The Great Pottery Throw Down (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 10 - Episode #3.10 - full transcript
It's the final, and in the last 10 weeks,
Middleport has played host to Britain's best home potters.
Now.
No pressure, Matt, it's only the final.
Just Jacob, Rosa, and Matt remain.
Oh, where am I?
To face an extraordinary main make.
- Oh! -Shit!
And a final twist at the wheel.
Jacob, if you could come with me.
- What's going on? -Oh, sneaky.
Oh, no.
Each week, Rosa's brought a burst of character
to the pottery.
The Queen's little foot peeking out really brings the whole
set to life.
And her exquisite Greek statue won
a place in the Throw Down gallery.
But it's not been easy.
Oh, no!
But she's battled on and made it to the final.
Being here now is absolutely fantastic.
I'd love to win, but, just going to do my best.
I've got a picture of my children in my necklace
and they will be with me, calm me down, hopefully.
Matt's potting prowess has impressed.
You've done another one of those.
Yes.
And despite a simplistic approach
to decoration.
It's very minimal, isn't it?
His Mancunian fireplace
won him potter of the week, and he's excelled
in the second challenge with four wins.
Matt is our Nerikomi Ninja!
Jacob and Rosa, really
strong figuratively,
and decoratively whereas they're my weak points.
I've just got to take my throwing ability
to its limit, I think, or maybe beyond it.
Throughout the competition,
Jacob's had to overcome his nerves.
I'm actually writing "shake" and I can't stop shaking.
But his sculpting skills have wowed the judges.
Absolutely exceptional, and it was pure alchemy.
Winning him Potter of the week.
- Jacob. Jacob. -Jacob.
Three times. -Whoa.
To win the Pottery Throw Down
would just mean the world to me.
I'm already really passionate about what I do,
so, yeah, it would mean everything.
Three potters, two final challenges.
But only one can be champion of the Great Pottery
Throw Down.
Morning, potters, welcome to the final.
Congratulations.
So, for your grand finale main make,
Sue and Keith would like you to build
a nine piece tea set.
But it can't be an ordinary tea set
because our judges would like your designs
to be inspired by the Mad Hatter's tea party.
Now the Mad Hatter's tea party is a scene
from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
There's some amazing, iconic imagery there.
We want your tea sets to really reflect that.
You've got six hours in total on this build.
Your first three and a half hours, though, starts now.
Potters get potting!
The potters' nine piece tea sets must include a teapot,
four cups or mugs, a milk jug, a sugar bowl with a lid,
and a cake stand.
My heart's definitely going a bit quicker than average,
but I think it needs to be, if I'm going to get this done.
It's nice to get started.
Once you get going, all the nerves go away.
I think today, I just want everybody to do well.
But I wanna win!
This is the final main make, what a dream of a challenge.
I know, it's amazing.
They can hand-build this, they can throw it,
they can slab it.
We want color in there. We want flamboyancy.
We just wanna see something really exceptional.
But all of this detail needs to hang
on a beautifully executed and well-made piece.
There's a huge amount of elements for them to think
about,
you know, there's loads of the things that could potentially
go wrong,
spouts or handles falling off, things not pouring.
It's the final, it's a great opportunity
to show us what they're really made of.
It's so exciting, isn't it?
Their imaginations can run wild.
You really were grinning like a Cheshire cat then.
So, I'm going to start with the teapot.
Tackle the big one first.
I like making bigger, more extravagant things.
So I'm gonna have fun making it, whatever happens.
When I was learning to make, I just thought,
I'm not making a teapot, everybody makes a teapot.
And I regretted it straight away!
After the blindfold challenge,
it's nice that you let the clay talk to you.
You just feel the clay the better.
Hello, Rosa. -Hello, Keith.
So, how're you feeling? The final.
Yes, it's rather fantastic, isn't it?
So when you were given this brief,
did you instantly know what you were gonna do?
It's a children's book, and I wanted it to appeal
to children.
It's fun, it's full of energy and full of character.
Well, we know how wonderful you are
with your narratives and your character building.
So it really sounds like
you're gonna a really fun, vibrant tea set,
which is what we're really looking for.
Rosa's Mad Hatter's tea set
will see a number of classic characters
from the Alice in Wonderland story,
all brought to life in clay.
Including a Queen of Hearts teapot,
flower shaped cups, a grinning Cheshire Cat sugar bowl
and a cake stand stand featuring the White Rabbit.
Well, you've not made it easy for yourself.
- No. -And this is the final,
so we want to see really, really good execution.
It's just another challenge. I can do this.
- Yeah, you can! -Well done.
- Keep telling yourself. -I like that assertiveness.
I just have to do it!
Jacob's tea set won't be so child friendly.
I have gone for the darker side of the story.
The remake that I'm focusing on is the Tim Burton one.
And the land has been destroyed and desolate,
and burned from the Jabberwocky.
So I'd really like to include that Jabberwocky in my design.
Haven't read the story, but I've watched all the films.
I'm a millennial, you know?
Jacob is hoping to create his winning tea set
using his throwing skills to make his teapot,
cups, milk jug, and sugar bowl.
And to show off his sculpting skills,
he's creating a Jabberwocky's head,
tail and claws as the spout and handles.
So this is a Jabberwocky, not a dragon?
No, no.
Similar, but you'll be able to tell the difference.
Alright, well look, really good luck.
- Alright, thanks Jacob. -Cheers.
I'd hope Sue and Keith don't think
I'm playing it safe with dragons,
because it is difficult to do it
as part of the teapot and make sure that it functions.
I think it'll be a way for me to show off my figurative.
While Jacob's focusing on the figurative.
Why make a normal teapot for the final?
Matt's going metaphorical.
One of the opening lines is, Alice describes
if she could make her own world,
everything that would be wouldn't be as it seems
and everything that is isn't and everything's topsy-turvy.
So I've gone a little bit more abstract,
but that suits me a little bit more.
Matt's quirky tea set will see Alice
diving headfirst into his cake stand,
a teapot with a handle as the spout
and the spout as a handle.
Puzzling mugs, a sugar bowl filled with lids,
and a milk jug with multiple spouts.
So if you pick it up the wrong way,
you're gonna get covered in milk.
Give or take, but only one of them is going to work.
So we've got to find out what that is.
Yeah, and then I've run with a similar theme
for the tea cups as well.
There's gonna be holes all the way around
just before the rim, so you tried to drink out of it,
you'd just get covered in tea.
So you actually have to suck through the rim
and then through the handle, like a straw.
So you're working with the idea of a puzzle jug, then?
Yeah, pretty much.
They were really popular in the 18th and 19th century.
This sort of take on a normal pot,
but you don't use it in the same way.
So this puzzle jug is the oldest joke in pottery,
isn't it?
I thought I was the oldest joke in pottery.
For a second.
Potters, time's marching on, you've had an hour,
you've got two and a half hours left on your tea sets.
Just need to work a bit quicker.
Matt is probably ahead of the game.
These are the Mad Hatter cups.
I think this is the most time consuming aspect,
the rim's hollow so I've got to split it
at the top and then loop it back around.
I don't really know how I'm doing for time.
It's gonna be really, really close.
With so many pieces to make,
our finalist's throwing skills
are being pushed to the limits.
I've got blisters on the edges of my hands
just where I've been non stop.
It's just so much pressure.
Sweating on.
This is the milk jug.
It's quite a nice feeling, ticking that off.
But the nerves are starting to show.
Oh, it's just a practice one, anyway.
I lost concentration. I don't have time for this.
I wanna do my best. It's just another challenge,
I'm just going to keep calm and it'll be fine.
This is gonna be the lid for the tea pot.
Oh, God that's so annoying.
I just dropped my lid that I spent 10 minutes on.
I just smashed my milk jug.
There's so much to do.
I think it definitely is the biggest challenge
in terms of work load.
You've not made it easy for yourself have you, this final?
I like a challenge.
You have got quite a calm temperament as well,
actually, you don't get flappy like somebody else I know.
I don't know what you're talking about.
To truly impress Keith and Sue.
There's definitely that element of precision
that they like to see so everything's gotta fit nicely.
The potters must ensure every element
of their Mad Hatter tea set design is perfect.
This is the flower cups, and now I'm just bending the clay.
Oh come on lid, why?
Why are you being so difficult?
It's like a millimeter, but every time I take a bit off
it's not taking it off, it's just pushing it up.
While Jacob struggles to refine
just one sugar bowl lid.
This is lid number seven.
Matt's got plenty more to make.
I've really started enjoying throwing on the hump.
It was week one that we did egg cups off the hump
and it just seemed like the perfect way to make
all the lids.
Good lord. Still not right.
At Middleport, our potters
are still battling it out for the title
of Great Pottery Throw Down champion.
This lid is doing my head in.
Wasting so much time on it.
With only an hour left,
they need all nine pieces of their Mad Hatter's tea set
made and into the drying room.
I hope that works.
So I'm gonna move on to the cake stand.
I'm not that good at underwiring my plates.
You can put hessian underneath
and then you just lift them off.
They might bend a little bit, but it is a Mad Hatter tea set.
Just making start on my many, many spouts.
