Great Pottery Throw Down: Viewers in tears as Christine explains importance of giving fairies brown skin: ‘I never saw anything like her in books’

The Great Pottery Throw Down viewers were left in tears by the first episode of the 2022 series, as one of the potters, Christine Cherry, explained why it was so important to feature fairies with brown skin on her design.

This year, 12 new contestants have been welcomed onto the Channel 4 programme, with Rich Miller and Keith Brymer Jones returning as judges and Derry Girls star Siobhán McSweeney joined by comedian Ellie Taylor as co-host.

The potters first two challenges involved creating a children’s crockery set and ceramic milk bottles, with Bill Thomas becoming the first competitor to be sent home and Lucinda Lovesey being hailed for Pot of the Week.

When Christine presented her children’s crockery set to the judges, Rich immediately noticed how she had painted a fairy with brown skin, becoming emotional as he emphasised how significant that decision was for representation.

‘I massively respect the fact that you’ve chosen to give the fairies brown skin, you know,’ he said, as Christine replied: ‘She had to have brown skin.’

The judge continued, recalling how when he was growing up in the 1980s, he ‘never saw reflected back at me in broader society images that reflected what I was seeing in the mirror’.

Christine outlined why it meant so much (Picture: Channel 4)

Both of the judges became emotional over Christine’s design (Picture: Channel 4)

Becoming emotional, he continued: ‘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.’

The potter, who is from Preston and works as an art youth worker, also became tearful, stating: ‘I just never saw anything like her in any of the books and it was important.’

Keith became choked up as he praised Christine for her work, telling her that her design is ‘inspirational’.

‘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,’ he said.

‘And what I also love about it is you’ve manipulated each and every piece and this little ladybird accent here, it just pops.’

Numerous viewers expressed their admiration for the heartfelt moment and the beauty of Christine’s work.

‘I had some tears watching this,’ one person tweeted, while another remarked: ‘Crying. All over the place.’

More: Channel 4

Someone else commented: ‘This isn’t ‘just’ pottery. Every child deserves to see themselves as a fairy. Just beautiful.’

One fan emphasised that ‘representation is everything’, with another writing: ‘Think I’m going to need a bigger hankie next episode!’

The Great Pottery Throw Down returns on Sunday at 7.45pm on Channel 4 and is available to watch on All 4.

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