Original subtitles

In two places? You've broken your leg in two places?

I know, I know.

Look, if it's any consolation, you should see the other guy.

Don't cry, Keith. I'm fine.

I'm sorry I'm such an eejit. I messed things up.

So what are we gonna do without you?

I know you think that I'm an integral part of the show,

but don't worry, I have found someone else to stand in for me

while me and my leg recover.

- All right, lads. - Oh, Ellie, hi.

Siobhan! Get better soon. But for now, I've got this.

We've found 12 of the nation's best amateur potters,

so let the battle to find the champion of the pottery begin.

Welcome to the new series of The Great Pottery Throw Down!

We've scoured the length and breadth of Britain

in search of 12 of the nation's finest home potters.

Walking in through those gates, it was, like, "Wow!"

It doesn't feel real.

To be honest, at every stage, I've expected somebody

to sort of say to me, "No, love, go home, we're only joking."

(man) I started pottery because of this show,

so to actually be here, I don't really know what to think.

This is completely bonkers. I'm having to pinch myself.

I am actually, yep, I'm here. I'm here!

(Ellie) Each week they'll be tasked

with transforming lumps of raw clay into stunning ceramics.

I'm feeling really nervous, yeah.

There's days when you can't throw,

and I don't want it to be one of those days.

I am out of my comfort zone.

When I'm making stuff at home,

I've got all the time in the world.

Me and Kate Bush, we live in that shed.

Everything they create will be judged

by master potter Keith Brymer Jones.

(Keith) What I'm really, really looking forward to

is quite frankly to be inspired.

When I see that potter make that idea come to life with clay,

I can't help but get emotional.

It's... It's absolutely brilliant.

My partner, she's, like, "You better make Keith cry

by the time you get home."

I don't know what I would do if he started crying.

Also casting a critical eye, ceramics expert Rich Miller.

The thing I love about clay

is from the moment you open up that bag,

there are a world of possibilities.

That inanimate mud can become anything.

I'm just so excited to see what they're gonna make.

Oh, my pretty one.

The potters will face 20 brand new challenges.

- Whoo! - This is good. This is fun.

I like pressure. I describe it as the Olympics of pottery.

- - Designed to push them... - I'm panic painting.

- - ...to their limits. - Oh, there goes one.

Try another one! Try, try!

I'm not at all nervous.

- Are you ready? - Ready as I'll ever be.

After which, one will be named champion...

Quite delighted, to be honest. I had a little internal "whoo!"

...of The Great Pottery Throw Down.

(Keith) This one's a bit dodgy.

- Ugh... - In fact, it's really dodgy.

Anything can happen, right? It's Throw Down.

(theme music plays)

(Ellie) So I think I've got the gist of the show.

(Keith) Yeah, go on, then.

So we're at Gladstone Pottery in Stoke

because it's the home of British pottery.

Yeah, well done.

Yeah, 12 amateur potters

are set two challenges each week,

after which a potter of the week is crowned,

but then sadly one potter does have to go home.

Yeah, well done. We're impressed.

And I'm the one who decides who stays and goes.

- No, we do that bit. - Well, what do I do, then?

(Keith) Well, you just have to sort of walk around smiling

and be warm and maybe funny?

Oh, and you must make sure

the potters don't have dirty bottoms.

- Yeah. - What kind of a show is this?

Good morning, potters, and welcome to the pottery.

How are you feeling? Nervous? Excited?

Confused about why Siobhan

sounds a lot less Irish in person?

Fair enough. No, Siobhan has sadly broken her leg.

So until she is well enough to come back,

I have been charged with keeping her pottery wheel spinning.

Or another pottery metaphor. I don't really understand.

Now, for your first challenge,

the judges would like you to make

a five-piece children's crockery set

inspired by your own childhood memories.

Keith and Rich would like you to make a plate, a side plate,

a bowl, a beaker with two handles,

and a character eggcup.

I want to see artistic hand-building.

I want to see nicely thrown pots.

And don't forget clean bottoms.

I'm keen to see a really cohesive design.

Think about how you're gonna bring

all of those separate elements of your set together,

whether that's through texture, color, form,

or all of those things.

Right, you have three hours

to make your five-piece children's crockery set.

Potters, get potting!

- Ooh. - Ah.

To be here is the ultimate.

Oh, it's great. This is like being in my shed.

Except the lighting's better, it's warmer,

and I've got a whole day to do pottery

rather than, um, ten minutes.

Before the potters can begin throwing,

they must wedge their clay,

a process that helps remove any air bubbles.

They'll then have three hours

to throw their five-piece children's crockery set,

and a further two and a half hours

to add any hand-built elements and refine.

(woman) As you can see, I'm a bit of a messy individual.

Trying to work clean is going to be a challenge here.

So, Rich, the first week, the first challenge.

I mean, it's right up my street. Domestic-ware.

(Rich) We've asked our potters to start with a thrown form,

but then they're gonna sculpt them and alter them,

and that adds an extra layer of difficulty.

And it's gotta be user-friendly. We don't want sharp edges.

The form is gonna be critical.

This beaker, for example,

having these two handles

that are beautifully smooth and round,

but it adds all sorts of problems into the make.

They've gotta be aligned perfectly.

The profile has to match.

And the beaker, albeit small, wants to be

the right proportion to the rest of the set.

Yeah. I mean, this is a lovely example of an eggcup.

Putting this tail and these two little ears

gives it real character, and the egg just sits perfectly.

We don't wanna hear, "Oh, no, it was for duck eggs."

It's gotta fit that medium egg.

- Absolutely. - Small and perfectly formed.

- Like you. - That's right.

- Morning, Anna. - Good morning.

- Hi, Anna. - How are you?

Excited, nervous. A bit terrified.

You look like the most pottery potter here.

You've got clay on your face, a paintbrush in your hair.

- On trend. Love it. - I'm just messy.

So tell us about your design.

(Anna) It's actually based on a childhood memory.

It was our first time as kids on a farm, and we had ducks.

One morning, the shed was open,

and there was feathers all over the ground, no ducks.