There's gonna be so many of them.
While Jacob is still throwing his cake stand.
Gonna do another plate.
Matt and Rosa have finished at the wheel.
I've made 12 spouts, that'll do.
How're you doing Matt? Now you've done all your throwing?
Quite a lot of slab stuff to do.
And to have started to make their handles.
I'm pulling the handle for the teapot.
I'm sort of trying to get as many techniques in as I can.
You'd normally pull a handle, but they've got to be hollow.
I'm using this, it's just a little former
so I can actually press against something.
Potters, I know you're in Wonderland,
but I've got reality check for you.
You've got 10 minutes left.
Everything has to be in the drying room.
What have I got? What have I got?
Let me count. S ix, seven, eight, nine.
What're those tube bits?
I think they're spares.
Done.
Well done guys, that's the end of your challenge.
You've had a brilliant morning.
Go and have a break 'cause you're gonna be coming back
this afternoon to finesse your sets.
- Well done. -Ah, well done.
I can't believe that's the last build I'm gonna do.
Whether they're worthy of the final, we'll soon find out.
It looks like tough competition, tough competition.
I think so far, so good.
Well, I got lots to do.
I'm trying to not run around like a headless chicken
for the second half.
Having so many pieces, it is a bit high risk high reward.
I've got to trim them, attach them, fettle them.
You could say that this next bit
is make or break for my design.
After a few hours of drying,
the finalists' tea sets are now leather hard
and ready to refine, add handles, spouts, knobs,
and construct their cake stands.
They now have just two hours
to finish all nine pieces to the highest standard.
Everything seems to be fine, nothing seems to have cracked.
So yeah, happy happy.
But having made
so many additional spouts and lids.
Definitely the biggest workload I've had.
Matt's got a huge to-do list.
- Lots of things to stick on. -Yeah. Yeah.
- You're feeling it a bit now? -MATT: I'm really feeling it.
So that's the handle, isn't it?
Or is it?
- Who knows? -That's it.
Things are coming together kind of quick.
Feel better now. That's one thing out of the way.
While Matt's spouting off.
The Jabberwocky's next.
Jacob's hand
sculpting his Jabberwocky spout.
Head's sort of gonna be there, where you pour out from.
Spend an hour max on the teapot, that's what the plan is.
I just feel like I'm wasting time
doing all these little bits.
I'm just doing the Queen's head.
Rosa's also sculpting elements
of her tea set with a quirky Queen of Hearts.
It's a lid for the teapot.
See, it comes out different every time.
I think it's because they've got
their own little spirit, don't they?
I've just started my way onto the handle now.
Why aren't you going on? Just go on!
Just wasting so much time.
Potters, you've had an hour,
you've got an hour and a half left.
Loads of time, not much to do.
Lots to do, not a lot of time.
An hour gone.
It's not a long time to do everything else.
I've got to be really delicate because if I crush the rim,
then it's not hollow right down to the bottom.
It's gotta work, hasn't it?
How are you doing? JACOB: Stressing.
I can feel the vibrations from you.
So what does the dragon represent in your culture?
Strength, honor, prosperity.
And were you born year of the dragon, then?
No, I was year of the pig,
which kinda suits me, suits me well.
Well, if it's any consolation, I'm a dog.
- So there you go. -Oh, okay.
- Is it going back in there? -It's done.
I'm going to do a milk jug
and put as many spouts on as fast as I can.
These are gonna be stuck on a la Rosa.
Precariously.
Make sure it's joined together.
Yeah, you're not great with your joins, are you?
It will be fine.
Just check everything.
Oh, let's get it out the way, let's make this the working one.
Don't tell Keith.
No pressure, Matt, it's only the final.
Yeah, thanks for reminding me.
Potters, you've got half an hour left.
Oh, where am I?
I know it's gonna be a mad half hour,
but I know you can do it.
Thanks, Mel. For nothing.
Just panicking. Spent too much time on that stupid teapot.
Need therapy after this.
I've just given myself way too much to do.
- Can you do it? -I'm gonna give it a try.
The boys are stressed. You're not though, you alright?
I'm okay, going to stay calm.
I've rarely seen you like this, and I'm liking it.
I've got to trim as many lids as I can.
Aw, man.
I don't know whether I'll get the claws done.
Took on more than I could chew.
I'm putting the mouth on the cat,
but there's not much time left.
- How long have we got? -You got five minutes left.
Everything's got to be in the drying room.
- Oh!
I'm just gonna have to thin off Alice's legs
and paint them on. It's not what I'd wanted to do,
'cause I can't paint.
This is my rabbit.
This is going to hold the cake stand.
What was this?
Please start putting some stuff in the drying room
Almost done.
We don't want you dropping anything.
- God knows what that is. -One minute, guys!
- Oh, shit! -Oh!
Oh, my God.
- Oh, Jacob! -I know, I know.
- Oh, Jacob. -I know, I know.
That's the end of the challenge!
- Aw, mate. -Come on Jacob.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
- Oh, never mind. -Sorry, mate.
Well done guys.
Sorry mate.
I think they'll notice I've dropped it on the floor.
I was just working flat out.
And you know, you forget about just being careful.
I'm so glad I just got it all done.
Well done.
It was so tough. Really tough.
If there'd have been another 15 minutes,
I think I might've been able
to get Alice's legs and skirt done, but it wasn't to be.
But when I stepped back
and looked at it all on that board together,
I always really, really happy with what I've done.
I've done everything I could.
And I don't know if it's enough.
Feeling confident?
I think a third of the chances of winning.
As it's the Great Pottery Throw Down final,
our second challenge is like no other
our potters have had to face so far,
and they have absolutely no idea what it's going to be.
I think it should be a hand-built decoration.
That would be a disaster.
Sue and Keith, this is the second challenge
and it's a throw down,
but a slightly different wheel this time.
Yeah. This is a momentum wheel.
Basically the potter powers the wheel themselves
by kicking this weighted disk and
the momentum of that weight
keeps the wheel turning.
Now the thing is, while that wheel's going round,
they've got to throw a pot.
It's as hard as patting your head and rubbing your stomach.
Is your heart rate going up?
It is a bit of cardio, just on the one leg.
So when I get off this, I'll be walking around in circles.
So, Sue, what is it you'd like the potters to make?
We need the potters to make three rimmed bowls
like this one, so small, medium and large.
We need to be able to clearly see those three different sizes.
Okay, well this is a blind challenge
so you guys, I'm gonna ask you to leave the pottery.
So I'll see you a bit later on for judging.
- Great. -Okay.
I'm going to win this one.
- Oh! -Fighting talk.
As long as Jacob doesn't, I don't care.
- I haven't won one yet! -I know!
Hello, Rich.
Jacob, if you could come with me.
- What's going on? -Oh, sneaky.
Oh, no!
Hello.
How are you feeling? -Pretty nervous.
Well, I can tell you Sue and Keith
would like you to throw three rimmed bowls.
One small, one medium, and one large.
- Okay, cool. -Okay?
Yup.
Now they'd like you to throw on this.
Ah, no!
Do you what it is?
Yeah, it's a kick wheel, old style kick wheel.
You've got 20 minutes. And your time starts now.
That was a good spin. Have you done it before?
I had a go once, and I was terrible at it.
Okay, but you've had a go at it, though.
So, you might have the edge on this one, who knows?
It's a work out isn't it?
It is, it is a work out.
Shouldn't have skipped leg day.
Well done, Jacob.
You used to be a gymnast,
is that coming into play at all, your athletic-ness?
Can't back flip my way around this.
They look like they've got rims.
I know it's tricky, but are you glad it's a throw down?
Yeah, I'm glad.
But, any sort of throwing challenge against Matt.
It's hard to kind of compete.
You're getting it done, though, babe. You're doing it.
Is that your small one? Lovely.
And you've got your three bowls! How do you feel?
It's hard. Hard.
- Yeah. -That was good. I enjoyed that.
I managed to get three bowls out, so yeah. I'm happy.
Matt, I know he'll just ace it,
'cause he's just a wizard on any throwing challenge,
but I don't know how Rosa will do.
It'll have to be me.
Rosa, if you'd like to come with me, please.
Good luck.
Welcome.
Do you wanna get comfortable?
Sue and Keith would like you to throw three bowls,
you've got 20 minutes, and your time starts now.
Finding it difficult, isn't it?
Really go for it.
You're gonna take off in a minute!
I might do.
How does it feel?
You have to get quite a speed on, don't you?
Yeah.
But you've got a bowl shape.
Difficult to get that rim in, isn't it?
Go with your instincts. That's looking lovely, darling.
Wire it off, stick it on here.
Well done, Rosa.
You've got another two bowls to throw.
- You're warmed up now. -Yes, it's good.
You've got 10 minutes left.
So you really need to get this one done.
And this is your large one.
- Yeah. -Really go for it.
The speed goes down quite quickly when you push the clay.
Is that coming off now, Rosa?
- Should do, shouldn't it? -Well done.
- Now you've got your little one. -A little one.
You can do this, you're doing so well, Rosa.
Maybe I should have started with the smallest.
I think you've perfected that rim on the last bowl.
Well, you're wiring off with a minute to go.
