A stitch IN TIME

ESME YOUNG and PATRICK GRANT on the return of the tailor-made treat

- REBECCA FLETCHER

THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE NEW WEDNESDAY, 8PM, BBC1 REALITY

Take a stunning new location, an excited host and 12 super-nervous home stitchers ready to battle over their bodkins and what have you got? A beautifully crafted eighth run of BBCi's The Great British Sewing Bee!

As style-savvy judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant swap their London HQ for an historic woollen mill on the outskirts of Leeds, they task the contestants with a series of fiendishly difficult pattern, transformation and made-to-measure challenges. Meanwhile, comedian Sara Pascoe, last seen hosting Sewing Bee's festive specials, takes over from former presenter Joe Lycett.

Here, Esme, 73, and Patrick, 49, give TV Times the behind-the-seams low-down on the new series...

Are you enjoying your new home in Yorkshire?

PATRICK Leeds is at the heart of the wool and textile industry, so it feels appropriate to film in a big spinning mill. The people of Leeds are delighted we're doing a sewing show in a textile town. People don't stop me in London but up North they keep asking me for a picture!

ESME I love Leeds, too. I hadn't been since the 1980s and it's been amazing exploring its rich architecture on my walks. How's Sara settling in? ESME Sara learnt a lot from being a contestant ſon a 2020 celebrity specialſ and understands how the sewers feel.

PATRICK I love Sara and am delighted she got the job. Because she'd been a contestant, she brings something different. I have sore cheeks as she makes me laugh all the time. And she has an amazing memory - it's like having Google next to you!

What are this year's crop of stitchers like?