Norton & Sons

May 19, 2023

12 new home sewers will come together to create beautiful garments on series nine of The Great British Sewing Bee which is filmed in Yorkshire. Published 19th May 2023, 15:49 BST Sara Pascoe will return as the host of the BBC One show which will see a sewing champion crowned as Britain’s Best Amateur Sewer. The sewers competing on The Great British Sewing Bee range in age from 20 to 73 and come from across the country. From a primary school teacher and nurse to a trainee solicitor and police dispatcher, the participants come from all walks of life with one mutual hobby - their love of sewing. Patrick Grant and Esme Young will judge the competitors as they set sewing challenges that test them. Advertisement The sewers will explore clothes inspired by art, travel, fashion icons, utilitarian clothing, West Africa as well as some old favourites such as Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Week and Children’s Week. The theme of Classics with a Twist will begin next week and the first Pattern Challenge is a top with a twist. Most Popular The Great British Sewing Bee presenters Sara Pascoe, Esme Young and Patrick Grant. (Pic credit: BBC Pictures) A Transformation Challenge will see sewers put their own twist on a classic pencil skirt and blouse and the made-to-measure is an on-trend cut-out dress. The latest series was filmed in Sunny Bank Mills , an art gallery and business space in Farsley, Leeds, which was founded in 1820 by a group of local clothiers who set up a co-operative venture. It was originally known as The Farsley Club Mill and was used as a woollen scribbling and fulling mill; its name was changed to the present name in 1839 and was since run by Roberts, Ross & Co. By 1900, it was one of the biggest textile manufacturers in Leeds, producing fine cloth popular internationally for its high quality. Since the series was filmed there, the judges along with the rest of the show’s team were able to socialise outside of the show; they all went to a gay bar in Leeds where fans got to take pictures with them. Advertisement The first episode of the show will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 9pm. Sara Pascoe is an award-winning stand-up comedian, actress and writer, best known for starring in her own BBC sitcom Out of Her Mind and being the host of Comedians Giving Lectures on Dave as well as Guessable on Comedy Central and Last Woman on Earth on BBC. She said of her time on the show: “It’s always lots of fun. We become very attached to the sewers. We essentially get to go round and have a chat with all our friends, then have a cup of tea and chat with each other. It’s a lovely job. “They really make me laugh on-screen and off. It’s always fun having children to model. Esme likes to talk to them to put them at ease, so we had one little girl telling us about her Savings ISA and another telling us about her cat called Charlie. Esme said: ‘Oh, I like Charlie!’ Everyone was in hysterics and the girl did not understand why. That’s when we have our best giggles… when someone doesn’t realise quite what they’ve said. It was very innocent.” Advertisement Esme joined the show as a judge in 2016. She is a designer who has made costumes for major films such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Trainspotting and Bridget Jones’s Diary. She is also a tutor at Central Saint Martins art school and opened the shop Swanky Modes in Camden, London, in the 1970s and dressed big stars such as Grace Jones, Siouxsie Sioux and Cher. She said: “We get on really well and I feel like the camera, sound and lighting people… we’re all part of a community. Everyone’s great. “This year, the team were allowed out together after work as well. We went to this gay bar in Leeds and all these guys wanted to take photos with me. It was fabulous.” Advertisement Patrick is a designer and creative director of bespoke tailors Norton & Sons of Savile Row and its subsidiary E Tautz. He won Menswear Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2010 and he has judged The Great British Sewing Bee since it first started in 2013. He said: “It was great as ever. Sara’s now in mothering duty, so baby Theo and Mouse the dog came up to visit us on a couple of occasions. “There’s far too much eating in the green room. Far too much. I’m in Norton’s today and we’ve been trying on some sample trousers. My colleague was like, ‘Well, they are a 35-and-a-half inch waist…’ and I’m like: ‘Not post-Sewing Bee. I’m not getting into those now.’ “It was so nice this year not to have the Covid filming restrictions. We were able to socialise with the crew outside of filming days. For the last two series, Esme and I and Joe - and then Sara - were kept in total isolation during the seven-week filming period. This year, we got to go out for dinner and join in a karaoke night.”