So my dad got us sticks,

and we went to hunt the fox that stole the ducks.

Social care worker Anna is from County Fermanagh,

Northern Ireland, and grew up working on dad Pat's farm.

(Anna) That's great. Thanks, Daddy.

Anna will use brightly colored sculpted figures

to bring her family fable to life,

and like all the best stories, it has a twist.

Decades later, we were discussing this memory,

and my mother started laughing,

because my father had killed the duck.

He had taken us out on the foxhunt

so my mother could pluck and cook the duck

that we came home to and ate for dinner.

Josh has also been influenced

by some slightly questionable dad parenting.

I used to love motorbikes.

We used to always go on holiday to Portugal.

There's a photo there of me on a motorbike with my dad.

(Ellie) Health and safety alert.

No, none of that.

Josh, a design technology teacher from Reading,

spent many happy adrenaline-filled summers

with family in Portugal.

His motorbike-themed set,

decorated in the colors of the Portuguese flag,

features a beaker with handlebars,

and plates designed to look like a racetrack.

(Josh) The plate, two plates merged into one.

So that's just gonna be one piece?

(Josh) That's why I'm throwing two, joining it together.

- You feeling fairly confident? - I think so, yeah.

I don't know what the time is, but yeah.

(both) You've got five minutes.

(Tom) Yeah, so the first thing you wanna do is make a plate.

Throwing a plate requires a firm hand

to compress the clay into a perfectly even disc.

I've made all the plates in my house. They are wobbly.

But they're plates, and I made them.

What more do you need from a plate

other than a flat surface that you can eat off?

Ooh, that's got a wobble on it.

(woman) Slightly annoyed that my first plate is wonky,

but also glad that I've made a plate.

But even if they are happy with their thrown forms...

Ooh, crikey.

...the potters aren't out of the woods yet.

(man) Oh. For God's sakes.

The wire rose up and just cut through it,

and all that work's just gone, and it's just like... argh!

Museum assistant Bill lives in Scarborough,

and is a proud grandfather to two-year-old Phoebe.

Bill's designed his crockery with her in mind,

but the elephant-themed set commemorates

the unforgettable day the circus came to town.

One of my earliest memories is Mum coming into the garden,

saying, "Billy, come and see the elephants."

I was dragged down the road just in time to see

four huge elephants coming down from the railway station.

- Wow. Quite a sight. - And the smell.

Not just the sight. It was the smell of them.

- But you're not doing the dung? - I'm not doing the dung, no.

It might look like a bit of dung at the moment, but...

I think you've achieved it. That's great.

(woman) I do love animals.

When I was younger,

I was fascinated by storybooks

where the animals wore human clothes.

I didn't speak till I was four, very behind,

so I lived in a bit of a world of make-believe.

Retired occupational therapist Lucinda lives in Shropshire,

where she's passing her passion for wildlife

on to her grandkids.

(child) Ooh! Take care of it, Granny.

If it dies, you might be a bit upset.

Immortalized in clay, Hannibal, Lucinda's pet tortoise,

will lead a pack of her childhood chums

in her intricately decorated crockery set.

There is a lot of work in there.

Are you gonna have time to get all of that detail

into the actual set?

- Watch me. Watch me. - Fighting talk.

- That sounds determined. - I like it. Great.

- Yeah, I will. - (Rich) Great.

That's good.

Bill's finally managed to throw his plate.

I'm feeling a little bit better now after my debacle.

But there's no time to relax.

What am I doing now? Bowl.

No crockery set is complete

without a breakfast bowl,

which one potter is fashioning into something fearsome.

That's the mouth of the beast.

When I was younger, my sister and I just used to make stuff.

One of the favorite things we used to make was monsters.

Father of four Nick lives in Barry, South Wales,

and has worked as a prop maker for over 20 years.

His colorful crockery contains

a monstrous amount of textural detail

that'll take all his modeling know-how to pull off.

What's the best thing you've ever made?

I made Peter Capaldi's TARDIS console,

and I've made all the sonic screwdrivers.

- Oh, wow! - What a claim to fame.

Is that what that is in your pocket?

That's my lucky pencil.

But Nick's monsters might not be

the fiercest creatures in the pottery.

(woman) I'm doing my design based on dinosaurs.

I just love dinosaurs.

As a kid, I had all the dinosaur books,

and we'd go to the museums.

I was the dinosaur kid.

Recent design graduate and this year's youngest potter,

21-year-old AJ lives in Aberdeen.

This self-confessed geek likes to impress partner Kelda...

- Ta-da! - Oh, wow.

...with their latest cosplay creations.

(Kelda) Absolutely adorable.

AJ's crockery set and mini Jurassic world

features diddy dinosaur characters

and prehistoric plant life.

The decoration, are they gonna be really colorful, or...?

Yeah, I was going for soft shapes, bright colors.

Oh, wow. OK.

- My little girl would love it. - Oh, good.

She would smash that on the floor in a heartbeat.

(laughter)

So you're halfway through now. That's your halfway time check.

- Coming your way. - Go, go, go, Gadget!

As the potters' bowls and plates

hit the drying room to firm up...

Thank you, Rose.

...attention can turn

to their smaller items.

(AJ) This is gonna be the beaker,

my dinosaur egg with a little face poking out.

Ensuring their beakers are in proportion

to the rest of their set is paramount.

(Anna) The difficulty with these is getting the size right

for small children.

You just think you've got it, and then it's not,

so... bring it in a bit.

But no beaker is complete without handles.

So, uh... do you come here often? What's happening here?

So at the moment I'm pulling handles.

Right. Any tips for handle pulling?

(Jenny) Make sure that it's as moist as possible,

so your hands are really moist, really wet,

so that it just slips through your fingers.

It's a really good idea to concentrate on the tip first.

If the tip ends up bigger,

you end up pulling the whole lot off.

- And that's not a good look. - That would be disastrous.

Absolute disaster.

(Zahra) I am making a rabbit with a waistcoat,

and his ears will be the handles.

I'm doing Alice in Wonderland, 'cause it's a story

my mum used to read to us when we were little.

