Original subtitles

and our six remaining potters are making animal table lights.

Now, I am in full wildlife mode.

Check out these two.

These two adult males are seemingly always eating,

with the elder of the two chewing particularly loudly.

Now, despite how it may appear,

they are actually reasonably intelligent,

and capable of making rudimentary tools out of clay.

But time is up for these two wizened elder creatures,

because clearly they are past their prime.

- We can hear you, Ellie. - Yeah, and we can see you.

They're trying to communicate. Fascinating.

Welcome to The Great Pottery Throw Down.

- What's she like? - I know, I know.

Do you want a biscuit?

Last time... it was '60s week.

I'm gonna run out of dance moves. This is all I've got.

And the potters tackled vintage vessels.

Finding this one quite stressful.

Jenny's pair of vases...

They hit the brief completely.

...earned her potter of the week.

But although Lucinda failed to impress...

If you're gonna do a lip, make it really come out.

- - ...a blown-out bottom... - That base going is not great.

...saw Nick become the sixth potter to leave.

This time it's wildlife week...

Oh, my God! That is a massive beaver!

...as they swing into action

hand-building animal table lights...

Sticking suckers on an octopus,

yet another sentence I never thought I'd say.

I think I might chop his neck off.

...and go wild in a surprise second challenge...

I don't know what I'm doing.

...that sets their creativity free.

It's easier when we're told what to do.

Before the judges decide who will make it through

to the quarter final...

I love the incising on it.

I love the color of it. I love you for doing it.

...and who will be heading home.

I forgot to put a hole in it. Bother.

It's an early start for our six remaining potters

as they prepare for another wild week.

Love animals, love wildlife.

Particularly intrigued with interesting animal facts.

My spirit animal's a seal.

I identify quite strongly with seals.

- A hedgehog. - Hairy.

- They're quite playful. - I like swimming.

- They're really cute. - Eat fish.

I've got all those things.

Did you know that the wombat

does cube-shaped poos

so that it can stack them?

I'm not doing a wombat, but that was one of my facts.

Hello, potters and welcome back to the pottery,

where it's wildlife week.

For your main make challenge this week,

the judges would like you to hand-build

an animal table light.

Now, this is a hand-building challenge,

so we want the main body parts constructed

by pinching, coiling or sculpting.

Now, we're not giving you any lampshades,

so really think about how that animal interacts

with that exposed light bulb and flex.

We're looking for realistic animals.

We're expecting that your form and your decoration

really capture those key characteristics.

You'll be using the sgraffito method of scratching back

to create the texture of your fur, feathers, scales.

This is gonna take patience, precision and an eye for detail.

Right, you have three hours to make your animal table lights.

Potters, get potting.

- Whoo. - Right, go.

To secure a place in the quarter final,

the potters face their largest hand-build so far.

Very nervous today. I think just 'cause it's such a big piece.

It's hugely risky. There's so many things that can go wrong with it.

they'll bring their animal table lights to life

using a centuries-old decoration technique

called sgraffito, from the Italian "to scratch."

It involves putting color onto a pot

and then basically scratching that away

to create pattern, to create texture.

For things like fur and scale and feathers,

it's gonna look really nice, if we can pull it off.

Week seven, Keith, wildlife week.

Are you gonna be swinging from the branches?

I might be. All depends what they do.

I'm really looking forward to seeing their pinching,

coiling and sculpting skills.

They've really gotta think about the structure

and how they're gonna piece these animals together.

I think some of our potters might be a bit daunted

by the scale of this build,

but also injecting that character, that realism,

they're gonna be using sgraffito.

A very simple technique,

but really, really difficult to get it right.

It's all about emulating the texture, the fur,

the kind of contours of the body of their chosen animal.

These things have to look realistic,

and they have to hold that light bulb.

Like this, for example, This ape at the back here.

It's that slight gesture of the arm

that makes it feel like he's peering into the darkness.

This is really gonna shine a light

on their sculpting skills, isn't it?

- Hi, Jenny. - Hi.

- Hello, Jenny. - How you doing?

- Potter of the week. - I know.

All hail the queen!

Tell us what you're making.

So I'm making an anglerfish,

because of the fact it does actually have its own light.

- This is a female anglerfish. - Oh, OK. I kind of knew that.

Yeah, well, the male anglerfish

can be up to 500,000 times smaller...

- 500,000? - ...than a female.

Yeah, so it's the biggest difference

between a male and a female creature

in the animal kingdom.

How does that work?

He bites onto her,

and their bodies fuse together,

and all that's left of him is his reproductive organ.

- Crikey! - Isn't nature amazing?

- That's wild! - Yeah.

Jenny is hoping to amaze the judges

with more than just her facts.

She'll use sgraffito to create fish scales,

and the light bulb will hang from the illicium,

or fishing rod, just as nature intended.

Are you happy that you'll have a strong enough rod?

- That was my concern... - Sure.

...when I was deciding whether it was a sensible choice.

It's a very big appendage coming out of there.

I'm making the base of it slightly wider and hollow

so that it's got more support.

I'm just glad you've not decided to do the male,

'cause we could have a very different build on the table.

- There he is.

While Jenny's concerned about the strength

of her single appendage,

Tom has eight to worry about.

I'm making an octopus.

Ah. I thought it was the start of an umbrella.

And is it a particular kind of octopus?

Yeah, I'm going for the blue-ringed octopus.

Have you had experience with sgraffito? Is it something you've done before?

I've never made an octopus, and I've never done sgraffito.

So all new.

It's all complete guesswork and hope, really.

I'm making it out of hope.

Tom will scratch back blue glaze to create

his octopus's distinctive double-ringed pattern,

and add contrast to every one of his 240-odd suckers.

