User reviews

At my secondary school, "D&T" (Design & Technology) was a required subject in the pre-GCSE years. Among other tasks, we had to attempt to learn how to use a sewing machine. I was rubbish at it, embarrassingly so. Luckily for me, I'm also part of a generation that relies on fast fashion, so I've never really *needed* sewing as a skill. However, I have a lot of admiration for people who make their own clothes. And I enjoy Glow Up, another BBC series with a similar format to this show - pitting aspiring 'MUAs' against one another with surprisingly backstabbing or negativity from its bright-eyed young talents. So, I gave The Great British Sewing Bee a try. I'm so glad I did! It's a relaxing, low-drama reality competition series where the contestants are united by a real passion for sewing. Reality telly has a reputation for encouraging fakery and conflict for the sake of conflict. The producers of this series seem to understand that the genre can be entertaining even without endless amounts of lip filler and scripted arguments. There's a time and place for trash but sometimes you just want to watch a group of slightly eccentric people from around the UK get excited about well-executed skirt linings or whatever.

Another thing I like about the show it is that, like you might expect, there's substantially more age diversity here than in a lot of reality competition shows. Season One includes a gran in her 80s and it's nice to see her compete with people who are much younger - hopefully it'll challenge some prejudices!

Amateur sewers compete and watch. Great to see skills improvement over the weeks but some episodes would benefit to a change in format where competitors and viewers get a masterclass in a particular technique which can then be used going forward.. cutting a difficult pattern, making a toile, draping, fitting. That would help competitors progress and provide inspiration for viewers. Previous competitors had some very skilled sewers but this group very different so lessons would have helped all to unskilled in this series and going forward. Of benefit to basic sewers in the audience this time round too.

It's simply well made. There's good balance of no-nonsense and encouragements for amateurs to be better. It's neither too critical nor too loose. The challenges are well thought out for amateurs and it is after all, a competition tele for amateurs. The background stories of the contestants and snippets of relevant history were a nice touch. Unlike other competition tele, there's less exaggerated hype, forced exclamations, forced comedy or tragedy and far less interference from the judges and presenter. The settings is simple. Simply setting it next to river makes it somehow relaxing. The bit of old songs are well placed. It is not titivating.

This is probably my favorite reality/competition show ever. I've watched every episode more than once if I could find it here in the USA. My great disappointment is that it was not sold to Netflix or run on my local PBS station. The best thing this show did was make sewing fun. The contestants were so passionate about their hobby that I was always encouraged to go make something. Such a shame that the production company dropped the marketing ball on this one.

Love this show!!!! PLEASE COME TO AMERICA!!! If we have the GBBaking Show, why not the Sewing Bee!!!

Love, love, love this show. Watching such lovely people build friendships and support each other's growth and I learn heaps about sewing techniques and material, get tips and ideas. More shows should be this lovely.

GBSB is just a lovely piece of tele and a panacea to many of the over-hyped competition shows that have multiplied in recent years. It borrows from the Bake Off format with a couple of challenges on day one (broken up by a nice bit of morning tea in the local caf) and a major challenge on day two. A small starting group is whittled down week by week across eight episodes by judges whose sewing expertise is matched by their delightful oh-so-British eccentricity. The contestant's backstories are light-touch, and largely without drama. Most importantly, the contestants are delightful, kind, considerate, polite and humble. There aren't any villains and the products of their sewing remain in focus the whole time. Wholesome, restful, entertaining tv without any octane, and that's ok.

This is a wonderful alternative to the mindless dross that is often passed off as entertainment. The presenters and contestants are friendly and fun and the sewing process is remarkably interesting even to a non-sewing person like me. This is an opportunity to relax, have a laugh and wind down. Excellent.

It had been dropped at one point but somehow - thanks I think largely to covid - this poor relation of Masterchef has survived to be in the vanguard of the BBC's diversity campaigns. Of this year's contestants, one keeps telling you she lives in the Peak District, another - who bills herself as a 'beach DJ' of all dreadful things - that she lives in the Isle of Wight. One has an incredibly creepy ventriloquist's dummy; two roller-skate; one is an architect, but evidently her hubby is so wealthy that she doesn't have to work; another is a drag queen with a big moustache and a scrubby beard. One (as usual) is a pretty upper-middle-class princess whose boyfriend will be in the Olympics - of course he will. Another, slightly Havisham-esque, is working on seven different zany designs for her wedding dress - whether she yet has a partner in prospect isn't clear.