Well done.
Let them see them from this side.
I did my best.
I don't know if I'd done enough to win this challenge.
I'm up against two really good throwers, so, let's see.
Come on in.
You've got 20 minutes to throw three bowls
and your time starts now.
Oh, you got some good speed up there.
Cycling legs are coming into their own about now.
Good. Are you relieved it's a throw down?
It's pretty nice, I've been dying for one
the last few weeks.
Excellent.
Well done, so that's your small one done.
Is the trick just to get that wheel as fast as possible?
You just want as much momentum
in the wheel as possible.
So this is your medium bowl, is it?
Right, your final bowl, your largest one.
- And you've got ages left. -Yeah.
Has that got a decent enough rim on that?
- I reckon so. -Alright.
You've got one and a half minutes left,
but you've finished!
- You happy? -Yeah.
Challenge over, but whose bowls are best
and who mastered the momentum wheel?
Keith and Sue have no idea who threw which bowls.
Hello, you two!
They're looking for three different sizes and a good rim.
Well, a really good effort from all of you.
Just thrown in to something
that you've probably never even sat on before.
And I think you've done really well.
So, in third place, is this one.
- That's me. -They're the biggest set.
To get that on this momentum wheel is pretty good.
Yeah, there isn't much difference
between the height of that one and this one.
And there could have been more definition in the rim.
Yeah, absolutely.
So second place,
is this one.
Well done, Rosa. Really good.
They are different sizes, but the height of that
is very similar to this one.
This is really nice. That's a really nice rim on that.
I always say that the rim of a pot is like the eyes of a human.
It's the first thing that you get drawn to.
That leaves me with first place.
- Well done, Jacob. -Thank you.
Definite definition in the rim. Small, medium, and large.
And if you've never used a momentum wheel,
it showed real tenacity to get what you've got.
Yeah, good attempt I'd say.
Well done, Jacob, your first ever second challenge win,
and you've left it to the very end!
- Congratulations. -Thank you.
I just thought Matt would nail it.
I'm absolutely over the moon.
I'm not very happy.
Well done!
I guess I overlooked the rim.
If it's really close,
it does come down to the second challenge.
So, not feeling as confident as I was.
It's better that I was second than last,
my husband told me it doesn't matter what you win
on the way up there, it matters if you win the last one.
So, let's hope so.
The final continues
as Matt, Rosa, and Jacob are about to find out
whether their Mad Hatter's tea party tea sets
have survived the bisque fire.
This is their last chance
to prove they've got what it takes
to win the Great Pottery Throw Down.
Morning, potters, welcome back.
Your tea sets have been bisque fired
and they're ready for decorating.
Now is the time to really bring them to life.
We really want you to deliver on color and flamboyancy.
You've got four hours to decorate
and your time starts now.
So weird.
How's yours come out, mate?
Got a crack all the way around.
Which tea cup did you drop? Oh, that one.
They're all a bit quirky anyway, so it's alright, it's fine.
I'm just gonna get it smooth.
But Jacob's not the only one
with pieces to finesse.
I have to sand mine.
It is the final, I have to try to make it smooth.
It's just, if I spend too long time doing this,
I have less time decorating afterwards.
- Oh, nice. -That's nice.
Probably need to sand this a little bit more.
I practiced this so much at home
that I should be able to do it in my sleep.
I just need to stop sanding I think.
Stop sanding!
To bring their tea set designs to life,
the potters have a wide range of colored glazes
and oxides to work with.
Decisions.
While Matt pushed himself
to make a complicated tea set at the make stage.
Have your mugs got holes in?
- Yeah. -That's amazing.
You know how they work, right?
No.
Well, you have to find out then, eh?
He's keeping his decoration simple.
They want to see color and flamboyance,
which is difficult because I focused on the forms
and the making side.
And so I'm going with the white and the blue,
like Alice's dress, but I've just decided
that I'm gonna do the top yellow, like her blonde hair.
Rosa's given herself the most to do.
Every piece of her design has a character
she plans to hand paint.
Colors are you going for, Rosa?
Red, yellow, and green, and white, and black.
So all of them? - Yeah.
My color scheme is quite bright.
It's going to be decorated with hearts. I love hearts.
It's love, it's family, it's everything, isn't it?
Big and flamboyant hearts.
Jacob's also honoring the Queen of Hearts.
We seem to be doing similar, don't we, Jake?
Yeah, yeah. They're just heart stickers.
Glaze over it, and then peel them off,
and I'll be left with a little white hearts.
You know, a ditzy detail like this.
I haven't seen this from you before.
- This is a new departure. -It is, it is.
But I wanted to have that contrast
because of the Jabberwocky.
I think that's a good way to be though.
Taking risks, even in a final.
You've got a lot to do, still.
- Lots. -Yeah. Good luck.
Potters, you've had a one hour already.
What?
You've got three hours to go.
And the time is ticking real quick.
I'm just doing the many spouts.
I've done the inside bits black
because I don't want to let the light
give away where the one that works is.
So your tea set is kind of a bit trippy, really, isn't it?
Is this a reflection of your mind?
Maybe, in a sense it is. I just wanted to challenge myself
in the actual making part.
So I just tried to make things as difficult as possible.
Former professional cyclist Matt
has always pushed himself to the limit.
That's just his approach to life.
If he chooses to do something, he puts his all into it.
When he starts a journey, he's absolutely 100% focused.
Matt is absolutely a perfectionist.
So many pots. He's just like, this is terrible.
And I'm looking at it like, what do you mean?
Matt has put so much effort in over the last few weeks.
I have never seen him so focused
on anything in his life before.
I've still got quite a lot to do on my cake stand.
So I'm putting it off. Just sat there. Annoying me.
This is the Queen of Hearts,
I'm just doing her face at the moment.
This fine work, I definitely don't want to do
when there's five minutes left.
She's looking gorgeous though, isn't she?
Did you think that you would actually get this far?
No, I didn't.
It was so funny, I went for a walk with my friend
and she said, oh, I talked to Frederick, your son,
he said you will win.
Aw.
So, no I didn't, But maybe my little son did.
Where shall we go, sweetie?
We can go down the lane.
I'm really proud of her
for showing everyone what she can do.
And it'll be good if she wins.
I'll congratulate her a lot.
She's been away a lot the last few weeks,
me and the children have been missing her
so, it'll be great to have her back.
I think the children would really be amazed if she won it.
They've been on the journey
with all the ups and downs along the way.
So I think it would mean a lot to them.
The message we've got for our mom
is try your best and good luck.
Yeah.
I wanna do my best.
I want the children to be able to look at it
without being embarrassed by me.
Okay, potters, you're halfway through.
You've got two hours left.
Got so much to do, Rosa.
I've got so much to do as well! Just stay calm and don't shake.
I'll start shaking now.
Come on, Six!
Despite his own nerves,
Jacob's success in the competition
has come as no surprise to his family.
He's always been talented and always been creative.
And we've always known he's gonna do something special.
So on that side of it, it's not a surprise,
but I don't think he realizes how good he is.
No, he does have a lot of self doubt.
He'd say if I can just get through this week,
I'll be happy, mom.
And then another week'd go by.
And he was like, yeah, I'm getting there.
I feel very, very proud that he's got this far.
Me and his dad both love him to bits.
We just want him to be happy,
and this makes him happy so that's great.
Just a proud mom, really.
Just layering oxide.
The more the merrier with this, I think.
I've used this technique i n my chess set,
and my lamp shades, and placed first in those challenges.
So if I win, I'll do a naked lap of Liverpool. In my boxers.
If you win Jacob, I'm throwing you in the canal.
Potters, you've got one hour left, just one hour left.
Why did I go for so much hand painting?
I've just used a sponge to add
just a little bit of texture into the surface.
Just so it's not one big blue block.
So, I mixed black and white together
to get sort of a model effect.
I'm gonna get these off. They look a bit embedded.
Yes!
I'm going to move on now to my cake stand.
This is white underglaze that's going on at the moment.
All the numbers and stuff will be white.
While Jacob and Rosa
crack on with their cake stands,
Matt's still stumped.
This top layer was supposed to have Alice's legs
out the top. Obviously, they're not.
I don't know how to do it.
Okay, gang, you've got half an hour left.
I really mustn't stress
because then my hands start shaking.
This is gonna be the quickest cake stand decoration disaster.
I've made a little copper tag, it says "drink me" on.
To wrap around the neck, it's like a potion.
If I drank out of Matt's tea set, it would spin me out.
Definitely.
The cake stand just looks so bad.
Oh, it's a disaster zone, isn't it? I've got to glaze.
I'm going to dip everything in transparent.
This is just transparent glaze.
Without it, the underglaze doesn't have that same shine.
Stay away from there.
Right, you've got 10 minutes left.
Come on, Mel, give us another five minutes please.
I've got my sugar bowl to do.
I am rushing. It's gonna be touch and go.
Did they want neat? -I think so.
Oh dear.
It's so messy, I can't get my brushing.
Rather not have done that.
- How're you doing, Rosa? -A lot of bottoms to wipe.
You're a mother, you're used to that.
So if I don't wipe it off, it's just gonna stick
to the kiln shelf.