And if that's not enough to impress the judges,

he has a magic trick up his sleeve too.

I'm hoping to levitate it off the ground

using nothing but the eight legs.

- Nice. - Really?

And you're confident they will hold the weight of all of this?

No. No, not at all.

You're asking a lot of the clay.

- Yeah, I'm taking quite a risk. - You are.

- Is this chat helping you, Tom? - Oh, loads, loads.

Feels like it's really putting a pep in your step.

I already knew I was taking a risk.

Just think about the weak points.

All of them.

- All eight of them. - All eight of them.

Hand-building a form this big

relies on the three S's.

- - Size. - I want the body to be 26.

The head's another 13 on top of that.

The tail's just gonna swoop around.

Stability.

A smaller version would support itself a lot better,

whereas this just has a tendency to just sort of fall apart.

And strength.

We're having to work against the wetness of the clay.

It is gonna sort of bend under the weight.

So it's vital the potters

support their structures during the build.

Quite chuffed with my hairdresser's curler approach.

- It seems to be working. - Oh, that... Oh, that's cool.

Are they actually hair curlers?

No. I don't know how else to do it.

I've got paper inside to help hold the shape while I can work with it,

and then it can burn out in the firing.

I just want a bit more oomph to the belly.

Anna's crocodile will be built to bite.

She'll model fearsome-looking teeth and scaly skin

inspired by the crocs she came face to face with in Africa.

I used to live on the banks of Okavango River in Namibia.

Course you did. Classic Anna.

Obviously the river was full of crocs.

We had a little dog called Pushkin,

who was the cutest little white fluffy thing...

- Oh, no. - ..you've ever seen.

This isn't a happy ending, is it?

We were asked to adopt two little black labs,

and Pushkin hated the black labs with a passion.

Once a day he would start playing with them

and take them down to the river.

Suddenly one of them disappeared.

The other one, we actually found his head was on the sandbank.

The collar was still attached.

And Pushkin never went near that river again.

- Wow. - Whaaa!

- My work here is done. - He was a serial killer dog.

Wow.

- Potters, that's one hour gone. - Ooh.

Which is seven dog hours, if that helps.

Yeah, that's quite scary, actually.

The potters are taking inspiration

from all over the world.

Anna from Africa.

AJ from a little closer to home.

I'm doing a sea otter. You get sea otters in Scotland.

And they hold things, like clams and things, on their bellies,

so I just put a bulb in there.

AJ's Scottish sea otter

will recline on its back playing with a light bulb.

Pinch pots will form the circular body,

with sgraffito used to create the otter's slick fur.

I like this kind of sense that you've got the full circle

and everything's within that.

That could create quite a nice dynamic.

Yeah, I think that's gonna be the struggle today,

is getting that, like, circular shape,

'cause the clay is so heavy, it just wants to fall out of it.

Kind of given yourself quite a challenge, really.

It's gonna be tricky also to get the face

to be cute and not creepy.

If it ends up looking like your gnomes, Lord help us all.

While AJ's hoping cute and cuddly

will win over the judges,

Christine has chosen a heavyweight

of the animal kingdom.

It's called Nanook, which is an Inuit word for a polar bear.

I'm working out the neck, 'cause what I don't want to happen

is when I put the head on, it just goes bleurgh.

Christine will add texture and subtle sgraffito

to create the fur of her majestic polar bear

and mischievous cub,

playfully pulling the light bulb from mum's mouth

in a nod to mankind's impact on the planet.

The polar bear's caught her some food,

but at the same time it's caught some human element,

which is not what we want.

And then having a cub on the side trying to play with it,

and Mum's having nothing to do with it.

What color are you using?

I've chosen black,

obviously because the clay is white when it fires,

so I'll water the black down and paint that over the body,

and then scratch back so that I create the shadows...

Some depth, yeah, OK, and would you say

this is one of the biggest things you've hand-built?

It is the biggest thing.

Just scaling it up is a little bit different,

making sure that I get the right proportions.

So, yeah, this is a big thing.

- Well, look, yeah, good luck. - Thank you.

Potters, you are halfway through.

I'm happy enough with halfway through.

I want to get this leg attached, the two arms.

- I feel like I'm on schedule. - Tentacles are go.

I'm making little bits to go on the tentacles,

and I've gotta stick 'em on.

And I've gotta make his little hat.

I'm heading in the right direction.

I don't hate it. So that's a win.

The judges have demanded realistic-looking animals,

so perfecting the proportions is critical.

I'm a little bit worried about the head,

'cause I thought it was maybe a bit too small.

Now it looks too big. Does it look like an otter?

But manipulating their forms is risky.

I'm thinking about the animal's anatomy first and foremost,

the way they move, the way their musculoskeletal system is.

If the clay becomes too dry,

the potters' creations could crack.

Ooh. Been stressing this clay too much.

This is the bit that I'm most worried about,

getting the shape and the size of his head.

The first practice I did, it looked like a deboned turkey.

Lucinda will add textured fur to every inch of her badger,

and use sgraffito to create its distinctive markings.

Clasped in its claws is a bulb

designed to attract a tasty snack.

- Moth to a flame. - Absolutely. Moth to the flame.

- Come on, little moths. - Oh, right, I see.

- Tempting them towards him. - Come to me, babies.

I see, yeah. That's quite scary, Lucinda, yeah.

Potters, you have one hour left.

So that's how you solve climate change.

- Oh!

Still feel confident.

Maybe ask me again in an hour's time,

and then I might feel quite different.

Get on there, matey boy.

Sticking on suckers on an octopus,

which is yet another sentence I never thought I'd say.

Starting on the lower part of the body,

which hopefully won't have to defy gravity

quite as much as this has.

