Entertainment
If Bake Off is good for the soul, The Great Pottery Throw Down is next level feel-good
Rich Miller and Keith Brymer Jones on The Great Pottery Throw Down (Picture: Channel 4)
I had never seen a single second of The Great Pottery Throw Down until last weekend.
It just looked too twee for my liking. It took me years to finally click with the Great British Bake Off, and even that I sometimes still find myself zoning in and out of.
I just live for the drama. I’m all about the controversial lip-sync decisions on Drag Race, or the explosive rows on Real Housewives, or the tight leaderboards on Strictly. I’m not the type of person who’d seek out the relative peace and quiet of the Great British Sewing Bee, The Big Flower Fight, Britain’s Next Flat-Pack Furniture Superstar (might have made that one up) and so on.
But scanning my Twitter timeline during The Masked Singer on Sunday, expecting to see tweet after tweet after tweet about it, I noticed vast swathes of people were talking about a different show entirely. They weren’t, like me, proud of themselves for sussing out Gloria Hunniford as Snow Leopard, or guessing Alesha Dixon for two separate contestants. They were over on Channel 4 watching The Great Pottery Throw Down.
‘And now, my favourite show on TV. Too excited,’ said one person. ‘The most wholesome and wonderful show on TV, hands down,’ said another. ‘It’s an absolute tonic to all the heinous s**t you see on here day in, day out.’
The programme had never appealed to me before, but more than anything I’m a sucker for FOMO – especially when it comes to pop culture. So when I couldn’t sleep that night, I thought I’d finally check it out.
Reader, I have zero regrets.
Normally when I fall in love with a new show – especially a reality or competition show – this is the point where I’d go ‘I’m HOOKED!’, or ‘I’m OBSESSED!’, or maybe ‘I would sooner RIP A LIMB OFF MY BODY than miss a single episode!’. But actually, what I love about this one is how… gentle it is. How low-key. It’s just really nice! Like a televisual cuddle.
Much like GBBO when the recipe is right, it’s a dozen people who are very good at something (something most of us at home are crap at), competing in a series of tasks without ever being anything less than lovely to each-other.
Contestant Christine explained the importance of giving her fairies brown skin (Picture: Channel 4)
In fact, not that I’m an expert after one entire episode, but it seems like the Throw Down is perhaps even gentler than Bake Off, if that were even possible.
While parts of that show have become harder and harder – to the point where it feels as if some challenges simply cannot be done in the allotted time – on Throw Down there’s the sense that the stakes are high enough as it is, with all that wheel throwing and intricate decorating and such. The hopefuls don’t need to be stressed out even more by – say – comically vague instructions, or Matt Lucas doing a skit while they’re trying to work.
Like the best shows of this ilk, it’s lovely as well to see judges so passionate: Keith Brymer Jones binning some of the attempted milk bottles in the latest episode added just the right amount of drama, but he clearly cares deeply about his craft and the contestants’ success – just look at how often he bursts into tears.
Heck, just look at how often I burst into tears, having never seen this show before or even had anything to do with pottery since Year 1 of primary school. But you don’t have to be knowledgeable in it to become invested in these contestants. You don’t need to have had any prior interest whatsoever to will them to succeed, and be moved by their work.
More: The Great British Bake Off
Did anyone not cry when Christine explained the importance of giving her fairies brown skin; leaving judge Rich Miller fighting tears? It was just a quietly beautiful moment; and you certainly won’t get a scene like it on – say – The Apprentice, a very different breed of competition show, which also returns this week.
Whereas that programme favours drama and in-fighting and pomposity (don’t get me wrong, I live for it), Throw Down is a tonic because it’s not an adrenaline-infused, scandal-a-minute thrill ride that’ll spark a steady flow of memes and headlines and viral tweets.
It’s not something I’ll kick myself if I don’t watch live, or set up a dedicated WhatsApp group chat for. It’s just a nice, warm, heartening show about immensely likeable people doing something they love – and Christ, if this bleakest of winters isn’t a good time for that, when is?
For the first time in my life, I’m looking forward to Sunday nights.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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