Can you look under my pot, is there glaze underneath?
I can't really see.
Just keep going, just keep going.
Oh, seconds left! Come on, Jacob!
- I'm painting, I'm painting! -Come on, come on!
Oh!
That's the end of your challenge!
Woo!
It's all over!
Oh, well I wanna give you a hug.
- Thanks, Mel. -Well done, guys.
- Well done, well done. -Well done!
We did it!
It was the last one, it turned into a mad rush.
But throughout the whole process,
I tried to focus on the idea.
I'm really happy with how I've approached everything.
I stayed calm enough.
I'm pleased with the tea set.
I definitely got a lot of personality in that.
I don't know what the judges will think of it,
but I just know I've really, really would like to win.
I'm so happy that I managed to do all the challenges,
but realize how much I'd love to win it.
Obviously, the competition's strong,
but I'm really happy with my teapot. Really happy.
Pop them on the table, I'll get them in.
Matt, Rosa, and Jacob have done all they can.
Their tea sets are going into the kiln for the final time.
It will be an agonising wait but when our potters return,
we'll find out who will be crowned
the winner of the Great Pottery Throw Down.
It's judgment day.
And the moment of truth for Matt, Jacob, and Rosa.
- Are we ready? -Yeah.
How their tea sets have fared in the kiln
could be the difference between winning and losing.
Looks interesting.
Well, it looks like there's been a bit of carbon trapping.
- It looks amazing, actually. -Oh, fantastic.
The unpredictable firing issue
of carbon trapping has only added
to the effects of their glazes.
- Look at all that! -Pretty cool.
Oh, they'll love that, won't they?
- They will love that. -Mhmm.
It looks antique.
- I dunno whose this one is, it's red?
Oh, I don't know.
It would mean everything to me
to win the Great Pottery Throw Down.
After winning the second challenge,
I think I'm in a good position,
but Rosa's got beautiful illustrations.
And Matt's has got this amazing concept.
I think it's gonna be tough. Really tough.
Oh, that's sweet, isn't it? Rargh!
It means a lot to me if I win
and I think it would give a good message to my children.
That if you give 100% of what you want to do,
you can achieve.
And if I win, wouldn't that be a fantastic message
to give them?
Craziest jug I've ever seen in my life.
Thanks.
I probably have put more effort into this
than I did when I was cycling.
It feels like I'm doing something a bit more meaningful.
Sweet, my holes haven't filled in.
I'm really, really proud of what I've made,
and I'm really looking forward to standing behind it
in front of the judges.
- Coming, Rosa? -Yeah.
While they get the tea sets ready for judging
our finalists' friends and family,
along with some familiar faces,
are gathering outside by the bottle kiln.
It feels amazing to be back. All the finalists,
I reckon they're just like this at the moment.
- In terms of winning, I think... -Jacob or Matt.
Yeah, from day one, I was like, yeah, Jacob or Matt.
I thought so, you could see their throwing skill as well.
Looking at the challenge,
I think that Rosa could actually have it.
It's right up her street.
No female's won it, and I love Rosa.
Go on the girls!
Now, I just wanna say before we get into
the nitty gritty of this final judgment,
what a brilliant, brilliant journey you've been on.
You've done amazingly well.
So congratulations to all of you.
Matt, would you like to bring your tea set up?
Problem solving to the very end.
Before we go into anything, can we just take this off here?
'Cause it looks a bit fragile.
It looks like you started off with really good intentions
and then completely ran out of time.
Shall we have a look at this jug?
You've taken the time to think about
how a jug could look and how you can explore that form.
And what's wonderful is there's no actual cracking
around any of the spouts.
Ah!
- Only one of the spouts works. -Brilliant, brilliant.
- Really brilliant idea. -Thanks.
Right, here we go, then.
One, two,
three, four,
five.
Wow, finally.
And there it is. Six, the sugar.
A really, really lovely idea.
This coloring you've got on here.
That's part of the carbon trapping, isn't it?
- Yeah, it is. -Do you know what?
That's absolutely brilliant. That is brilliant.
You've got some added depth in there
and this is what I love about ceramics.
You put something in the kiln
and you never know what you're gonna get.
I love the shape of your teapot.
That's not the spout, is it?
We don't actually pour tea through that piece.
I guess you'll find out.
We've got to find out, have we?
Do you wanna do the honors?
Okay. Is this gonna pour well, then?
- Oh, actually. -Oh, it is, a lovely pour.
Really great idea. Really, really lovely.
Works really well.
I think it's just charming.
We love the eccentricity of what you've done here, Matt.
I mean, it's absolutely fitting for a Mad Hatter's tea party.
Thank you very much.
You're very skilled working in a figurative way.
You are, Jacob. We've been really wowed by the way that
you have that ability to form,
well, mostly dragons out of the clay.
I really love all this oxide application effect.
It works really, really well.
What doesn't work for me
is that contrast that you were trying to get.
That blockiness of that red, it's too flat.
You've just missed the mark slightly.
- Tea, Sue? -Yes, please.
He dribbles a bit, doesn't he?
- Potion, Sue? -Yes, please.
I love that you've got these trinkets on the side.
That's a really nice addition.
And actually the shape of that being a potion bottle,
it works really, really well.
I really like the idea of the cups.
I know you had problems with dropping one.
- Yeah, yeah. -Which one is it?
This one.
But because you've made each one an individual shape,
it works quite well actually.
- Cheers, Jacob. -JACOB: Cheers.
They're great to drink from, really nice rim on there.
I don't know that I like the claw that close to my face,
actually.
I'm trying to look for the sugar bowl.
The sugar bowl's part of the cake stand.
That works really nicely as a piece.
Your figurative work on the side, it's really beautiful.
Really, really good effort. Absolutely brilliant.
- Thank you.
This screams Alice in Wonderland. It really does.
Your wonderful characters are just full of life.
You've taken all the knowledge
that you've learned in the Emma Bridgewater challenge
and you've wrapped that around your cake stand
and it looks wonderful.
Look at her, this is the Queen of Hearts.
She's just beautiful.
Rosa.
You know how you said you've always tried to do your best?
- You really have done your best. -Oh, thank you.
- You have done your best here. -Oh, I'll start now.
It's absolutely amazing.
Your attention to detail when you're hand building
and when you're modeling, is incredible.
Absolutely brilliant.
But what's really charming is that heart on the spout.
I mean, who'd have thought of that?
What about the pour?
Leaking from the bottom is it?
- Oh, no! -It is leaking from the bottom.
I thought I put enough glazing to hold it.
Sugar? -SUE: Yes, please.
This is the Cheshire Cat, and that's his tail,
- which is the spoon? ROSA: Yes.
You've even got narrative just in the sugar bowl,
let alone the whole piece. It's so full of life.
I don't know how you managed to do it,
but you even get emotion in the feet.
It's really, really wonderful to see.
Exceptional work.
Really, really happy.
I look so forward to seeing my family
and maybe there's a chance
that I can show them some good news.
I'm really proud with what I've done.
They had big smiles while they were using it,
which is sort of really what I wanted.
I wanted it to be fun and a sort of challenge.
And it did that.
I'm really happy that I've got this far,
but you know, every step of the way
it has been, just do that, just get that little bit further.
And now obviously it's get that win.
This is the last time we're gonna sit here
and talk about the potters.
They haven't given you an easy job, have they?
They've all come up with completely different ideas
and it's their personalities that have come through.
And that's what we really love seeing.
You've got Jacob with his Jabberwocky,
he's fantastic with that figurative way of working.
You've got Matt who is the engineer, you know,
he's come at this in a real design manner.
And then you've got Rosa, you know,
wonderfully illustrative pieces.
Each potter has come up with something fantastic.
We've really got to decide
who is the best potter for the Great Pottery Throw Down.
It's gonna be a hard decision.
Our potters' friends
and family are gathering outside.
You two really need to hurry up and make that decision.
Good luck with it.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please give a huge round of applause
for our three pottery finalists.
They've done amazingly well to get this far.
Give it up for Jacob, Rosa, and Matt.
Hello!
Take a deep breath, are you ready?
The winner of the Great Pottery Throw Down.
Is.
Rosa.
It's so amazing, I'm so happy.
I never had a trophy in my life before!
Absolutely completely over the moon and back again,
10,000 million times. Whee!
I'm so proud of Rosa. Who would have thought it?
She learned, she listened,
and then she delivered right on the money in the final.
- Thank you so much. -You did so well.
This was so obviously Rosa's tea set.
Flamboyant, really exuberant.
Layers and layers of loveliness.
Rosa was the obvious winner for me.
I'm so happy for her.
Rosa's was just the best tea set by far.
Well done, well done.
Great Pottery Throw Down for me,
the best experience I've ever had in my life.
I think it's something that doesn't come around
in many people's lifetime.
So yeah, I'm over the moon.
Come, sweetie pie!
This experience has been so fantastic.
I'm going to use every single bit of it
and be a better potter and a better person
and work harder in life.
Show my children, if you work hard, you can achieve.
Oh, Frederick, isn't that good?
What do you think, Frederick?
Did you think so?
Oh, my little children.