This badger, it looks to me like...

- It's been tagged. - ...it's tagged.

- It's an ASBO badger. - It is an ASBO badger.

The biggest threat their animals face

is the heat of the kiln,

so the potters must ensure

air can flow to every part.

Everywhere is hollow completely,

through the arms, into his legs,

although it's bloomin' fiddly doing it.

But if any air is trapped,

the kiln's ferocious thousand-degree heat

could cause it to expand, with dire consequences.

All of the limbs are hollow.

Just put a pinhole in each so that it doesn't explode.

It's hollow up to sort of about there,

so I'm hoping that that isn't too thick,

'cause that obviously would completely

mess the whole thing up if that exploded in the kiln.

It's suddenly got nothing to hold its bulb.

I don't wanna ruffle your feathers,

but you've only got half an hour left.

30 minutes to stick all these bloody suckers on.

It doesn't seem like enough time.

It's taken me about an hour

to put on four legs' worth of suckers.

- Right. - And I've not got an hour left.

No, you haven't.

Really gotta start speeding up

the old suckery blobs.

OK, I'll leave you and your cephalopod.

- I know. Thank you. - Nice, nice.

This is my little cub.

It looks a bit strange at the moment,

but, um, it's a basic shape.

Stabby tool.

I've worked out it's gonna be easier to put teeth in

if I have sockets.

Literally doing tooth implants.

He uses them as a clamp.

It goes into the death roll,

and then it's bye-bye.

Trying to make all the teeth point inwards,

'cause that's what anglerfish teeth do,

sort of contain the prey.

It's a bit violent down this end of the room.

- It is, yes. - We've got, like, raar!

- And scary fish. - Yeah.

And then there's snappy badger,

and then we've got polar bear, weird octopus,

and then AJ's cuddly otter.

Potters, time for walkies!

My mistake, sorry. Ten minutes left.

- Ten? - Ten!

Don't argue with me, Jenny.

I wanna add quite a lot of texture

by applying slip through a doily.

God, I haven't done the tail.

Oh! Tail, tail, tail, tail, tail.

I'm putting a little bit of detail into the fish.

I think this is gonna work. Sorry, fish.

This tail's gonna have to be smaller.

Oh, I'm panicking a little bit. It just looks ridiculous.

I just looks like a kind of teddy bear or something.

I just wanna work on the head now.

They have a lovely wavy mouth, crocodiles,

which is why they call it the crocodile smile.

Devil of devils.

Oh, I've got one more tentacle to do.

Uh, get in there, get in there.

I think I might chop his neck off.

I know it seems drastic.

Sorry, mate.

There we go. Look how nicely that's made.

That is five minutes now, potters.

Remember, you need to get your stuff in the drying room

by the end of that five minutes.

Whoa.

Nice score-and-slip join.

I've still got a leg and a face to do,

so I don't know if I'll get both of them done.

I've abandoned little bear.

He just doesn't look right.

It's just the big bear's gonna interact with the light.

Just a couple of minutes left now, guys.

You really need to start finishing up.

Fish is going in. Jenny's going into the drying room.

- Oh, God. - On you go.

Yeah, you see? From a teddy bear to a badger.

Snappy's going in with Anna. One minute, friends, one minute.

Ah, moth.

There we have it, I think.

He really wants to come off, but he's not going to.

Just don't want him falling off, that's all.

Nanook's going in.

- Whoa. - Well done, Lucinda.

Oh, my goodness, it's so cool-looking.

Just waiting for you now, AJ.

You're stressing me out.

Five, four, three,

two and one.

That was bonkers.

Well done, everybody.

Right, you bunch of filthy animals, get out of here.

That was intense.

It took a lot longer to put

little blobby tentacle suckers on than I thought.

Decided I'm going in for the kill this week.

When you've got a croc, you have to have a bit of blood and guts.

- How did you get on? - All right.

Well, I had to cut its head off

and take an inch off its neck,

'cause it was looking more like a giraffe.

So, it's looking a little bit more badger-like.

But I didn't get to finish doing the face,

which is kind of important.

It looks horrendous.

I've got a lot of things to fix, a lot of things to adjust,

and then a lot of fur to sgraffito.

The animal table lights have been drying

for two and a half hours.

Yeah, got it.

Don't fall over.

Yay. Squid wad. Needs a name.

The clay is now leather hard,

the perfect consistency for the potters

to bring their animals to life using sgraffito.

Potters, welcome back.

Your wildlife table lights

are now ready for refining and decorating.

Think about those refining tools that you're going to use.

Think about every mark you make

and how that will affect your fur and your scales.

We're looking for form-enhancing decoration

using the sgraffito technique, so make sure you're precise.

It's gonna be so important to getting that character

into your finished animal table lamps.

Right, you have three hours.

Potters, get refining and decorating.

Right, you.

The potters will decorate their pieces before firing.

But first they must make any final changes

to their animals' forms.

So I'm just trying to refine it now,

and then I'm going to roughen up where the fur is gonna be.

Just trying to make it look a bit more... badger-like.

This leg's too small.

Just gonna have to pretend

he got caught in a snare when he was young.

I'm gonna try and take out the back slightly

so that this is more...

it looks like he's got his shoulders up like this.

So the rod is still in place.

What I need to do is just not knock it.

See, that's what I've just done. I've just knocked two teeth.

Oh, Jenny.

While Jenny carries out dentistry work

on her anglerfish...

Don't think I've got those teeth

the right way round, to be honest.

...and Lucinda gives her badger a manicure...

Don't they look great? It brings his little hands to life.

...AJ's otter is in need of a face-lift.

The face looks horrendous, so I'm cutting it off,

and sticking it back on again.

It's gonna be fine.

As AJ's face takes shape...

