What we love about ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’

The Great British Sewing Bee - The Show is back on our screens this week. What are your favourite things about the show?

BBC One’s Great British Sewing Bee is among the many iterations of reality tv that have spawned from the success of The Great British Bake Off, and it’s finally back on our screens. But what makes this show so much fun to watch?

Following the tired and tested format of the GBBO, there are three different challenges a week, one pattern challenge, a mystery reworking challenge, and a pattern that needs fitting to a model. A lot of the suspense and drama comes from when someone excels at the first challenge, and then they fall apart by the last one, or vice versa. There’s nothing better for a viewer, in my opinion, than watching a contestant that starts off the week in a terrible position, but by the time the final challenge comes around, they pull off an incredible transformation and they win Garment of the Week. It’s these kinds of low stakes comeback-kid narratives that make these types of shows such a joy to watch.

One of the key ingredients that makes this show tick, in my opinion, is the beautiful combo of Joe Lycett’s unique brand of weird, matched with the well dressed, professional image that the judges present. His never ending stream of funky shirts and outrageous props, when paired against the classic cut of Patrick Grant’s impeccably tailored suits, and Esme Young’s no nonsense attitude is such a contradiction, but together they just work. And it’s always fun to see what weird necklace Esme has on (the one made out of carabiners and paint bottles from the most recent episodes is my current favorite I think).

What’s also endearing about the show, is that the stakes are low. The competitors aren’t vying for a massive, life changing prize. They’re just competing for the title of ‘Britain’s best home sewer’. This immediately alleviates a lot of potential anxiety while watching, as you’re not worried that if someone goes home they’re missing out on a chance to change their entire lives (as if often the case with some shows like America’s Next Top Model, for example). It allows you to get attached to the contestants with minimal consequences, as it were. You can enjoy each success, mourn at every loss, but also laugh good naturedly at all the little mishaps along the way.

The variety of competitors also adds to the appeal of the show - it’s so much fun watching such a diverse group of contestants together. It’s refreshing to see such a wide range of ages, genders, and personalities, all working together. To watch a young 23 year old, just starting to learn to sew, alongside a seasoned Grandma, or a Dad of three, who learnt to sew dresses for them. This season in particular, the wide variety is lovely to see - especially those who only taught themselves the art of sewing over lockdown.

Above all, however, what really makes the show a genuine joy to watch is that each and every contestant is just happy to be spending time doing the thing that they love the most. There’s no vicious catty behaviour, nobody trying to undermine anybody else’s work, or progress. Everyone is just so happy to be sat sewing, with other people who also love to sew. Yes sometimes they screw up and don’t do as good a job as they want, but at the end of the day, they never seem to hold any animosity towards those who succeed, because everyone is just so thrilled to see other people thrive. It’s not groundbreaking television, but it sure is an hour out of my wednesday evening that I look forward to the most.

Edited by Hannah Youds