Oh, you're so, put your gloves on Frida, come on.
Middleport has played host to Britain's best home potters.
Now.
No pressure, Matt, it's only the final.
Just Jacob, Rosa, and Matt remain.
Oh, where am I?
To face an extraordinary main make.
- Oh! -Shit!
And a final twist at the wheel.
Jacob, if you could come with me.
- What's going on? -Oh, sneaky.
Oh, no.
Each week, Rosa's brought a burst of character
to the pottery.
The Queen's little foot peeking out really brings the whole
set to life.
And her exquisite Greek statue won
a place in the Throw Down gallery.
But it's not been easy.
Oh, no!
But she's battled on and made it to the final.
Being here now is absolutely fantastic.
I'd love to win, but, just going to do my best.
I've got a picture of my children in my necklace
and they will be with me, calm me down, hopefully.
Matt's potting prowess has impressed.
You've done another one of those.
Yes.
And despite a simplistic approach
to decoration.
It's very minimal, isn't it?
His Mancunian fireplace
won him potter of the week, and he's excelled
in the second challenge with four wins.
Matt is our Nerikomi Ninja!
Jacob and Rosa, really
strong figuratively,
and decoratively whereas they're my weak points.
I've just got to take my throwing ability
to its limit, I think, or maybe beyond it.
Throughout the competition,
Jacob's had to overcome his nerves.
I'm actually writing "shake" and I can't stop shaking.
But his sculpting skills have wowed the judges.
Absolutely exceptional, and it was pure alchemy.
Winning him Potter of the week.
- Jacob. Jacob. -Jacob.
Three times. -Whoa.
To win the Pottery Throw Down
would just mean the world to me.
I'm already really passionate about what I do,
so, yeah, it would mean everything.
Three potters, two final challenges.
But only one can be champion of the Great Pottery
Throw Down.
Morning, potters, welcome to the final.
Congratulations.
So, for your grand finale main make,
Sue and Keith would like you to build
a nine piece tea set.
But it can't be an ordinary tea set
because our judges would like your designs
to be inspired by the Mad Hatter's tea party.
Now the Mad Hatter's tea party is a scene
from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
There's some amazing, iconic imagery there.
We want your tea sets to really reflect that.
You've got six hours in total on this build.
Your first three and a half hours, though, starts now.
Potters get potting!
The potters' nine piece tea sets must include a teapot,
four cups or mugs, a milk jug, a sugar bowl with a lid,
and a cake stand.
My heart's definitely going a bit quicker than average,
but I think it needs to be, if I'm going to get this done.
It's nice to get started.
Once you get going, all the nerves go away.
I think today, I just want everybody to do well.
But I wanna win!
This is the final main make, what a dream of a challenge.
I know, it's amazing.
They can hand-build this, they can throw it,
they can slab it.
We want color in there. We want flamboyancy.
We just wanna see something really exceptional.
But all of this detail needs to hang
on a beautifully executed and well-made piece.
There's a huge amount of elements for them to think
about,
you know, there's loads of the things that could potentially
go wrong,
spouts or handles falling off, things not pouring.
It's the final, it's a great opportunity
to show us what they're really made of.
It's so exciting, isn't it?
Their imaginations can run wild.
You really were grinning like a Cheshire cat then.
So, I'm going to start with the teapot.
Tackle the big one first.
I like making bigger, more extravagant things.
So I'm gonna have fun making it, whatever happens.
When I was learning to make, I just thought,
I'm not making a teapot, everybody makes a teapot.
And I regretted it straight away!
After the blindfold challenge,
it's nice that you let the clay talk to you.
You just feel the clay the better.
Hello, Rosa. -Hello, Keith.
So, how're you feeling? The final.
Yes, it's rather fantastic, isn't it?
So when you were given this brief,
did you instantly know what you were gonna do?
It's a children's book, and I wanted it to appeal
to children.
It's fun, it's full of energy and full of character.
Well, we know how wonderful you are
with your narratives and your character building.
So it really sounds like
you're gonna a really fun, vibrant tea set,
which is what we're really looking for.
Rosa's Mad Hatter's tea set
will see a number of classic characters
from the Alice in Wonderland story,
all brought to life in clay.
Including a Queen of Hearts teapot,
flower shaped cups, a grinning Cheshire Cat sugar bowl
and a cake stand stand featuring the White Rabbit.
Well, you've not made it easy for yourself.
- No. -And this is the final,
so we want to see really, really good execution.
It's just another challenge. I can do this.
- Yeah, you can! -Well done.
- Keep telling yourself. -I like that assertiveness.
I just have to do it!
Jacob's tea set won't be so child friendly.
I have gone for the darker side of the story.
The remake that I'm focusing on is the Tim Burton one.
And the land has been destroyed and desolate,
and burned from the Jabberwocky.
So I'd really like to include that Jabberwocky in my design.
Haven't read the story, but I've watched all the films.
I'm a millennial, you know?
Jacob is hoping to create his winning tea set
using his throwing skills to make his teapot,
cups, milk jug, and sugar bowl.
And to show off his sculpting skills,
he's creating a Jabberwocky's head,
tail and claws as the spout and handles.
So this is a Jabberwocky, not a dragon?
No, no.
Similar, but you'll be able to tell the difference.
Alright, well look, really good luck.
- Alright, thanks Jacob. -Cheers.
I'd hope Sue and Keith don't think
I'm playing it safe with dragons,
because it is difficult to do it
as part of the teapot and make sure that it functions.
I think it'll be a way for me to show off my figurative.
While Jacob's focusing on the figurative.
Why make a normal teapot for the final?
Matt's going metaphorical.
One of the opening lines is, Alice describes
if she could make her own world,
everything that would be wouldn't be as it seems
and everything that is isn't and everything's topsy-turvy.
So I've gone a little bit more abstract,
but that suits me a little bit more.
Matt's quirky tea set will see Alice
diving headfirst into his cake stand,
a teapot with a handle as the spout
and the spout as a handle.
Puzzling mugs, a sugar bowl filled with lids,
and a milk jug with multiple spouts.
So if you pick it up the wrong way,
you're gonna get covered in milk.
Give or take, but only one of them is going to work.
So we've got to find out what that is.
Yeah, and then I've run with a similar theme
for the tea cups as well.
There's gonna be holes all the way around
just before the rim, so you tried to drink out of it,
you'd just get covered in tea.
So you actually have to suck through the rim
and then through the handle, like a straw.
So you're working with the idea of a puzzle jug, then?
Yeah, pretty much.
They were really popular in the 18th and 19th century.
This sort of take on a normal pot,
but you don't use it in the same way.
So this puzzle jug is the oldest joke in pottery,
isn't it?
I thought I was the oldest joke in pottery.
For a second.
Potters, time's marching on, you've had an hour,
you've got two and a half hours left on your tea sets.
Just need to work a bit quicker.
Matt is probably ahead of the game.
These are the Mad Hatter cups.
I think this is the most time consuming aspect,
the rim's hollow so I've got to split it
at the top and then loop it back around.
I don't really know how I'm doing for time.
It's gonna be really, really close.
With so many pieces to make,
our finalist's throwing skills
are being pushed to the limits.
I've got blisters on the edges of my hands
just where I've been non stop.
It's just so much pressure.
Sweating on.
This is the milk jug.
It's quite a nice feeling, ticking that off.
But the nerves are starting to show.
Oh, it's just a practice one, anyway.
I lost concentration. I don't have time for this.
I wanna do my best. It's just another challenge,
I'm just going to keep calm and it'll be fine.
This is gonna be the lid for the tea pot.
Oh, God that's so annoying.
I just dropped my lid that I spent 10 minutes on.
I just smashed my milk jug.
There's so much to do.
I think it definitely is the biggest challenge
in terms of work load.
You've not made it easy for yourself have you, this final?
I like a challenge.
You have got quite a calm temperament as well,
actually, you don't get flappy like somebody else I know.
I don't know what you're talking about.
To truly impress Keith and Sue.
There's definitely that element of precision
that they like to see so everything's gotta fit nicely.
The potters must ensure every element
of their Mad Hatter tea set design is perfect.
This is the flower cups, and now I'm just bending the clay.
Oh come on lid, why?
Why are you being so difficult?
It's like a millimeter, but every time I take a bit off
it's not taking it off, it's just pushing it up.
While Jacob struggles to refine
just one sugar bowl lid.
This is lid number seven.
Matt's got plenty more to make.
I've really started enjoying throwing on the hump.
It was week one that we did egg cups off the hump
and it just seemed like the perfect way to make
all the lids.
Good lord. Still not right.
At Middleport, our potters
are still battling it out for the title
of Great Pottery Throw Down champion.
This lid is doing my head in.
Wasting so much time on it.
With only an hour left,
they need all nine pieces of their Mad Hatter's tea set
made and into the drying room.
I hope that works.
So I'm gonna move on to the cake stand.
I'm not that good at underwiring my plates.
You can put hessian underneath
and then you just lift them off.
They might bend a little bit, but it is a Mad Hatter tea set.
Just making start on my many, many spouts.
There's gonna be so many of them.
While Jacob is still throwing his cake stand.