- Got tiny ears. - ...Tom's octopus...

This is the last piece of modeling.

...requires more drastic cosmetic surgery.

An integral part is the balloon-shaped head thing.

I'd rather have got it on earlier,

but it wasn't strong enough to hold it.

I know it looks kind of weird.

But octopuses are weird.

Here they are, all in their natural habitat.

- Yeah. - Refining. The refine stage.

This is when the animals could really come alive.

It's funny, 'cause three hours

sounds like a long time, but it's not.

With sgraffito, it's all about timing.

They've gotta get those surfaces beautifully honed, pristine,

and then they've gotta get that underglaze on,

let it go tacky, dry off ever so slightly,

and then start working into the surface.

- There's a lot to do. - Yeah, it sounds simple.

But to do it really well, it certainly isn't.

There's no going back.

If you apply the color and then you find

that the incising effect that you're doing

hasn't really worked,

you're up the creek, really, without a paddle.

Yeah.

Oops. That's far too much.

The judges have demanded realistic-looking

fur, scales and skin.

And although the potters are using

just a single color of underglaze...

This is chocolate brown,

but I've been calling it poopy brown,

'cause I don't really like it.

...how they apply it is crucial

to the quality of their final sgraffito finish.

So I'm intending to make different washes of green,

so different strengths of green.

So it's really gonna be just one color,

but with as many tones, hopefully, as possible.

I am starting with the lighter areas

with the underglaze watered down,

and then I'm gonna build up to the darker areas,

where I'm gonna paint it straight on.

There's a lot to do, but I can do it.

Most of the potters have chosen bright, bold colors

to create a contrast when they scratch away

to reveal the white clay underneath.

I haven't even put one coat yet, and it's also incredibly fiddly.

And if you've got any white patches, it looks crap.

But Christine and her polar bear

are walking a different road.

The clay body itself, when it fires, is white,

so I'm putting in the black

to create some shadow and texture, some depth.

So you've done one... It's not one coat as such.

You've sort of done a bit. It's not obviously total coverage.

Yeah, I've done a wash on some,

so I've got like grayer areas,

or a lighter shade of black.

And will you do more layers on this,

or is that it for this bit?

- This will be it. - OK.

Potters, get your paws, claws, jaws,

tentacles and fins in order.

- Because that's one hour gone. - Gosh.

How did that hour go so fast?

Oh, my Lord. How much time have I wasted? Oh!

I think both Jenny and I are realizing scales may be not the easiest idea.

- We'll still be here tomorrow. - Yes.

- First bit of glaze. Off we go. - Going on, yeah.

I was about to come over and say to you

you haven't started glazing yet

but some people have finished doing a whole coat.

Have they? I can catch up.

- I believe you. - It's all right.

If anyone can, Lucinda can.

As Lucinda's badger finally gets a coat of underglaze...

Ooh...

...AJ is tooling up,

ready to sgraffito away theirs.

So what are you looking for? Just a pointy one, fat one?

- Yeah. - Scoopy one?

That scoopy one looks pretty good,

but maybe it's a little too big.

I think maybe that one.

- Try it on here. - Oh, wow.

- Oh, that's quite nice. - Oh, I love it.

But every mark the potters make is a calculated risk.

If you get the pressure right, I can make my octopus rings.

Once committed to clay, there's no going back.

It's really hard to get a clean finish.

I don't want it to look scruffy,

but I can't work out how to make it look not scruffy.

Once I've scratched, that's my decision made, yeah.

I've gotta stick with that then.

So I'm gonna bring the suckers to life as well,

which obviously is gonna take a little while.

In nature the suckers aren't perfect,

which obviously helps me out immeasurably.

Potters, you have 30 minutes left.

Oh, my God! That is a massive beaver!

Oh. Otter.

With so many realistic animal textures to create...

I'm trying to get definition

between areas of smaller fur,

and then the larger areas of fur

where it's sort of matted together with the water.

...and so much surface area to sgraffito...

I've started doing all the fine hairs.

You know, I'll be doing these everywhere.

I keep seeing bits that I've missed, though.

...the potters are feeling the strain.

I've got cramp in my hand.

I'm gonna get repetitive strain injury.

There's a lot of scratching to do.

Even where there isn't the black,

you still need to create that texture.

It's like that first day back at school

when you haven't written all summer holidays.

Why did we do scales, Jenny?

Why did we think this was a good idea?

Yeah.

Sorry to badger you, everybody, but you have ten minutes left.

And they are looking "otterly" brilliant.

Got loads left to do. Tons, in fact.

I'm a sucker for suckers.

I might end up doing that with a sponge, though.

I've just got this area to do, and my fish.

I just need to keep chipping away.

I've lost a couple of teeth, which isn't so good,

and the teeth keep on going down its neck,

so I don't even have any teeth to stick back.

Hello, mate. How you going?

Slowly.

I'm wiping back all my knobbly bobbly tentacle bits.

You've got time to do that. Looks like it's happening.

It's not happening as well as I'd like, but it is happening.

The moth's simple at the moment,

but the sgraffito will bring that to life.

It's getting there, isn't it?

I'm just making a little bit of extra texture.

It's a mold of something that came off a tree in my garden.

Wow. I've just seen AJ's. That is amazing.

I'm doing this all over the whole body, apart from the paws.

So the rest of my time is just gonna be spent just doing this.

Amazing uses for old tools, eh?

I'm gonna lift it off in a minute.

That's the terrifying bit.

Oh, OK.

Potters, the wildlife park closes in five minutes.

I'm just thinning it out a wee bit,

make sure it doesn't explode.

- Looks so good. Chuffed? - Yeah, I'm chuffed, yeah.

- Shadow under there.