Zahra lives in Manchester, and followed in the footsteps

of her Iraqi-born mum to pursue a career in medicine.

Can you lean forward for me, sweetheart?

Her set brings together

some of Lewis Carroll's most iconic characters,

including a bowl containing the pipe-smoking caterpillar.

You're a doctor, is that right?

I know, it surprises me too sometimes.

It feels like if you work in a hospital,

then this is quite chilled out.

It's literally not life and death.

Do you think that helps you a little bit?

Um, no, 'cause I'm still really nervous.

No, it is, Ellie. It is life and death.

Sorry. I've misunderstood the show.

He's gonna start crying now. What you doing?

Christine's imagination has also been fired

by her mother's tales.

When we were young, my mum was really interested in fairies.

She used to take us through the bluebell woods,

and she'd show us the knots in trees,

and she'd say that they were the doors, so we'd knock on them

and leave little daisy posies and things like that,

so my inspiration is flowers and fairies.

Christine grew up one of eight siblings.

Living in Preston, and now a mum of two herself,

she loves nothing more than a big family get-together.

(laughter)

She's hoping to capture

the spirit of her childhood fairyland

with an ornate crockery set

styled on the white narcissus flower,

and populated with delicate hand-sculpted butterflies,

flowers, and a fairy.

(Christine) The little fairy that's sitting on the eggcup,

she's the hardest, she's challenging.

It might be the smallest piece, but the eggcup...

Oh, there goes one.

...could cause the potters

the biggest headache.

Oh, might try that one again.

- (laughs) - Right, take two.

Throwing intricate forms leaves no margin for error.

I'm remaking Mr. Mad Hatter eggcup,

because the hat fell off, basically.

While Zahra's eggcup is missing its all-important headwear...

Plenty of time.

...Tom's will soon be in need of some shoes.

I'm making alien feet on my alien eggcup.

What I've done is thrown that on the wheel,

and then I've cut across there, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

It's even got a little alien shoe thing going on.

That didn't happen when I practiced. That's awesome.

Tom, a computer programmer from Bath, and his wife, Fleur,

love to get back to nature in their vintage caravan.

- Amazing view. - Girders. Some old tires.

Inspired by a childhood obsession

with galaxies far, far away,

his set features an extraterrestrial eggcup

sat atop a moon-rock side plate.

That is absolutely deadly. I love it.

But as Tom prepares to blast off...

(Tom) I found out somebody else is doing space.

...he won't be alone.

They're sat behind me, though, so they can see what I'm making

and I can't see what they're making.

- I'm watching. - (laughs)

I'll come back and investigate in a minute.

- I'm just one step behind. - Yeah.

It's, like, that looks remarkably familiar.

But Jenny's making life doubly difficult,

throwing a top for her cosmic eggcup.

It's slightly complicated, because it's gonna be a rocket,

and you'll open it up to reveal the egg.

So I've gotta make sure that the two elements fit together.

As a child, teacher turned mum Jenny from Doncaster

was a budding astronomer.

Her crockery set will contrast the darkness of outer space

with bright yellow stars, colorful rainbows,

and a beaming sun plate.

We didn't ask for a lidded eggcup,

but you're kind of going that extra mile.

- Yeah, just to push it a bit. - Just to make your life harder.

Yeah. It could be my fatal flaw, or it could really make it.

Well, we're looking forward to seeing it.

Thank you.

You've got one hour left, my friends, one hour.

Now the moment of truth.

The crockery sets have had a chance to dry,

and now they're leather hard,

the potters must trim off any excess clay.

(Anna) Bit of remedial work's gonna have to go into this.

It isn't a clean bottom as asked for.

Unless they refine every surface,

they won't achieve the perfect finish demanded by the judges.

I can't spend too much time on this.

It's not perfect, but it'll do.

At this stage, the potters can also

start altering their thrown pieces.

I'm just about to turn this into my little race track.

Let me see if it lines up.

Bang on. Phew.

(AJ) My side plate's gonna be a mud splat

for the eggcup stegosaurus to play in.

But these alterations aren't without risk.

The more they manipulate,

the greater the chances

of cracks forming when fired.

I've made lots of plates before,

but I don't normally make the middle look like fish and chips.

My design's based on the family holidays

that we used to have in Cornwall, mackerel fishing,

with some captain of the ship calling me "my lover."

It was great.

Clothing designer Miles, husband Frank and dog Maud

upped sticks from the city

to the Worcestershire countryside.

(Miles) Maud, drop it. Drop it.

His Cornish crockery set features

every fisherman's friend, a jolly lighthouse keeper,

which Miles is adorning with a replica

of his own facial fur.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Miles isn't the only potter hitting the beach.

This is my main plate. The idea of this one is a beach towel.

Every year we'd go down to West Wales and sit on the beaches,

and we used to enter these regattas.

- 3 - D design and craft graduate Cellan

lives in Brighton, and has three brothers,

amongst which the competitive spirit is still strong.

Pile on, pile on.

His regatta-themed set features a life-ring-shaped bowl,

a fish-mouth eggcup and a trophy-inspired beaker

celebrating his aquatic prowess.

I used to really love the underwater swimming competition,

'cause I can hold my breath for quite a long time.

How long can you hold your breath for?

I don't know. I haven't timed it.

Let's have a competition. Probably not the right time.

- Maybe afterwards, yeah. - Later. We're on.

See if you can hold your breath for three hours

while you make the, uh...

I'm pretty much doing that already.

30 minutes left, my friends. 30 minutes.

Ooh.

I'm yelling in your ear, Lucinda!

Time is starting to not be my friend.

- It's a race now. - Now to make some fairies.

She's going to get curly hair.

(Anna) I'm just putting on a little girl,

and then a little fox.

Mr. Foxy.

(AJ) That'll be the face of my dinosaur egg.

And I need to get the handles on.

(Josh) Doing the handles of the beaker,

the motorbike handles, think they're in proportion.

(Nick) Getting this little fella together is the hardest one

'cause he's got the arms,

and my eggcup's gotta have all his little tentacles put on.

I've got a lot of rainbows and clouds to attach to my bowl.