Gonna do another plate.
Matt and Rosa have finished at the wheel.
I've made 12 spouts, that'll do.
How're you doing Matt? Now you've done all your throwing?
Quite a lot of slab stuff to do.
And to have started to make their handles.
I'm pulling the handle for the teapot.
I'm sort of trying to get as many techniques in as I can.
You'd normally pull a handle, but they've got to be hollow.
I'm using this, it's just a little former
so I can actually press against something.
Potters, I know you're in Wonderland,
but I've got reality check for you.
You've got 10 minutes left.
Everything has to be in the drying room.
What have I got? What have I got?
Let me count. S ix, seven, eight, nine.
What're those tube bits?
I think they're spares.
Done.
Well done guys, that's the end of your challenge.
You've had a brilliant morning.
Go and have a break 'cause you're gonna be coming back
this afternoon to finesse your sets.
- Well done. -Ah, well done.
I can't believe that's the last build I'm gonna do.
Whether they're worthy of the final, we'll soon find out.
It looks like tough competition, tough competition.
I think so far, so good.
Well, I got lots to do.
I'm trying to not run around like a headless chicken
for the second half.
Having so many pieces, it is a bit high risk high reward.
I've got to trim them, attach them, fettle them.
You could say that this next bit
is make or break for my design.
After a few hours of drying,
the finalists' tea sets are now leather hard
and ready to refine, add handles, spouts, knobs,
and construct their cake stands.
They now have just two hours
to finish all nine pieces to the highest standard.
Everything seems to be fine, nothing seems to have cracked.
So yeah, happy happy.
But having made
so many additional spouts and lids.
Definitely the biggest workload I've had.
Matt's got a huge to-do list.
- Lots of things to stick on. -Yeah. Yeah.
- You're feeling it a bit now? -MATT: I'm really feeling it.
So that's the handle, isn't it?
Or is it?
- Who knows? -That's it.
Things are coming together kind of quick.
Feel better now. That's one thing out of the way.
While Matt's spouting off.
The Jabberwocky's next.
Jacob's hand
sculpting his Jabberwocky spout.
Head's sort of gonna be there, where you pour out from.
Spend an hour max on the teapot, that's what the plan is.
I just feel like I'm wasting time
doing all these little bits.
I'm just doing the Queen's head.
Rosa's also sculpting elements
of her tea set with a quirky Queen of Hearts.
It's a lid for the teapot.
See, it comes out different every time.
I think it's because they've got
their own little spirit, don't they?
I've just started my way onto the handle now.
Why aren't you going on? Just go on!
Just wasting so much time.
Potters, you've had an hour,
you've got an hour and a half left.
Loads of time, not much to do.
Lots to do, not a lot of time.
An hour gone.
It's not a long time to do everything else.
I've got to be really delicate because if I crush the rim,
then it's not hollow right down to the bottom.
It's gotta work, hasn't it?
How are you doing? JACOB: Stressing.
I can feel the vibrations from you.
So what does the dragon represent in your culture?
Strength, honor, prosperity.
And were you born year of the dragon, then?
No, I was year of the pig,
which kinda suits me, suits me well.
Well, if it's any consolation, I'm a dog.
- So there you go. -Oh, okay.
- Is it going back in there? -It's done.
I'm going to do a milk jug
and put as many spouts on as fast as I can.
These are gonna be stuck on a la Rosa.
Precariously.
Make sure it's joined together.
Yeah, you're not great with your joins, are you?
It will be fine.
Just check everything.
Oh, let's get it out the way, let's make this the working one.
Don't tell Keith.
No pressure, Matt, it's only the final.
Yeah, thanks for reminding me.
Potters, you've got half an hour left.
Oh, where am I?
I know it's gonna be a mad half hour,
but I know you can do it.
Thanks, Mel. For nothing.
Just panicking. Spent too much time on that stupid teapot.
Need therapy after this.
I've just given myself way too much to do.
- Can you do it? -I'm gonna give it a try.
The boys are stressed. You're not though, you alright?
I'm okay, going to stay calm.
I've rarely seen you like this, and I'm liking it.
I've got to trim as many lids as I can.
Aw, man.
I don't know whether I'll get the claws done.
Took on more than I could chew.
I'm putting the mouth on the cat,
but there's not much time left.
- How long have we got? -You got five minutes left.
Everything's got to be in the drying room.
- Oh!
I'm just gonna have to thin off Alice's legs
and paint them on. It's not what I'd wanted to do,
'cause I can't paint.
This is my rabbit.
This is going to hold the cake stand.
What was this?
Please start putting some stuff in the drying room
Almost done.
We don't want you dropping anything.
- God knows what that is. -One minute, guys!
- Oh, shit! -Oh!
Oh, my God.
- Oh, Jacob! -I know, I know.
- Oh, Jacob. -I know, I know.
That's the end of the challenge!
- Aw, mate. -Come on Jacob.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
- Oh, never mind. -Sorry, mate.
Well done guys.
Sorry mate.
I think they'll notice I've dropped it on the floor.
I was just working flat out.
And you know, you forget about just being careful.
I'm so glad I just got it all done.
Well done.
It was so tough. Really tough.
If there'd have been another 15 minutes,
I think I might've been able
to get Alice's legs and skirt done, but it wasn't to be.
But when I stepped back
and looked at it all on that board together,
I always really, really happy with what I've done.
I've done everything I could.
And I don't know if it's enough.
Feeling confident?
I think a third of the chances of winning.
As it's the Great Pottery Throw Down final,
our second challenge is like no other
our potters have had to face so far,
and they have absolutely no idea what it's going to be.
I think it should be a hand-built decoration.
That would be a disaster.
Sue and Keith, this is the second challenge
and it's a throw down,
but a slightly different wheel this time.
Yeah. This is a momentum wheel.
Basically the potter powers the wheel themselves
by kicking this weighted disk and
the momentum of that weight
keeps the wheel turning.
Now the thing is, while that wheel's going round,
they've got to throw a pot.
It's as hard as patting your head and rubbing your stomach.
Is your heart rate going up?
It is a bit of cardio, just on the one leg.
So when I get off this, I'll be walking around in circles.
So, Sue, what is it you'd like the potters to make?
We need the potters to make three rimmed bowls
like this one, so small, medium and large.
We need to be able to clearly see those three different sizes.
Okay, well this is a blind challenge
so you guys, I'm gonna ask you to leave the pottery.
So I'll see you a bit later on for judging.
- Great. -Okay.
I'm going to win this one.
- Oh! -Fighting talk.
As long as Jacob doesn't, I don't care.
- I haven't won one yet! -I know!
Hello, Rich.
Jacob, if you could come with me.
- What's going on? -Oh, sneaky.
Oh, no!
Hello.
How are you feeling? -Pretty nervous.
Well, I can tell you Sue and Keith
would like you to throw three rimmed bowls.
One small, one medium, and one large.
- Okay, cool. -Okay?
Yup.
Now they'd like you to throw on this.
Ah, no!
Do you what it is?
Yeah, it's a kick wheel, old style kick wheel.
You've got 20 minutes. And your time starts now.
That was a good spin. Have you done it before?
I had a go once, and I was terrible at it.
Okay, but you've had a go at it, though.
So, you might have the edge on this one, who knows?
It's a work out isn't it?
It is, it is a work out.
Shouldn't have skipped leg day.
Well done, Jacob.
You used to be a gymnast,
is that coming into play at all, your athletic-ness?
Can't back flip my way around this.
They look like they've got rims.
I know it's tricky, but are you glad it's a throw down?
Yeah, I'm glad.
But, any sort of throwing challenge against Matt.
It's hard to kind of compete.
You're getting it done, though, babe. You're doing it.
Is that your small one? Lovely.
And you've got your three bowls! How do you feel?
It's hard. Hard.
- Yeah. -That was good. I enjoyed that.
I managed to get three bowls out, so yeah. I'm happy.
Matt, I know he'll just ace it,
'cause he's just a wizard on any throwing challenge,
but I don't know how Rosa will do.
It'll have to be me.
Rosa, if you'd like to come with me, please.
Good luck.
Welcome.
Do you wanna get comfortable?
Sue and Keith would like you to throw three bowls,
you've got 20 minutes, and your time starts now.
Finding it difficult, isn't it?
Really go for it.
You're gonna take off in a minute!
I might do.
How does it feel?
You have to get quite a speed on, don't you?
Yeah.
But you've got a bowl shape.
Difficult to get that rim in, isn't it?
Go with your instincts. That's looking lovely, darling.
Wire it off, stick it on here.
Well done, Rosa.
You've got another two bowls to throw.
- You're warmed up now. -Yes, it's good.
You've got 10 minutes left.
So you really need to get this one done.
And this is your large one.
- Yeah. -Really go for it.
The speed goes down quite quickly when you push the clay.
Is that coming off now, Rosa?
- Should do, shouldn't it? -Well done.
- Now you've got your little one. -A little one.
You can do this, you're doing so well, Rosa.
Maybe I should have started with the smallest.
I think you've perfected that rim on the last bowl.
Well, you're wiring off with a minute to go.
Well done.
Let them see them from this side.