Getting there, getting there.

Lucinda's in. Scary giant fish in.

- And the croc's on the way.

Wow.

So everyone's in now apart from Tom.

- This is the bit we hate. - Oh, this is the bit.

- How do you pick it up? - Do you want help?

Could someone pull the little thing from underneath?

Do you want us to hold the paper?

- Yeah. - Yeah, got that.

- See the metal thing? - Yeah.

- Just tease that out. - Really?

No, you don't have to, but I've only got one hand.

It shouldn't be stuck. There's paper underneath.

Oh, thank God. All right.

Ah. Ba-da, ba-da. Ta-da!

It appears to not have broken. Floating.

Tom, you've gotta get it in the drying room, mate.

Yeah, I'm going, I'm going. I'm not gonna run, mate.

Well done, friend. Swim away.

And that is it! Well done, everybody. Time is up.

I really enjoyed that.

More pleasurable than I thought.

Even though I didn't know what I was doing, it worked.

I got all the suckers done,

some of them maybe not to the best quality.

If it comes out the kiln looking anything like it went in,

I'll be really chuffed.

It went all right. I don't think I'm feeling confident.

I've done everything that I can,

but looking around the room, I am shaking in my boots.

For their second challenge,

the potters always face the unknown.

But this time there's not one but two unexpected twists.

This is the ultimate second challenge.

The judges would like you to quite literally go wild.

You will have a bag of clay, a selection of tools,

and limited colors.

and with that the judges would like you to make

a signature set or piece.

But it must tie in with our theme of the week, wildlife.

You can throw it, you can hand-build it,

you can do a mix of the two,

but you must try and use as much of the clay as possible.

Build and design anything you want in any style or any size.

Just think about showing us your signature style

and your favorite discipline.

- Now, that's one surprise. - Oh.

Would you like another surprise?

- Go on. - Not really.

Please welcome a very special guest.

- It's Siobhán.

Hello, lovely potters. Hello, everyone.

It's absolutely lovely to be back. Look at you.

- Hi. I'm Siobhán.

Thank you so much for letting me look after the place.

I've heard nothing but good things about you.

- It's all lies. - All lies. They were from you.

Right, this is gonna be judged blind,

so you two can hop off, please.

Good luck.

This is a great chance to show Siobhán what you're made of.

Come and grab your clay and head back to your benches, please.

Oh, my God. We have to think.

I wouldn't have a clue what to do with it.

Isn't it mad? I'd be terrified.

- I'd stick a candle in it.

Potters.

You have one and a half hours to go wild and free.

Your time starts now.

- Does it feel good? - Yeah, it feels really good.

This is the first time the potters have been asked

to create something completely on the hoof.

- Oh. - They're stumped.

- They are stumped. - I don't know what I'm doing.

It's easier when we're told what to do. It really is.

OK, so, tell me the story.

OK, they're all so talented,

and just, yeah, I think eyes on the prize a little.

I mean, if you're here at this stage of the game, you obviously have something...

Yeah, it's not an accident if you're here at this stage.

Yeah. They sound like a great gang.

You're gonna flippin' love 'em. They're my babies.

- And I pass them on to you. - Oh, thank you.

Thank you for giving me your babies.

What a strange family you've got.

I just need to start, but wh... uh.

How much does this thing weigh? Loads?

God, that's a lot of clay.

What do you want to be?

I've decided to do nine things.

Anna has quickly settled on an ambitious plan.

What are you doing here?

I am going to make a beer set.

Four tankards and a beer jug.

And then I'm going to carve four coasters.

- Beer? Wildlife? - Wild.

No, no, no, so I'm making essentially a functional set.

All the wildlife's carved into it,

and I'm using things like dragonflies

and bees and stuff like that.

I thought you were suggesting

like beer is an essential part of nature.

That's what I would say.

And it does create a lot of wildness, doesn't it?

It does, doesn't it? Yes.

So, I'm gonna do an owl.

My spirit animal.

It's gonna be a jug with a lid,

which is gonna be the head, hopefully.

And then I'm gonna make four sort of beakers.

Whilst Anna and Jenny have decided

to make the most of the clay by accessorizing...

If I've got time, I will make a tray for them to stand on.

...Tom is keeping things simple by going big and bold.

I'm gonna throw two big earth-like vessels.

And this one's gonna be kind of blue with white clouds,

and over here I'm gonna have a brown and red one,

and it's before and after global warming.

My signature style, if I had one, would be throwing.

While Tom plays it safe...

I'm trying to pull out all the stops here.

I'm going to throw four bowls.

They're gonna represent the four seasons.

...Christine is stepping out of her comfort zone.

I've not been successful in throwing challenges,

but I'm not shying away from throwing.

- Going for the throwing. - Yeah.

- What you making? - I don't know.

I'm hoping it'll come... I'm hoping it'll come to me.

Five of the six potters have chosen to use the wheel.

I'm going for throwing because it's quicker.

Everybody else is throwing.

But Lucinda's relying solely on the power

of her own fair mitts.

I'm gonna hand-build.

I'm going to make one big elephant walking across a crop.

It's a bit of a statement about how we as humans

are taking their kind of place.

I just love elephants. I mean, who doesn't?

Not only is this a more time-consuming process,

hand building a large form without drying time

isn't without its risks.

This clay's quite wet.

Not sure how stable it will be in the time that we've got.

One and a half hours isn't long.

- Potters... - Potters.

- You are halfway... - Halfway through!

Halfway through. Thanks. I've got it.

- Meant to be doing it together. - Yeah, no, together.

Fight, fight.

With just 45 minutes remaining,

AJ finally has an idea.

I'm gonna throw three of these,

and then I'm gonna turn them into animals

of the sea, sky and the earth.