In the final challenge, where they all had to make a national sports kit - although most of them had clearly never done any sports in their lives (the princess literally wore a t-shirt, 'I am not good at any sports') - and although all but one appear to be English-born, only two picked Great Britain as the nation concerned, and none picked England. All the rest apparently consider their allegiance to lie elsewhere, and the show was anxious to let us know about it (one made a blue and yellow kit - Ukraine's colours but, strangely, we were not made privy to her reasons; they simply edited that out).

The point being, the incredible sameness of this supposedly diverse set of oddballs: bohemian, slightly crusty but pretty comfortably off, not really identifying as British, and all terribly-terribly. Even the presenters are a bit rum - the guy this week appeared to be wearing the beige slacks of a much shorter lady (how he got them from her, he didn't share). As the missus (to whom I, in unbounded gratitude, owe my acquaintance with the show) said: 'Where am *I*?' - where is the average, normal, actually slightly conservative person who is the representative sewer? (Sew-er - not 'sewer'). No good looking for normal people on the BBC - everybody has to be a poster for something. And they have to be annoying.

I love Sewing Bee, and I think the new series is excellent. Joe Lycett does a great job bringing humour and Esme and Patrick are fabulous. The competition is very friendly which is nice, though I wish there was a proper prize at the end really. Very informative, I like the fashion history as well.

Who knew sewing could be this fun! Sew talented sorry couldn't help it

This is a reaction to season 8 of the show.

I have a sense that sewing clothes have been a part of human culture since we first started wearing garments tens of thousands of years ago. In our blood lines each of us have thousands of distant forefathers who made their own garments, weather it was a bear skin sown together with braided horse tail hair and fish bone needles or a sweater knitted from sheeps wool in the 15th century home at the farm.

What it comes down to for me are likable, talented and creative contestants who do their best to make every creation in their own way hoping that the judges will approve. The judges, by the way, are also likable and nice, and so is the host of the show, who is in fact very creative and funny herself. All in all this is very wholesome and archetypal entertainment!

I love Sewing Bee, but this year I am finding Brogans voice so irritating. I have to keep muting when she is talking it's a squeaky little girls voice that is absolutely grating. I have rated it 10 out of 10 because I love the program just don't like Brogans voice.

I might not know anything about sewing, but if I'm watching The Great British whatever, I understand that there's a format. However, I don't think this show benefits from 12 sewers. You really don't know who anybody is and one by one they drop off because they can't make a three-piece suit in 15 minutes or whatever. The challenges have gotten really out of control and I don't think anybody can actually finish them. The people on the show can't, anyway.

Much like EastEnders. I've tried to watch it but I just can't. Esme and Patrick look like they're being held hostage and they seemed so unhappy.

So maybe they should just have six sewers like they did with the Great British photography one and then you get to know them and see how it all turns out at the end. But this is just absolutely boring.

I think it needs some more history and not from that weird lady that can't stop moving her hands and wears crazy clothes. We should get a little segment where we learn something, at least about why the challenge is difficult. I'm not going to watch the other shows about it because honestly I can't even get through the Christmas episodes. It's just so bland. And I love the bake off.

Either change the format or let the hosts talk more, but this comedian wandering around bothering people while they sew really doesn't help anybody. Really terrible for the comedian and the audience.

Typical BBC dross, simply awful, to think we have to actually pay a licence fee for this is breathtaking.

Oh for goodness sake BBC, get a grip.

Trying to pass this off as entertainment is beyond even your marketing powers.

Call a spade a spade and admit that this is a flop.

I really enjoyed this show when it first started. But the rot set in when they lost May Martin. I could never take to Esme. The latest series with Joe Lycett presenting is just awful. I can't bel how I'm wishing they would bring back the annoying Claudia Winkleman.

It's such a shame. I'm a fan of Joe Lycett, I like his humour but absolutely hate him in this show.

It's so disappointing. I've deleted the schedule to record from my planner.

Sorry GBSB it's 🐝n nice knowing you but you're a has 🐝n now