I did my best.
I don't know if I'd done enough to win this challenge.
I'm up against two really good throwers, so, let's see.
Come on in.
You've got 20 minutes to throw three bowls
and your time starts now.
Oh, you got some good speed up there.
Cycling legs are coming into their own about now.
Good. Are you relieved it's a throw down?
It's pretty nice, I've been dying for one
the last few weeks.
Excellent.
Well done, so that's your small one done.
Is the trick just to get that wheel as fast as possible?
You just want as much momentum
in the wheel as possible.
So this is your medium bowl, is it?
Right, your final bowl, your largest one.
- And you've got ages left. -Yeah.
Has that got a decent enough rim on that?
- I reckon so. -Alright.
You've got one and a half minutes left,
but you've finished!
- You happy? -Yeah.
Challenge over, but whose bowls are best
and who mastered the momentum wheel?
Keith and Sue have no idea who threw which bowls.
Hello, you two!
They're looking for three different sizes and a good rim.
Well, a really good effort from all of you.
Just thrown in to something
that you've probably never even sat on before.
And I think you've done really well.
So, in third place, is this one.
- That's me. -They're the biggest set.
To get that on this momentum wheel is pretty good.
Yeah, there isn't much difference
between the height of that one and this one.
And there could have been more definition in the rim.
Yeah, absolutely.
So second place,
is this one.
Well done, Rosa. Really good.
They are different sizes, but the height of that
is very similar to this one.
This is really nice. That's a really nice rim on that.
I always say that the rim of a pot is like the eyes of a human.
It's the first thing that you get drawn to.
That leaves me with first place.
- Well done, Jacob. -Thank you.
Definite definition in the rim. Small, medium, and large.
And if you've never used a momentum wheel,
it showed real tenacity to get what you've got.
Yeah, good attempt I'd say.
Well done, Jacob, your first ever second challenge win,
and you've left it to the very end!
- Congratulations. -Thank you.
I just thought Matt would nail it.
I'm absolutely over the moon.
I'm not very happy.
Well done!
I guess I overlooked the rim.
If it's really close,
it does come down to the second challenge.
So, not feeling as confident as I was.
It's better that I was second than last,
my husband told me it doesn't matter what you win
on the way up there, it matters if you win the last one.
So, let's hope so.
The final continues
as Matt, Rosa, and Jacob are about to find out
whether their Mad Hatter's tea party tea sets
have survived the bisque fire.
This is their last chance
to prove they've got what it takes
to win the Great Pottery Throw Down.
Morning, potters, welcome back.
Your tea sets have been bisque fired
and they're ready for decorating.
Now is the time to really bring them to life.
We really want you to deliver on color and flamboyancy.
You've got four hours to decorate
and your time starts now.
So weird.
How's yours come out, mate?
Got a crack all the way around.
Which tea cup did you drop? Oh, that one.
They're all a bit quirky anyway, so it's alright, it's fine.
I'm just gonna get it smooth.
But Jacob's not the only one
with pieces to finesse.
I have to sand mine.
It is the final, I have to try to make it smooth.
It's just, if I spend too long time doing this,
I have less time decorating afterwards.
- Oh, nice. -That's nice.
Probably need to sand this a little bit more.
I practiced this so much at home
that I should be able to do it in my sleep.
I just need to stop sanding I think.
Stop sanding!
To bring their tea set designs to life,
the potters have a wide range of colored glazes
and oxides to work with.
Decisions.
While Matt pushed himself
to make a complicated tea set at the make stage.
Have your mugs got holes in?
- Yeah. -That's amazing.
You know how they work, right?
No.
Well, you have to find out then, eh?
He's keeping his decoration simple.
They want to see color and flamboyance,
which is difficult because I focused on the forms
and the making side.
And so I'm going with the white and the blue,
like Alice's dress, but I've just decided
that I'm gonna do the top yellow, like her blonde hair.
Rosa's given herself the most to do.
Every piece of her design has a character
she plans to hand paint.
Colors are you going for, Rosa?
Red, yellow, and green, and white, and black.
So all of them? - Yeah.
My color scheme is quite bright.
It's going to be decorated with hearts. I love hearts.
It's love, it's family, it's everything, isn't it?
Big and flamboyant hearts.
Jacob's also honoring the Queen of Hearts.
We seem to be doing similar, don't we, Jake?
Yeah, yeah. They're just heart stickers.
Glaze over it, and then peel them off,
and I'll be left with a little white hearts.
You know, a ditzy detail like this.
I haven't seen this from you before.
- This is a new departure. -It is, it is.
But I wanted to have that contrast
because of the Jabberwocky.
I think that's a good way to be though.
Taking risks, even in a final.
You've got a lot to do, still.
- Lots. -Yeah. Good luck.
Potters, you've had a one hour already.
What?
You've got three hours to go.
And the time is ticking real quick.
I'm just doing the many spouts.
I've done the inside bits black
because I don't want to let the light
give away where the one that works is.
So your tea set is kind of a bit trippy, really, isn't it?
Is this a reflection of your mind?
Maybe, in a sense it is. I just wanted to challenge myself
in the actual making part.
So I just tried to make things as difficult as possible.
Former professional cyclist Matt
has always pushed himself to the limit.
That's just his approach to life.
If he chooses to do something, he puts his all into it.
When he starts a journey, he's absolutely 100% focused.
Matt is absolutely a perfectionist.
So many pots. He's just like, this is terrible.
And I'm looking at it like, what do you mean?
Matt has put so much effort in over the last few weeks.
I have never seen him so focused
on anything in his life before.
I've still got quite a lot to do on my cake stand.
So I'm putting it off. Just sat there. Annoying me.
This is the Queen of Hearts,
I'm just doing her face at the moment.
This fine work, I definitely don't want to do
when there's five minutes left.
She's looking gorgeous though, isn't she?
Did you think that you would actually get this far?
No, I didn't.
It was so funny, I went for a walk with my friend
and she said, oh, I talked to Frederick, your son,
he said you will win.
Aw.
So, no I didn't, But maybe my little son did.
Where shall we go, sweetie?
We can go down the lane.
I'm really proud of her
for showing everyone what she can do.
And it'll be good if she wins.
I'll congratulate her a lot.
She's been away a lot the last few weeks,
me and the children have been missing her
so, it'll be great to have her back.
I think the children would really be amazed if she won it.
They've been on the journey
with all the ups and downs along the way.
So I think it would mean a lot to them.
The message we've got for our mom
is try your best and good luck.
Yeah.
I wanna do my best.
I want the children to be able to look at it
without being embarrassed by me.
Okay, potters, you're halfway through.
You've got two hours left.
Got so much to do, Rosa.
I've got so much to do as well! Just stay calm and don't shake.
I'll start shaking now.
Come on, Six!
Despite his own nerves,
Jacob's success in the competition
has come as no surprise to his family.
He's always been talented and always been creative.
And we've always known he's gonna do something special.
So on that side of it, it's not a surprise,
but I don't think he realizes how good he is.
No, he does have a lot of self doubt.
He'd say if I can just get through this week,
I'll be happy, mom.
And then another week'd go by.
And he was like, yeah, I'm getting there.
I feel very, very proud that he's got this far.
Me and his dad both love him to bits.
We just want him to be happy,
and this makes him happy so that's great.
Just a proud mom, really.
Just layering oxide.
The more the merrier with this, I think.
I've used this technique i n my chess set,
and my lamp shades, and placed first in those challenges.
So if I win, I'll do a naked lap of Liverpool. In my boxers.
If you win Jacob, I'm throwing you in the canal.
Potters, you've got one hour left, just one hour left.
Why did I go for so much hand painting?
I've just used a sponge to add
just a little bit of texture into the surface.
Just so it's not one big blue block.
So, I mixed black and white together
to get sort of a model effect.
I'm gonna get these off. They look a bit embedded.
Yes!
I'm going to move on now to my cake stand.
This is white underglaze that's going on at the moment.
All the numbers and stuff will be white.
While Jacob and Rosa
crack on with their cake stands,
Matt's still stumped.
This top layer was supposed to have Alice's legs
out the top. Obviously, they're not.
I don't know how to do it.
Okay, gang, you've got half an hour left.
I really mustn't stress
because then my hands start shaking.
This is gonna be the quickest cake stand decoration disaster.
I've made a little copper tag, it says "drink me" on.
To wrap around the neck, it's like a potion.
If I drank out of Matt's tea set, it would spin me out.
Definitely.
The cake stand just looks so bad.
Oh, it's a disaster zone, isn't it? I've got to glaze.
I'm going to dip everything in transparent.
This is just transparent glaze.
Without it, the underglaze doesn't have that same shine.
Stay away from there.
Right, you've got 10 minutes left.
Come on, Mel, give us another five minutes please.
I've got my sugar bowl to do.
I am rushing. It's gonna be touch and go.
Did they want neat? -I think so.
Oh dear.
It's so messy, I can't get my brushing.
Rather not have done that.
- How're you doing, Rosa? -A lot of bottoms to wipe.
You're a mother, you're used to that.
So if I don't wipe it off, it's just gonna stick
to the kiln shelf.