I want them to be recognizable as a set.

So I'm trying to make them all the same size.

No matter what the potters have chosen to make,

Keith and Rich want them to use as much clay as possible.

I'd never normally throw something this big.

- It's a ridiculous idea. - It is a huge lump of clay.

Only halfway through it yet. I need to be using more of it.

It's not quite right. He's dumpy.

I will definitely find the time to improve it if I can.

If this was at home,

then I'd trim a lot of the weight off,

but I was keeping the weight on

'cause I needed to use all the clay.

I've revised my plan slightly

because I realized I was never gonna use

anywhere near all the clay.

So I thought I'd better make tankards.

And it seems Jenny's upscaling idea is a popular one.

I'll make tankards. Tankards. Yes.

In her own bid to maximize the clay,

Lucinda's increasing her cast of characters...

This guy is dismayed.

...by making a farmer to join her elephant.

This just looks so childlike.

Well, if Antony Gormley can get away with it...

How you doing? That's a nice big bit of clay you've got.

Yeah, so I'm throwing two kind of rounded jars.

What other techniques are you gonna show the judges?

That's a great question,

because that makes it sound like two isn't enough.

Two is already too many for me, but you know what they're like.

If I had enough clay, I'd make lids, but I'm out of clay now,

'cause, like an idiot, I put it all on the wheel at once.

You don't need a lid.

Lids are just postponing the moment of opening.

People of the pottery, you have half an hour left.

With the clock ticking...

Oh, God. There's a lot of decorating to do.

...the potters need to make sure their builds have

that all-important pop of personality

Keith and Rich will be looking for.

I might have been a little ambitious

with making nine things.

I'm gonna keep the carving really simple,

so I think I should have enough time.

I don't know if I'm gonna get what I wanted to do done.

I think it's gonna be fairly rudimentary.

This is my fish.

They're gonna have googly eyes no matter what.

I'm gonna have to decorate at some point.

Ten minutes left! Ten minutes left! Hurry up! Hurry up!

Ten minutes left, Tom!

- Is that from your diaphragm? - It is actually, yeah, yeah.

- Did you go to drama school? - Can you tell?

- I can tell. - Hmm.

Oh, dear. It's going to be tight, very tight.

What I really want to do is tidy them up a bit.

What do clouds look like?

It's a big wild thing.

It's used quite a bit of clay.

I haven't really got time to glaze it,

so I'm going form over decoration.

I'm not gonna use any color. I don't have time.

I just put one handle on there, which is really rough,

'cause it's too soft to put a handle on.

I was definitely overambitious.

Mere minutes left.

He's getting a bit deflated.

I might have to give him CPR.

I just snogged my frog.

Potters, great news! One minute left!

Toes.

I'm never normally first.

- Anybody else? - Christine.

Wonderful, Christine.

It's a weird fish.

And that's it, time's up! Well done, everybody!

- Congratulations. - They look great.

- What do you reckon, Siobhán? - They look fantastic.

Time to get the judges back in. Keith, Rich!

- Hello. - Wow.

Crikey. An hour and a half, no pre-planning.

Brilliant. Really, really good.

Honestly, we give you these tasks,

and you've only had an hour and a half, and it's fantastic.

Echoing the theme of wildlife week,

the judges want to see a signature set or piece,

made with flair, imagination, technical prowess,

and using as much clay as possible.

There's good continuity across the whole set.

The forms look reasonably even.

And they've got some lovely decoration.

Simple but effective.

So we've got the seasons, by the looks of it.

- Yeah. Autumn. - Autumn.

Summer, and there's spring.

Spring, lovely, my favorite time of the year.

They're not that refined, though, are they?

They're quite thick. Shall we move on?

Well, you can tell that you've used a lot of clay here.

I'm really liking the design.

And the adornments are really great.

They're just really fun, playful characters.

They seem a good weight for their size.

Three different designs.

They've got that same injection of character across the three.

OK, two large vessels.

I mean, whether it's made the most of the 12 kilos...

There'd be sort of six kilos in each pot,

which suggests they're a bit heavy.

I don't know how it felt.

Yeah, it's quite heavy.

And I don't know, is it daytime and sort of sunset, sunrise?

I don't know whether there's a strong theme coming through.

- So, moving on. - A good use of the clay.

Perhaps a bit more time

could have been focused on the initial set,

rather than going for all of this as well, it's a bit messy.

I'm not sure if that handle would stay on

within the firing process.

Moving on. Wow.

Ah!

We're going back to prehistoric nature, I think.

Is this a kind of a... an elephant attacking...?

- Is it a mammoth? - A caveman and a mammoth.

It's certainly the weight of an elephant in there.

Oh, it is hollow.

It's kind of resting down on its tummy, a bit squat, perhaps.

I like the use of color. It just perhaps lacks some finesse.

And last but not least, I'm just loving this idea here.

This is great. The eyes of the owl incorporated on the lid.

If they'd had a little bit more time,

they could have tidied up the slip decoration on the side.

To use the spout of the jug for the beak is just inspired. It's such a great idea.

What's so lovely is that they're all so completely different.

It's fantastic, and that's the beauty

of creativity and pottery.

Now Keith and Rich will rank the signature sets

from worst to best.

In sixth place we have this one. Whose is this?

Tom. It's not necessarily the best use of all 12 kilos.

And I'm not entirely sure whether we got the theme.

Pre global warming and post global warming.

- Ah, OK. - In fifth place it's this one.

Who's this? We love the playful element.

It's an incredible effort.

In fourth place is Anna,

and Christine is third.

So, in second place, we have...

this one.

- Jenny. - Wow.

Wow. We both loved this one.

Just such a strong theme coming through.

Good use of the clay.