Some of the bits have dried off

quite a lot more than I wanted them to.

If the clay's a different dryness,

then they've got different amounts to shrink,

so it can lead to things popping off.

Anything can happen, right? It's Throw Down.

Ten minutes left, potters, ten minutes.

We've got this.

Ooh, feet. We need to get those feet on.

(Lucinda) I like to have a few little surprises with my things.

Kids love surprises.

(Nick) Put Monster Mayhem on it.

That how you spell it, right?

Let's just check that's gonna fit in.

(Christine) All I've got left to do is put the petals on.

It's a bit tight. Let's take a bit more off.

I've never made so many eyeballs.

(Ellie) We're going in. We've got things going in.

Well done, mate. Well done.

One minute. One minute to go.

- One minute? - (Ellie) Yep. Come on.

Oh, my pretty one.

(Ellie) Well done, AJ. In they go.

- Want me to take the plate? - Please take the plate.

- Oh, thank you. - Let's go, let's go, let's go.

- I'm going, I'm going. - That is time, everyone.

- Well done! - There you go. It's all in.

Thank you.

Whoo! Whoo-hoo!

Ooh.

I'm exhausted. I don't know about you lot.

- That was intense, wasn't it? - Yeah.

For now, the potters have done all they can.

Once completely dry, studio technician Rose

will take them for their first bisque firing,

which will harden the clay ready for decoration.

I'm quite worried with Zahra's set.

Her bowl has some very fragile details

which could dry really fast and crack off.

That was very stressful.

Bits staying on is my main concern during the firing.

The potters now face an agonizing wait

to see if their sets survive the kiln's 1,000-degree heat.

(Jenny) I'm a little bit worried about the firing.

The handles on the beaker,

the clouds and the rainbows on the bowl

could potentially come off.

(Miles) Just keeping my fingers tightly crossed

that everything's gonna be OK.

Yes.

Each week the potters will face a second challenge.

What they'll be asked to make is a mystery,

but this week it's something no breakfast can do without.

Potters, it's time for your second challenge,

and it's a throw down.

You're going to be making... milk bottles!

- (all) Ah! - Ceramic ones, of course.

We're not expecting you to become expert glassblowers.

Master Potter Keith, show them how it's done.

Right. There we go.

What we're really looking for is consistency of shape,

consistency of size, and a really nice form.

It all starts when you're centering the clay.

You really wanna think about how much clay you're pulling up

to make it as tall as you need to make it.

I'm just folding over that rim.

And then I'm just going in with my sponge on a stick,

just bellying it out, just a little bit more pressure,

just to get that nice subtle accent on the shoulder.

We want it really nicely finished off,

a nice rim on there.

We're gonna be checking rims,

the shoulder, the neck.

(Keith) No scrappy bottoms.

Just a nice little neat nick.

Stop the wheel, wire it through, OK? And take it off.

So what we're looking for is three thousand, six hun...

No. As many milk bottles as you can make in 15 minutes.

We're looking for quality, consistency, and quantity.

It's your turn now, so head back to your benches.

You have 15 minutes to make as many milk bottles as possible.

Your time starts now. Remove the hessian!

I can't get the cling film off.

(Keith) Remember, the smoother you make that first pull,

the smoother the rim is gonna be.

I remember milk bottles from school, unfortunately,

and the milk was always sour.

I like things to be fairly perfect,

so trying to get a lot made in the time is tricky.

It's gotta be like making pancakes, right?

So the first one's always crap.

- Hello. - That one's naff.

Oh, well done, Jenny. Looking good.

Tom's getting his first one on. Nice work, Tom!

This is number two. I'm pleased it's a throwing challenge.

I'm comfortable with that.

The first one sets the standard,

and then all the other ones have to match.

Hopefully it's not a downward spiral.

(Bill) I'm just folding that top over

to get that bottle rim on the top.

I've never done that before.

- (laughs) - Focus, people.

(Bill) Just concentrate. Just concentrate.

And if in doubt, focus some more.

(Nick) I'm thinking I wouldn't mind a glass of milk.

That's five minutes down.

- You've got ten minutes left. - No way.

We've got a lot of work to do. Two and a half minutes each.

This is hard.

(Keith) You've had five minutes. Some of you have only got one.

So, come on! Milk bottles!

- Oh, you're so manly. - Whoo!

What are you doing, Anna? What happened to it?

- The wheel went. - The wheel went.

- Is that a technical term? - (laughs)

(Josh) Just about to start the fourth.

This is good. This is fun. I like pressure.

My hands are very shaky.

Just make sure you've got all of those aspects

in your milk bottles.

Shoulders, lips, rims.

- (Tom) This is number four. - Tom's such an overachiever.

Three for Miles. Cellan's got three.

Christine has... three.

Jenny has three. Three seems to be the number.

I've done one.

(Ellie) That's five minutes left, guys.

- Five min-unos. - Five minutes.

I'm actually lactose intolerant.

This is... This is basically stunt work for me.

(Keith) Tom's done well.

Jenny, she's about to take her fourth off.

I'd like to think I can get two more out,

but that's probably not gonna happen.

Don't ruin that one, Anna. I'm watching.

One minute, my friends. One minute.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa. - No. No, no, no, no.

How much time? They don't even look like bottles.

- (Josh) On number five now. - (Keith) Nice one, Tom.

- What number's that? - Six.

Come on, let's get a sixth.

They're not beautiful, are they?

Right, that's 30 seconds, guys.

Oh, I know.

Try another one. Try, try!

Five, four,

three, two,

one!

- (laughter) - Come on!

The potters will now face the judges for the very first time.

Look at all those. Flipping heck.

Keith and Rich are looking for perfectly formed milk bottles,

uniform in size and shape,

with straight sides and a well-defined rim.

Any that don't measure up will be recycled

into Keith's bucket of doom.

- Hello, Lucinda. - Hello.

- Hi. - Hi, lovey.

(Keith) So how did you find it?

- Absolutely terrifying. - (laughter)

But, actually, on these, the rim folding's gone really well.