Can you look under my pot, is there glaze underneath?
I can't really see.
Just keep going, just keep going.
Oh, seconds left! Come on, Jacob!
- I'm painting, I'm painting! -Come on, come on!
Oh!
That's the end of your challenge!
Woo!
It's all over!
Oh, well I wanna give you a hug.
- Thanks, Mel. -Well done, guys.
- Well done, well done. -Well done!
We did it!
It was the last one, it turned into a mad rush.
But throughout the whole process,
I tried to focus on the idea.
I'm really happy with how I've approached everything.
I stayed calm enough.
I'm pleased with the tea set.
I definitely got a lot of personality in that.
I don't know what the judges will think of it,
but I just know I've really, really would like to win.
I'm so happy that I managed to do all the challenges,
but realize how much I'd love to win it.
Obviously, the competition's strong,
but I'm really happy with my teapot. Really happy.
Pop them on the table, I'll get them in.
Matt, Rosa, and Jacob have done all they can.
Their tea sets are going into the kiln for the final time.
It will be an agonising wait but when our potters return,
we'll find out who will be crowned
the winner of the Great Pottery Throw Down.
It's judgment day.
And the moment of truth for Matt, Jacob, and Rosa.
- Are we ready? -Yeah.
How their tea sets have fared in the kiln
could be the difference between winning and losing.
Looks interesting.
Well, it looks like there's been a bit of carbon trapping.
- It looks amazing, actually. -Oh, fantastic.
The unpredictable firing issue
of carbon trapping has only added
to the effects of their glazes.
- Look at all that! -Pretty cool.
Oh, they'll love that, won't they?
- They will love that. -Mhmm.
It looks antique.
- I dunno whose this one is, it's red?
Oh, I don't know.
It would mean everything to me
to win the Great Pottery Throw Down.
After winning the second challenge,
I think I'm in a good position,
but Rosa's got beautiful illustrations.
And Matt's has got this amazing concept.
I think it's gonna be tough. Really tough.
Oh, that's sweet, isn't it? Rargh!
It means a lot to me if I win
and I think it would give a good message to my children.
That if you give 100% of what you want to do,
you can achieve.
And if I win, wouldn't that be a fantastic message
to give them?
Craziest jug I've ever seen in my life.
Thanks.
I probably have put more effort into this
than I did when I was cycling.
It feels like I'm doing something a bit more meaningful.
Sweet, my holes haven't filled in.
I'm really, really proud of what I've made,
and I'm really looking forward to standing behind it
in front of the judges.
- Coming, Rosa? -Yeah.
While they get the tea sets ready for judging
our finalists' friends and family,
along with some familiar faces,
are gathering outside by the bottle kiln.
It feels amazing to be back. All the finalists,
I reckon they're just like this at the moment.
- In terms of winning, I think... -Jacob or Matt.
Yeah, from day one, I was like, yeah, Jacob or Matt.
I thought so, you could see their throwing skill as well.
Looking at the challenge,
I think that Rosa could actually have it.
It's right up her street.
No female's won it, and I love Rosa.
Go on the girls!
Now, I just wanna say before we get into
the nitty gritty of this final judgment,
what a brilliant, brilliant journey you've been on.
You've done amazingly well.
So congratulations to all of you.
Matt, would you like to bring your tea set up?
Problem solving to the very end.
Before we go into anything, can we just take this off here?
'Cause it looks a bit fragile.
It looks like you started off with really good intentions
and then completely ran out of time.
Shall we have a look at this jug?
You've taken the time to think about
how a jug could look and how you can explore that form.
And what's wonderful is there's no actual cracking
around any of the spouts.
Ah!
- Only one of the spouts works. -Brilliant, brilliant.
- Really brilliant idea. -Thanks.
Right, here we go, then.
One, two,
three, four,
five.
Wow, finally.
And there it is. Six, the sugar.
A really, really lovely idea.
This coloring you've got on here.
That's part of the carbon trapping, isn't it?
- Yeah, it is. -Do you know what?
That's absolutely brilliant. That is brilliant.
You've got some added depth in there
and this is what I love about ceramics.
You put something in the kiln
and you never know what you're gonna get.
I love the shape of your teapot.
That's not the spout, is it?
We don't actually pour tea through that piece.
I guess you'll find out.
We've got to find out, have we?
Do you wanna do the honors?
Okay. Is this gonna pour well, then?
- Oh, actually. -Oh, it is, a lovely pour.
Really great idea. Really, really lovely.
Works really well.
I think it's just charming.
We love the eccentricity of what you've done here, Matt.
I mean, it's absolutely fitting for a Mad Hatter's tea party.
Thank you very much.
You're very skilled working in a figurative way.
You are, Jacob. We've been really wowed by the way that
you have that ability to form,
well, mostly dragons out of the clay.
I really love all this oxide application effect.
It works really, really well.
What doesn't work for me
is that contrast that you were trying to get.
That blockiness of that red, it's too flat.
You've just missed the mark slightly.
- Tea, Sue? -Yes, please.
He dribbles a bit, doesn't he?
- Potion, Sue? -Yes, please.
I love that you've got these trinkets on the side.
That's a really nice addition.
And actually the shape of that being a potion bottle,
it works really, really well.
I really like the idea of the cups.
I know you had problems with dropping one.
- Yeah, yeah. -Which one is it?
This one.
But because you've made each one an individual shape,
it works quite well actually.
- Cheers, Jacob. -JACOB: Cheers.
They're great to drink from, really nice rim on there.
I don't know that I like the claw that close to my face,
actually.
I'm trying to look for the sugar bowl.
The sugar bowl's part of the cake stand.
That works really nicely as a piece.
Your figurative work on the side, it's really beautiful.
Really, really good effort. Absolutely brilliant.
- Thank you.
This screams Alice in Wonderland. It really does.
Your wonderful characters are just full of life.
You've taken all the knowledge
that you've learned in the Emma Bridgewater challenge
and you've wrapped that around your cake stand
and it looks wonderful.
Look at her, this is the Queen of Hearts.
She's just beautiful.
Rosa.
You know how you said you've always tried to do your best?
- You really have done your best. -Oh, thank you.
- You have done your best here. -Oh, I'll start now.
It's absolutely amazing.
Your attention to detail when you're hand building
and when you're modeling, is incredible.
Absolutely brilliant.
But what's really charming is that heart on the spout.
I mean, who'd have thought of that?
What about the pour?
Leaking from the bottom is it?
- Oh, no! -It is leaking from the bottom.
I thought I put enough glazing to hold it.
Sugar? -SUE: Yes, please.
This is the Cheshire Cat, and that's his tail,
- which is the spoon? ROSA: Yes.
You've even got narrative just in the sugar bowl,
let alone the whole piece. It's so full of life.
I don't know how you managed to do it,
but you even get emotion in the feet.
It's really, really wonderful to see.
Exceptional work.
Really, really happy.
I look so forward to seeing my family
and maybe there's a chance
that I can show them some good news.
I'm really proud with what I've done.
They had big smiles while they were using it,
which is sort of really what I wanted.
I wanted it to be fun and a sort of challenge.
And it did that.
I'm really happy that I've got this far,
but you know, every step of the way
it has been, just do that, just get that little bit further.
And now obviously it's get that win.
This is the last time we're gonna sit here
and talk about the potters.
They haven't given you an easy job, have they?
They've all come up with completely different ideas
and it's their personalities that have come through.
And that's what we really love seeing.
You've got Jacob with his Jabberwocky,
he's fantastic with that figurative way of working.
You've got Matt who is the engineer, you know,
he's come at this in a real design manner.
And then you've got Rosa, you know,
wonderfully illustrative pieces.
Each potter has come up with something fantastic.
We've really got to decide
who is the best potter for the Great Pottery Throw Down.
It's gonna be a hard decision.
Our potters' friends
and family are gathering outside.
You two really need to hurry up and make that decision.
Good luck with it.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please give a huge round of applause
for our three pottery finalists.
They've done amazingly well to get this far.
Give it up for Jacob, Rosa, and Matt.
Hello!
Take a deep breath, are you ready?
The winner of the Great Pottery Throw Down.
Is.
Rosa.
It's so amazing, I'm so happy.
I never had a trophy in my life before!
Absolutely completely over the moon and back again,
10,000 million times. Whee!
I'm so proud of Rosa. Who would have thought it?
She learned, she listened,
and then she delivered right on the money in the final.
- Thank you so much. -You did so well.
This was so obviously Rosa's tea set.
Flamboyant, really exuberant.
Layers and layers of loveliness.
Rosa was the obvious winner for me.
I'm so happy for her.
Rosa's was just the best tea set by far.
Well done, well done.
Great Pottery Throw Down for me,
the best experience I've ever had in my life.
I think it's something that doesn't come around
in many people's lifetime.
So yeah, I'm over the moon.
Come, sweetie pie!
This experience has been so fantastic.
I'm going to use every single bit of it
and be a better potter and a better person
and work harder in life.
Show my children, if you work hard, you can achieve.
Oh, Frederick, isn't that good?
What do you think, Frederick?
Did you think so?
Oh, my little children.
Oh, you're so, put your gloves on Frida, come on.