So that leaves first place, AJ. Well done, AJ.

The design concept, it's just typical of your style.

Yeah, it was the one that we were certain of.

- We were certain. - We knew who it was.

It's just got your character written all over it.

- Well done AJ. Fantastic. - Well done.

They liked my weird animal fish thing.

Bit bewildered, honestly.

If you're gonna go for something really simple,

you'd better do it properly, and I didn't do it properly.

If my main make comes out the kiln in good condition,

hopefully it'll make up for my terrible second challenge.

Wait and see.

It's judgment day, and after a 24-hour firing,

the potters' animal table lamps

are ready to emerge from the kiln.

- Hello. - Hello.

- How you feeling? - Sick.

- Terrified. - Sick?

I'm feeling apprehensive as ever about the kiln opening,

hoping that rod's still in one piece.

Oh, it's on!

- There she is. - Thank you.

Whoo! Oh, wow. It's in one bit.

I'm going for the top. You always aim for the top.

You never go in there going, "I'm going to make the third best object in the room."

- Oh! - Look at that.

Either the badger will come out absolutely spanking fantastic,

or it will come out in bits.

Do you know what? I forgot to put a hole in it.

I forgot to put a hole in the tail. Bother.

Before being judged...

I still think downward, or should it be upward?

...the potters have been given a variety of light bulbs...

I think it could take the big one, you know.

I quite like just the absurdity of the giant light bulb,

- I've gotta admit. - ...and electrical flex

to make their lamps fully functional.

I hadn't really thought about how the flex was going before,

so I might give it, like, a wrap around the feet.

I'm pleased with the red.

I'm wondering if I can wrap it round that crack as well.

Yeah, uplight.

Downlight, uplight.

It's more of a... phwew! Yes.

Six animal table lamps

now face the judgment of Keith and Rich.

- Right behind you.

AJ, could you please bring up your animal table lamp, please?

Wow.

It's really, really well constructed.

And I love that shape you've managed to get.

It's very playful, it's very characterful,

and you've given this true representation of an otter.

In terms of sgraffito,

we couldn't have asked for a better example.

The quality of the surface

where you haven't scratched through is pristine.

I love the way you've faded it out to the nose.

It's almost unbelievable that you've managed

to get that level of detail

with just one color and a couple of different tools.

It's just brilliant.

So let's see Otto on, shall we?

- Ah.

I mean, you know, the shape just comes into its own.

The shape lends itself so well to be lit from the inside.

Because of the amazing structure,

it looks great with the light off,

and then because of that amazing definition

that you've managed to get with the sgraffito,

it looks great with the light on.

Genius, beautiful.

I was really, really concerned

about the amount of texture you were putting on first

before going through the process of sgraffito.

Actually, what it's created

is an incredibly complex, very deep surface.

I mean, it's just got bags and bags of character.

Yeah, the level of detail

that you've managed to get in with that decoration,

just one color, it's incredible isn't it?

And the way the paws are just holding that light fitting,

there's a sort of playfulness to it.

The only concern I would have is obviously the split here.

Yeah.

Let's see how he looks lit up.

Oh, wow. Yeah, it looks brilliant.

The way the light shines off his face

just really, really works.

It's a wonderful, wonderful table lamp.

I love the red flex even more.

That bold color works so nicely against the black and the white.

Have you dressed to match your lamp today?

- I might have done.

The general construction of the polar bear

is just really, really wonderful.

And I'm loving the paws.

And the detail on that fish is just really amazing.

But the proportions are slightly out.

- Bit irregular. - Yeah.

I was really concerned about the fact

that you've chosen a white animal

and we've given you a white clay.

But actually you have put the black color

in exactly the right places

to kind of really accentuate the form.

But there's not masses and masses of sgraffito on it.

There's a lot of this kind of incising

which creates a lovely sort of illustrative kind of quality,

but that makes it feel less real and more kind of a caricature.

Let's see if the table light looks as good on as it does off.

Oh.

All of this incising on the side here

actually really looks beautiful, you know, under the light.

The texture just pops. It's great.

I think that works really, really well.

Thank you.

It's got eight legs, for a start,

which is a great result.

There's definitely life in it,

and a sense of energy, isn't there?

You've managed to get the fluidity into those tentacles.

The suckers work really, really well.

You probably sponged those back, though. Yeah.

Started scraping, ran out of time.

Yeah, I mean, you know, the only real sgraffito

we can kind of look for on this piece is on this main body.

And there is a lovely quality of line to some of it,

but some of it perhaps feels a little more rushed.

So, shall we see Mr Octopus on?

I think the size of the light bulb works really well.

Maybe the positioning of the light bulb

may be better in the front to show his face.

If overall everything was a bit bigger,

it maybe would have had a bit more impact.

But, actually, I love the way that the fitting

is kind of concealed within one of the tentacles.

It doesn't feel like the fitting and the bulb

is at odds to the overall composition.

A brave construction.

Would have loved to have seen a bit more sgraffito,

but a lovely observation of an octopus.

This croc can rest easy

with his belly full of Labradors,

'cause I just think the level of observation

is just incredible.

Do you know, it feels like he's really launching himself

off the ground to catch that bulb.

And the surfaces you've created,

they just feel like that of a crocodile,

that rough-textured, gnarly skin.

It's just so complex. It's beautiful.

Loving the texture. I think the texture really, really works.

And maybe the observations of the feet and the arms

are slightly out, and that proportion,

but there's lovely, lovely energy not only in the structure

but also in that sgraffito, which is great.

OK, then, can we dim the lights?

- Wow. - Ooh.

It really comes to life, picks up all of this incising

down the neck and all the front here.

- Lovely. - And I'm just...

I'm loving the energy in that mouth.