This one's a bit dodgy. Yeah, in fact it's really dodgy.

- (contestants) Aw! - And...

It's, uh, yeah...

You know what, I think I'm gonna leave it...

- No, it's going. - Aw!

(Keith) These are great, though. The ordeal is over.

This one, bit of the runt of the litter, isn't it?

- And that one actually, yeah. - Aw!

- 'Cause that's also terrible. - (laughter)

- So that's four, Ellie. - One, two...

- Three. - ...three, four.

This one's a bit of a no-no.

It's a shame that one was distorted,

but I think we can sort of stop there.

You're all right.

(Rich) As a set, pretty good.

- Apart from that one. - Ah.

- (Rich) Wow. - (Keith) There was no shoulder.

Now, with those four, they're kind of fit for purpose.

- So well done. - Thanks a lot.

(Rich) As the forms go, you've got great height.

Honestly, Christine, I'm crying at them already.

- They're brilliant. - Thank you.

- (laughs) - Don't.

(Keith) Folks, we throw these challenges at you,

and, you know, you don't know what you're getting,

and you just get on that wheel,

and you persevere, and it... it's brilliant.

I'm sure Rich will back me up when I stop bloody crying.

(Rich) Yeah, absolutely, I mean, beautiful form,

clearly defined shoulders, necks, rims.

And that's your hands doing that,

so you should be proud of yourself.

I am.

There's obviously one that needs to go in the bin.

I love the way they're finished off.

The sides are nice and clean, aren't they?

(Rich) Yep.

Started off OK, and then just got progressively worse.

The rim on that, it's not great, is it?

So that's gonna have to go in.

So, I mean, you know, do you...

Aw!

You bad man.

So there we go. Three.

I love throwing, but there was too much hanging about.

It's a good effort, but this one isn't great, is it?

- Oh! - (Keith) That had to go.

- Yeah, that was the last one. - (Keith) They're a lovely pair.

Lovely pair. Lovely pair, Bill.

- (Keith) Pretty industrious. - (Tom) Haven't hung about.

- What's this? - (laughter)

- (Tom) That's my favorite. - That's going in the bin.

I think that would have brightened the cereal up

in the morning.

These rims are quite nice.

(Rich) You've got a similar flair on most of the necks.

(Keith) I think you've done well.

Six, mate. Smashed it.

(mouths)

It's wonderfully terrible.

- I made it myself. Thanks. - (laughter)

(Keith) I mean, that's gonna have to go in, yeah.

(Rich) This one flairs out a little bit.

Yeah, that flairs out too much. That's going in.

- We're gonna stop there. - Thanks.

(Ellie) Well done, mate.

Actually, Zahra, I changed my mind.

That's going in as well.

See you later.

- I didn't quite find my rim. - (Keith) Yeah.

A couple have got, like, little individual characters.

That was the brief right, Rich?

If that's what we were looking for, it would be great.

- I know, I know, I know. - But it isn't.

You could have got a bit more height. This one...

Hopeless, mate.

Would these four...

No, sorry, no, that's gotta go.

- With these three... - Yeah.

(Keith) Wow. These are looking pretty good.

- I'm loving the profile. - Yeah.

They just look really kind of voluptuous,

and the rims are really nicely round.

(Keith) There's one that's sort of obvious.

- What I don't mind about it... - Don't.

You can see that you've really thought about it,

and I'm reluctant to throw that one away.

You've gone for the same thing every time.

That's what we asked of you.

- (Keith) Well done. - Thank you.

- I'll go now. - (laughter)

Keith and Rich will now rank the sets from worst to first.

The potter with the most milk bottles

will walk away victorious.

In 12th place, Bill.

Perfect pair, not many more.

Miles, Zahra, Lucinda, and Nick each threw three bottles.

Cellan, AJ, Josh, and Anna threw four,

while Christine threw five.

So, in second place... is Jenny.

- Well done, Jenny. - (mouths)

So, for obvious reasons, first place,

well done, Tom, fantastic effort.

You can go and celebrate now

with a swift half of semi-skimmed.

(laughter)

Yeah, I'm thrilled. There's no other words.

I'm just really, really happy. I nailed it on the day.

- Drinks are on me! - (all) Whoo!

To come last, I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

I hope my breakfast set comes out really, really well,

and that will carry me through.

It's day two of the main make,

and after a 24-hour firing,

the children's crockery 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.

Last night was quite difficult to get to sleep,

because everything was going round in my head.

I've been going through in my mind

all the things that could possibly go wrong,

so things like legs off rockets.

My plate's turned into a bowl.

Clouds and rainbows popped off,

and beaker handles.

I'm a little concerned

about my bits, and whether they've dropped off.

(laughs)

Potters, your children's crockery sets

have been bisque fired and are now out of the kiln

and hiding under your hessian, so it's decorating time.

Keith, Rich, what are your tips?

(Rich) We'd like to see you

bring your pieces together as a set.

Just keep really focused

on keeping that glazing clean and tidy.

(Keith) These are a homeware set,

so these are gonna be washed and used

time and time again.

They need to be practical,

as well as fun to use.

You have a range of glazes and two and a half hours

to decorate your children's crockery sets.

So, potters, get decorating.

- Hey. - Survived?

- Yeah! - Survived, yes.

(Zahra) Relieved somewhat.

There were a few nightmares about limbs falling off, so...

But not everyone has made it

through the first firing unscathed.

There's a few little bits between the clouds and rainbows

that you can see where the join is.

- Is yours all right? - No.

Oh, no, what's happened?

S crack through the plate.

There's a chance the whole thing might fall in half. Ugh.

And Miles's plate isn't the only one with a problem.

Oh, Nick, I'm gonna be annoying.

- No. - You've missed the "E."

No. Mayhm.

- Mayhm. Mayhm. - Monster Mayhm.

I can't believe I done that.

To begin decorating, the first thing the potters need to apply

is completely invisible.

Right, I need to grab some wax, I think.

Wax just completely stops the glaze

from attaching to the clay.

It's a time-consuming process,

but without it, the potters could find themselves

with no crockery.

