- Thank you very much. -Thanks, Tom.

Well, this is quite a departure for you

because usually you're quite free

and slip flinging all over the place,

and here you've gone for a really repetitive design.

I absolutely love it.

I think you've chosen this quilt effect really, really well.

I think as the sun goes down and the light comes through,

that would really, really show up really, really nicely.

I even like the way that the repetitive forms

actually slightly curl under because of the weight.

I think the sense of volume is really interesting

that you've managed to do that.

I also think you've threaded them really cleverly.

There's these double loops that work well.

You're so good at showing us how the clay really is.

You're showing us the soft,

beautiful silkiness of the slip as it comes out of the mold.

Thank you very much.

You could have done far more on this top ring, I think.

And also the other thing is that

the bottom ring does seem a bit one dimensional.

They're all sort of roughly the same length.

I don't know whether that's intentional or not,

but it does look a bit sparse

on the top half of your chandelier.

The textures that you've done,

I can actually see the light coming through

and that's very successful.

I'm loving all this texture

around the bottom ring here.

It could be better.

I'm just looking at things like this

articulated piece here with the threading.

What does that actually add to the whole design

if it had been a long piece?

- They are a bit too straight. -Yeah.

You know, there could have been a bit more fluidity in there.

I just think it's a really sweet design.

Very thoughtful, could have been done better.

Thank you.

I absolutely love the concept. I think it's fantastic.

I love the whole overall effect.

Obviously making the thing is one thing,

it's then placing those particular pieces

and arranging them in the chandelier

is another, isn't it really?

You could have maybe done with a few more feathers there,

but I really liked the way it sort of cascades down.

I love the movement.

I was a bit concerned about how the wings would hang

because there's a sort of sense of fallen wings

and we don't want wings falling like an Icarus or something.

We actually wanted flight.

And I think the level at which you've got the wings

is really good and the way the feathers

catch the light is exquisite.

I think it's a really successful design.

I love the way the light's shining through the wings.

What the light is doing is actually accentuating

the delicacy of the feathers.

It's giving this really delicate feel to the whole thing.

- Really good. -Thank you very much.

Really nice.

So potters, that is the semifinal judging done.

You guys can go and have a well-earned breather now,

because Kate and Keith have got a lot to discuss.

There's big decisions to be made.See you in a little while.

Well, judges, like a moth to a flame,

I'm just drawn to the glorious glow of these chandeliers,

especially now that we've dimmed the lights a little bit,

they look beautiful. What do you think?

- They're just gorgeous. -Incredible.

They've never touched bone china slip before

and look what they've done.

So let's start with your favorites then.

It's definitely Matthew.

I think it's absolutely fantastic

the way he's used that repeating shape,

the quilting effect that he's got on there.

We wanted to see this lush and precious,

lit up, a cascade, and we've got it.

Well, Jim's you see for me,

he's really captured the fluidity of fine bone china.

He's really used the light so beautifully.

He has a great sense of composition and volume

made of smaller pieces. It's really lush and dense.

We can't see the light bulb there. Really good.

So Jim came top in the spot test,

top in the throw down and he's made a lovely chandelier.

Surely he's gotta be up there for top potter?

He is up there, but is it really hanging?

Is it a great cascade of objects?

I'm loving Sally-Jo's, what do you think, Kate?

She's showing us light coming through cuts and marks

and I just think there's a great sense of light and movement.

Super.

I think it's a great, great concept.

And she's actually pulled it off.

In the throw down Sally-Jo came last

because throwing is just not her thing.

Has she pulled it back with her

gorgeous design of this chandelier?

Could she be our first female top potter?

I think it's a toss up between Matthew and Jim for top potter.

No, I'm not so sure.

I'd really like to keep Sally-Jo right in contention.

It's the most delicate use of fine bone china

out of the whole five of them.

So Sally-Jo is up there with those two gentleman there.

And another one you've gotta thrash out as well

is who is not gonna make it through to the grand final?

We've got Tom and we've got Jane.

Tom's is conceptually horrendous.

He started off with a really precise design

and he's changed it, which is great,

but he's absolutely done nothing.

It doesn't tell me anything.

It's just a few objects hanging from a frame.

If he hadn't hung it so well with this circle of discs

and the circle of twists

and then this circle of cheese gratery things,

I just think it would have been floundering even more.

I'm really annoyed with Tom.

We know he's technically brilliant at most things,

but where's the message? It's hopeless, absolutely hopeless.

Whereas if we turn to Jane's,

she always has these great ideas with depth and meaning.

And she's the one who made these gorgeous patterns

and we're seeing through the patterns to the light,

but she hasn't hung it as well as Tom did.

It just looks really boring the way she's hung it.

But I have to agree with Kate,

the concept of it, absolutely brilliant.

It just looks really, really immature the way it's been hung.

One has great ideas,

could have possibly done better with the hanging,

and Tom, the idea just dissolved to nothing,

and he's hung it very well.

It's always a big decision who's gonna leave the pottery,

but this week it's huge, because you've gotta get it right

'cause it decides who leaves the pottery,

and also who goes through to the grand final.

We can't look back. We can't look forward.

We have to take this week into account.

After much discussion between Kate and Keith,

they did eventually decide who is going to be

semifinal top potter.

They've shown a really good use of the material

and they've shown a really good design concept.

So top potter this week, goes to...

Matthew.

Again.

Congratulations on getting the hat trick

with top potter as well. Huge. Well done.

Now to the trickier decision.

And I've got to say a lot of heartfelt

debate, discussion, negotiation, wrangling went on,

to decide who was gonna leave the pottery.

The judges have made their decision though.

The person not making it through to the grand final

and leaving the pottery is,

Jane.

Oh, Jane, sweet.

It's all right. I knew it was coming. It's fine.

Jane had a lovely idea.

She just didn't really carry it through.

And the hanging of the chandelier was,

was not up to speed.

I knew a slip cast bone china chandelier

wasn't one of my strong points.

I shan't probably be doing it again.

I'm chuffed I got this far.

Staggeringly, I made it through.

Great to have been saved from the chop,

but very disappointed that I got such a-

rightly, harsh criticism for the chandelier.

You were up with top potter, actually.

What you did with that-

Brilliant.

You had it in you. It was brilliant.

Really, really good, fantastic concept.

I haven't yet managed to knock

one of those boys off the top spot.

There's a lot of talented potters left in the final.

I'll absolutely give it my best shot.

Top potter for a third time.

I'm trying not to think about it too much

because I don't want to go into the final

feeling a bit too confident and-

Yeah, making a fool of myself.

Down to the final four.

My wife whooped for joy this evening

when I told her I was in the final.

This is a real contest of four great makers

who have great skills.

And I can't wait to see what they do.

I'm hoping to sort of come through with my head held high.

It is literally anyone's challenge for the taking.

This week was the hardest so far,

but I've earned my place in the final.

And I'm gonna go out to win it.

Next time.

The final.

Here goes nothing.

It's your worst nightmare as a potter.

No!