That works really, really well.

Brilliant. Thank you very much.

- Great, Anna. Thank you. - Well done, Anna.

Thanks.

You know what, Jenny? It's brilliant.

I love it. I absolutely love it.

I love the incising on it. I love the color of it.

I'm loving the teeth. You've really thought about the teeth.

I love everything about it. I love you for doing it.

It's... It's... It's absolutely fantastic.

I just think it really, really works as a light.

It is such a well-thought-out design.

You can really see the amount of work that's gone into it.

There's a lot of mark-making here.

I mean, all of this embossing,

and then you've got this really rough texture

you've created with your lacework.

And in terms of the sgraffito process,

you've got that single tone

that's gone in a very strong, flat way.

And all of that light and shade

picking up different aspects of the fish

have been done with a tool,

and using that tool in different ways.

It's a perfect example of that.

And, you know, the whole animal

is just looking towards the light bulb,

and that really works.

And I kind of almost know

that it's gonna look great with the light bulb on.

Shall we see what it looks like?

Jenny.

It's great. It's brilliant.

Who knew you could get so excited

about a bloody light bulb?

- But it's brilliant.

Honestly, the last couple of weeks,

you've just really come into your own.

Don't know what you're drinking.

It just seems to be really working.

I mean, seriously, it goes for all of you.

You've improved so much, and it's just...

it's just wonderful for me and him to stand here,

and it's a privilege to... to judge what you give us.

- It's absolutely brilliant. - Very true. It's very true.

It's a really wonderful table light.

Thank you.

Keith cried.

It's always amazing when Keith cries.

You know that he's seen something in what you've done.

I mean, I was genuinely gobsmacked.

That went a lot better than I expected.

I don't think they said anything negative.

I was kind of standing there just a bit bewildered, honestly.

I was just not expecting it at all.

I'm a little bit worried this week.

There's a clear top three,

I'm not in it, and there's only six of us.

I feel a bit flat after judging.

I tried my best, but just looking around the room,

the makes were really good makes, you know.

I think I could be going home.

Keith and Rich must now decide who will be potter of the week

and whose time is up.

Well, wildlife week, hey? Our pride has grown.

- Yay! - Very good. I like that.

And also the table lights were absolutely fantastic.

Yeah, amazing. I've never known it so tight. At the top and at the bottom.

And who do you think had one of the best weeks?

For me, Jenny. Her anglerfish was just amazing.

I mean, first you claimed that you loved her.

- What have I been missing? - No, no.

Jenny's attention to detail,

the way the light worked with her structure, just brilliant.

I thought AJ had a fantastic week.

The sgraffito was just beautiful.

I loved the shape, you know.

Once that bulb was illuminated,

it just created this incredible shadow.

- And what about at the bottom? - Christine has to be there.

Her polar bear slightly lacked

that realism that we were looking for.

I thought she did well to incorporate

that black underglaze in such a way

that there was still elements of sgraffito in there.

Yeah, that worked really, really well for her.

And then we've got Tom and his octopus.

I was just massively relieved it was in one piece,

'cause I just didn't think those tentacles were gonna survive.

For me, the way the light worked wasn't as well thought out

as some of the other structures.

Just not enough sgraffito,

and that's basically what the challenge was all about.

Well, it sounds like you have a very tough decision to make.

I don't envy you.

- Yeah, so, Siobhán... - So, yeah, anyway...

I wanna talk about your earrings...

Yeah, you know what...

Potters, thank you so much

for truly brightening up my last week in the pottery.

I've had an absolute flipping ball.

But decisions have been made.

I have the nice news.

I get to announce who potter of the week is.

Now, after much deliberation...

- Much. Sorry, much. - Yes, a lot of deliberation.

- Blah, blah, blah.

They have finally decided,

so I'm absolutely delighted to say

that this week's potter of the week...

is AJ.

- No way! - Well done.

Thank you.

Now, as I'm the person leaving the pottery,

it's only right that I announce the person leaving the pottery.

So it's with much sadness

that the person leaving us this week is...

Tom.

- We're so sorry, Tom. - It's all right.

Mate, come here.

- I'm coming for a hug. - Yeah, yeah.

- Crikey. - Thanks, mate.

Such a fantastic time.

The people are lovely. I've learnt so much.

I've challenged myself. I've learnt new skills.

I thought I was a boring potter, but it turns out I'm not.

So, yeah, I feel... I feel proud of myself.

Oh, Tom.

- Keep trucking. - Ah.

I will miss Tom. I'm shocked.

I was ready for going.

Ellie, potters, you're dismissed.

Actually, yeah, Tom, can I get a lift?

- Yeah, sure.

I'll give you some petrol money.

As Tom says goodbye to the pottery,

AJ's otter table lamp becomes their second piece

in the Throw Down gallery.

Pccchew!

Uh...

I d... I don't know what to say. What a confidence boost.

I came into this week thinking I was going home,

not that I was gonna be potter of the week.

AJ is firing on all cylinders.

The way the whole form worked with the light,

and the character in that face,

it was just really wonderful.

There was that graphic quality of the sgraffito,

and yet it felt like an otter, it said otter, it spoke otter.

It just had everything. I loved it.

It's quarter finals next week. How did that happen?

It's just so exciting to be part of this entire process.

It's just... It's wow.

- Next time... - This is my first week back.

Pressure's on.

- - It's the quarter final. - Who knows what will happen?

As the potters construct abstract self-sculptures...

- This is very personal, - ...and their very own kilns.

- I love it. - We've got fire.

As well as becoming off-the-hump candlestick makers.

Come on!

Who will ensure self-preservation?

It's brilliant.

And whose departure will be self-inflicted?

- That's me after a night out.