You have to have an area that's completely bare from glaze,

otherwise it will stick to the shelf in the kiln.

But before Bill can even begin waxing his bottoms...

This is the roughest one.

...he'll first have to sand them smooth.

I wouldn't have had all of this to do now

if I'd have tidied it up a lot better

before it went in the drying room.

But I think it's worth putting the time in,

'cause I think I'll get a better finish.

To produce the perfect finish the judges expect,

the potters are free to use any of the glazes available.

(Zahra) Basically getting every color.

But glazing, like most ceramic processes,

can be unpredictable,

and the colors the potters pick...

(Lucinda) It's like blancmange, isn't it? Chocolate blancmange.

...can dramatically change in the heat of the kiln.

(Nick) How orange do you think this is gonna go?

(AJ) It's almost red, so I'm gonna add some white to mine.

But while the final color

isn't completely under the potters' control...

Let's start with a sunshine color, yellow.

...how much they apply is.

If you put one coat on, it's almost like a watercolor,

and then two coats you've got more opacity,

and then three coats it's fully opaque.

So I'm just undercoating white at the moment

to create the petals.

To help bring her fairyland to life,

Christine will add splashes of color

to her almost entirely white set.

I want to be able to see

a little bit of texture from the brushes

in the underglaze of the white petals,

so they look quite flimsy.

I had to use white, because it's a narcissus flower.

Jenny's space-inspired set will also feature

a mostly monochrome finish.

The idea is they're tied together with the night sky.

- OK. - Space.

So all of the pieces are quite a dark black,

and then each one has its own separate colors,

so the rainbows are gonna be rainbow-colored.

But obviously time is tight.

The detail in the rainbows in particular.

Are you all right for time at the moment?

- At the moment I am. - Right, OK.

Famous last words.

And time might be tight for Tom...

I've got loads to do.

...and his intergalactic eggcup too.

I'm using every single color there is.

They're just really bright, bold colors

that kids like to play with.

And all those different colors

mean switching around brushes and things a lot,

so, yeah, I've got loads to do.

I love the dots on it. It looks really cool.

(Tom) He's a happy little chap, in't he?

(Anna) He is, isn't he?

(Bill) Right, I think we're ready.

Having spent over 30 minutes sanding his bottoms...

Oops.

...Bill is now playing catch-up.

A lot of painting to do.

And to recreate his childhood memory

of the circus coming to town,

he'll painstakingly paint

every one of his four elephants

with multiple layers of glaze.

So what is the sort of base color for the elephants?

- Are you painting those gray? - Yes.

There's a lot of surfaces.

Are you confident you've got the time to get all of those...?

I'm never confident.

You just do your best, don't you, and try your best.

I feel like I should let you get on,

because you've got a lot to do.

Just paint, paint, paint, paint, paint.

So that's one hour left, everyone.

Blimey. Right, gray.

I haven't used any colors yet. Well, white.

I'm itching to get to the color.

(AJ) The thing that's taken up the time

is just putting three layers on everything,

'cause I want it to be really bright when it's glazed.

Just gotta take my time with it.

But also not take my time. (laughs)

So all the animals have had their treatment.

Now what I've gotta do is get on

with all the party colors and shapes.

Since I was a child,

I've been fascinated by color and pattern.

Do you know, I can't leave things alone

unless they've got some sort of pattern on them.

Anna's set also requires plenty of hand-painted detail...

Each piece is going to have a different footprint.

...to help animate her story

of the fiendish fox and the doomed duck.

This one here has the fox footprint,

and I'm going to paint footprints through it,

so it sort of connects up that way, that's the plan.

- (Rich) Hello, Zahra. - Hi.

So what are you doing with your bowl?

I notice you've got quite a detailed character in there.

Yeah, so, we have Mr. Caterpillar Man.

He's gonna be yellow and green,

with different colors on the pipe.

- OK, right, wow, crikey. - A lot to do.

Yeah, that's a lot to do, yeah.

Just so long as you get those in the transparent glaze.

In time not to panic and drop stuff, yeah.

- It's half an hour, Bill. - I know.

I knew you were gonna say that.

You did know, you did know.

- I knew it was coming. - That's half an hour.

- Oh, that's tight. - Glazing as fast as I can.

Right, one more coat of this stuff.

(Jenny) I can't do rainbows, though.

My hand is shaking so much.

Half an hour left, I have not started on the Mad Hatter,

and I've only made a very brief start to the cup,

so I'm panic painting.

Have you got much to do? You've still got a fairy to do.

(Christine) I've got a fairy to finish.

I want my little diverse fairy.

And then I've got a couple of ladybirds to paint.

Oh, I was wondering what that was. That's a ladybird.

- It will be a ladybird. - I thought it was a wart.

Not only must the potters finish decorating...

(Anna) Mr. Foxy... coming to town.

...but as this is a homeware set,

to be functional, every piece must be coated

in a second transparent glaze.

Nice and even coating, no drips.

But the dipping process isn't without risk.

(AJ) I'm running out of time,

so I just really need to get this finished

so that it can dry enough for me to dunk it.

If their decorative underglazes are still wet,

there's a chance the clear coat

could cause the colors to run...

(Tom) Not bad. I've got some nice crisp lines.

...undoing all their hard work.

(AJ) Maybe this one's too wet to dip.

- How am I for time? - Potters, that's five minutes.

Oh, no.

(Zahra) This poor Mad Hatter was made in a rush,

was painted in a rush.

If you haven't started dipping, get yourself to that bucket.

- I do love a bit of dipping. - Christine, are you all dunked?

I'm all dunked. I'm just wiping bottoms.

Dirty bottoms will not be tolerated.

This is where I drop everything.

Bearer of bad news. One minute.

- Last bit. - Go, go, go.

- Go for it. - You all right?

This is my transparent painting stick.

- Spelled that one right. - Spelled that one right.

- Ten seconds. - Please.

Three...

two...

- Ah! - ...one.

And... that's it, time's up.

Whoo. Well done, guys.

- Whoa. - Oh, my... God.

I quite enjoyed that, in a weird, sadistic way.

The potters must take their finished work to Rose

for the final firing.

I think we're running out of space here.

The next time they see their children's crockery sets

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

Agh! And I've no idea how they're gonna turn out.

Ended up falling a little bit short of time yet again.

(Bill) I did try and get three coats on

to get a nice even color.

It's not perfect, but we did our best.

(Lucinda) All my little animals have got their party hats on

and their party clothes.

We're ready to rock and roll.

(chuckles)

(rain falls, thunder crashes)

It's judgment day.

The children's crockery sets have had

their final 24-hour firing at 1,000 degrees centigrade,

and there's nothing more the potters can do.

They won't get to see their finished work

until it's revealed to the judges.

Potters, before us lie 12 children's crockery sets

which I know you are all itching to take a look at,

so let's put you out of your misery

and begin with you, Lucinda.

Can you bring your set up, please?

- You nervous? - Yeah, just a little bit.

(Keith) Shall we have a look?

OK.

In my childhood, animals were very much my little world,

so it's lovely to see them all having a party.

It's brilliant.

It's... It's absolutely brilliant.

When we came round to your bench and we asked you,

are you gonna have time to do it, the determination...

- Mmm. - "Yeah, I can do it."

- I've got goose bumps. - Yeah.

(Rich) The level of detail that you've put into the build

is just exquisite, you know.

What I love is things like this embossing here,

and then the way you've used the color over the top

in a very fluid way.

You were thinking at that make stage

with decoration in mind.

So we should test the eggcup for size.

- (Lucinda) Yes. - Here's one I laid earlier.

- Thank you. - (Keith) That's perfect, lovey.

I think a child would be not only surprised

but really, really happy to use this set.

- It's wonderful. - Thank you so much.

- Ready? - Yeah, just about.

I'm pleased. Yeah, I am pleased, actually, yeah.

(Keith) I like the two plates.

It was a brave move to join them together.

There's no cracking.

But you've got the handlebars here.

They could have been the same length.

That would have been an easy thing to do.

You've got all of the Portuguese colors,

green, the red, and the black.

I don't know whether it screams fun,

but certainly if you're into motorbikes,

it would be the dream.

Cool. I'm loving the colors.

The surfaces have been glazed beautifully.

All of this sponging feels like sort of dinosaur skin,

and yet it's still beautifully smooth.

(Keith) I'm loving this.

It's almost like they've just

gone splat in the mud.

That was the idea.

(Keith) It's just really fun.

- (Keith) It's very colorful. - Yeah.

And the first thing, I think, is how well thrown it is.

- That's beautifully thrown. - It's good.

(Keith) But the weakest item in the whole set,

I mean, that's supposed to be a beach towel?

Yeah.

It's a flat piece of clay

with a crab on it.

Here you go.

Ooh. They're bright.

(Keith) The detail in the figurative work

that you've done, it's brilliant.

(Rich) It feels like a really strong set,

with those bright punchy colors.

You've got the fox kind of running around each piece.

You're following the story.

(Keith) It's almost like a cartoon strip

in three-dimensional form.

(Rich) It feels really playful, really fun,

as a kids' set should.

The altering is good.

You wouldn't have necessarily known

it was thrown in the first place.

You've really pushed that form.

- Let's see if the egg fits. - (Keith) Yeah. OK.

- A little big, yeah. - Maybe a duck egg.

Apart from that, you should be really, really proud of that.

Thank you.

That's what was in my head.

(Keith) This is brilliant,

apart from the bleeding obvious, a crack.

But this is just incredibly striking.

(Rich) That single bold swish of color,

that's the kind of thing that gives pieces life.

And this is fantastic.

I just love the way you've used the relief work for your beard,

but then you've painted on the face,

and it's really fine and intricate.

(Keith) The glaze and the color application is incredible.

OK, you spelled "mayhem" wrong,

but I'd probably do that, being a dyslexic.

(Rich) All of the pieces come together as a set,

and they all feel like they have that monster treatment.

- It's really lovely. - It's just great fun.

I can't think of a single child

that wouldn't wanna use it.

I wanna use it. What that says about me I don't know, but...

(Keith) It's very vibrant, it's very bright.

You've got a slight crack there.

Oh, damn.

It almost feels like a set of two halves.

This piece feels very obviously different,

with that real pop of yellow.

I love the idea of those secret hidden pieces inside bowls,

but certain areas down behind here haven't quite got glazed,

it hasn't got into those crevices,

and food will get in there

and you won't be able to clean it out.

On the Mad Hatter here, you've left the face completely blank.

- Time. - OK. Egg fairy, please.

(Keith) Oh, fantastic.

- (Rich) It's a great fit. - Thank you.

Are you ready?

The color's more muted than I thought,

but baby will love it, yeah.

I was concerned that you were using a lot of gray.

Obviously, elephants.

But, actually, the gray works really well.

The elephants, they have got real character.

Picking it up, it's a little bit on the heavy side,

and the bowl is just slightly untidy in that center.

(Keith) Let's just see if that fits.

- (Rich) Little bit of a wobble. - Yeah.

Let's put an egg in it and see what happens.

Your egg fits.

(Rich) Your theme definitely carries through the whole set.

It's just a few of those little tweaks

just to get that finish up to scratch.

(Keith) I was a bit worried: space, lots of black.

But it's worked incredibly well.

I mean, that is just... it's just... it's great weight.

Feel that. It's lovely, isn't it?

Yeah. And it's just beautifully finished.

I mean, all of these little details,

the way you've incised these lines

to create a shooting-star motif.

I mean, again, that bowl is just really nicely made.

And, you know, we can't help but notice,

you've given us six pieces,

and obviously a lot of risk there.

- Oh, no. It's too big. - Bit on the large side.

But at least the lid fits over the top of it.

You've done really well, Jenny.

- (Keith) Well done, Jenny. - Thank you.

(Rich) It definitely speaks of fun.

I think it definitely speaks of Tom.

I actually think the eggcup looks a bit like Tom.

- (Rich) It's that third eye. - It's that third eye, yeah.

(Rich) Looking across it,

there's lots of different techniques.

Your beaker, you've got beautifully clean lines.

And in terms of throwing and altering,

this piece sums it up beautifully.

You've got this nice round cup,

and then you've got this more organic bottom to it,

so it's a really interesting mix of the thrown and the altered.

(Ellie) Egg's coming into the alien.

(Rich) Does he fit?

- So much character. - (Tom) Alien brains.

When you get to smash it with the spoon,

you're eating alien brains.

Excellent. Yeah, that's your head, isn't it?

- (Tom) Yeah. - (laughter)

- Are you ready? - Ready as I'll ever be.

They look how I wanted them to look.

(Keith) Good.

I massively respect the fact that you've chosen

to give the fairy brown skin.

- She had to have brown skin. - Yeah.

I grew up in the '80s,

and I never saw reflected back at me in broader society

images that reflected what I was seeing in the mirror.

I've got a small daughter now, and actually I'm gonna cry,

but, you know, how critical that is to having any sense of self,

it's a massive thing, and I think the beauty of that is

that it's reinforcing a positive message for children.

I just never saw anything like her in any of the books,

and it was important.

- I think that is inspirational. - Thank you.

(Keith) And what's wonderful about it is

that it's that attention to detail of yourself

that you've brought it... through to the design.

It's wonderful. It's really, really lovely.

And what I also love about it

is you've manipulated each and every piece,

and this little ladybird accent here, it just pops.

(Rich) You look across it

and it immediately feels like a set.

They all feel like flora and fauna.

Let's try the egg.

Brilliant. Perfect.

- Well done, Christine. - Thank you.

- (Rich) Well done, Christine. - Thanks.

I've totally surprised myself.

When I was walking up, I said, "This is for you, Mum."

So obviously she's in my mind.

Then to get the responses from the judges as well

made me even more emotional.

It was hard, but, um, ultimately I'm glad

that my things turned out the way they did.

(Anna) To hear from Keith and Rich those sort of things,

it's just wow.

I'm quite delighted, to be honest.

I had a little internal "whoo!"

(Lucinda) Just blown away, and seeing Keith's reaction was...

I couldn't quite believe it, really.

I still can't... Do you know, I almost have to pinch myself.

(Bill) I never come into this

thinking I'm gonna worry about it or get upset.

I came in here to enjoy myself,

and, yeah, there's always the possibility

you'll be the first one out.

(Zahra) I think there is a very good chance of me going home,

and I'm looking forward to seeing my cat again,

'cause it's been a while.

Don't laugh at me. It's true.

Keith and Rich must now decide

who will be our first potter of the week,

and who will be going home.

(Ellie) From my point of view of complete ignorance,

I think these sets are absolutely beautiful.

(Rich) It's been a great first week, so insightful.

It's allowed us a little glimpse into who our potters are,

and we've really started to get to know them,

and what their skills are about.

Was there anyone who particularly impressed you?

Well, for me, Christine.

I was really touched by her whole design concept.

It was such a beautiful story.

I mean, all three of us were welling up.

Absolutely, yeah. Another one for me is Lucinda.

The attention to detail

and the application of those colors was just amazing.

I was really taken aback by the conviction

with which she said she was gonna deliver,

and I'm just so pleased that she did.

- She got so much in there. - (Ellie) Yeah.

Anyone else impressed you particularly?

Anna. You could tell the story from her pieces.

(Rich) On paper, it's actually quite a dark story.

Yes, it is, isn't it?

But she managed to make it fun and playful,

which I thought was fantastic.

OK, and let's do the other side of the coin.

Who do you think is in danger?

For me, Bill, bless him.

Bill just had a few finishing issues.

You looked under the bases of every single piece,

and the turning was a bit slapdash.

And he came last in the throw down second challenge.

Is anyone else in a bit of trouble?

I think Zahra is.

Her crockery set felt like

a real game of two halves.

There were also issues of practicality,

crevices that would be impossible to clean,

and it just wouldn't be hygienic for a child to use.

Absolutely not.

And she said it herself, she ran out of time.

Yeah, I think she's in the danger zone.

Right. Ooh, this is going to be tricky.

- Shall I get you another cuppa? - Yes.

I have to do everything round here.

Potters, congratulations on your first week in the pottery,

and on all your amazing children's crockery sets.

You're all potters of the week to me,

but the judges have made their decision.

This week's potter of the week is...

Lucinda.

Congratulations, Lucinda.

No way. No way.

Yeah!

- Oh, my God. - (contestants) Well done.

But sadly someone does have to go home,

and the first potter leaving the pottery is...

Bill.

- Sorry, Bill. - Oh.

(laughs)

- OK. Wow. - Well done, Bill.

Aw!

(Rich) We've loved your energy around the pottery, honestly.

I'm disappointed, yeah, but we've had such a laugh,

and they're such a great group of people.

I've learnt a lot. I had a blast.

I'm gonna miss you all so much.

Phoebe will be really proud, I'm sure. I did my best.

I'm happy.

- I can't believe it. - Congratulations.

- Thank you so much. - We loved it.

This is just completely bananas. Bonkers.

I just... I'm absolutely... completely...

This is crazy. Whoo!

Lucinda's crockery set is the first work

to take pride of place in our Throw Down gallery.

Lucinda, you could feel her literally tremble.

I'm so, so pleased for her. I mean, her work was stunning.

The detail, I mean, every tiny little thing considered.

- It was just beautiful. - You were amazing.

Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.

Lucinda absolutely deserved to win.

Her stuff was phenomenal.

(Ellie) But does it make you think,

"I nearly got it this week"?

Yeah, I know. So... game on.

- Next time... - Right, let's have it.

- - It's slab building week. - I have no idea what I'm doing.

As the potters engineer decorative wall clocks.

I'm seriously running out of time.

- And the blindfolds are back. - Oh, my gosh, it's so hard.

- In the throw down challenge. - That's gone horribly wrong.

Who'll have the time of their life?

It's like Play-Doh. It's like being a kid again.

- And who will be clocking off? - Oh, Jesus.

(Tom) I've never really been a clock person.

I don't really care what time it is.