The Great British Sewing Bee returned last night, with host Sara Pascoe back at the helm after maternity leave.
She was dressed as a strange, trippy cloud – and it was wonderful.
Until Sewing Bee comes around, I always forget how much I love it. And Tuesday’s launch show might just have been the greatest opening episode of any Sewing Bee yet – the talent more exciting than any series before it.
But I missed Kiell Smith-Bynoe, and wished he could’ve been part of its great return.
Sara had to skip the last series of Sewing Bee to have her second child, so Ghosts actor and fellow comedian Kiell stepped in and unexpectedly became the best thing to ever happen to the show.
Kiell’s lack of presenting experience might be why he was so great.
He felt more like each contestant’s mate popping over for a catch up. There was an effortlessness to him that I imagine comes from not really having a presenting hat on and just having a laugh.
The contestants clearly adored him on a personal level and it was easy to see why, when he approached them all with sincere interest and genuine appreciation of their work. All without pretending he had the slightest clue what they were doing.
At the time, he felt like such an obscure choice. Sure, spooky sitcom Ghosts is hugely popular, but he wasn’t a household name like the previous Sewing Bee hosts: Pascoe, Joe Lycett, and Claudia Winkleman.
But very quickly, it became clear that Kiell fit Sewing Bee like a perfectly hand-crafted glove.
Every week, I found myself looking forward to the show more than I ever had before – genuinely counting down the days until my boyfriend and I could get cosy and watch the most content people I’ve ever seen create breathtaking designs with a level of humility and kindness you’d be hard-pressed to find backstage at London Fashion Week.
I hadn’t even seen Kiell in anything before. He’d acted in the likes of Death in Paradise, Stath Lets Flats, Ghosts, and Lily Allen’s short-lived comedy Dreamland. He’d also been a huge hit on Channel 4’s Taskmaster, which pits comedians against each other in absurd challenges – but admittedly, I knew nothing about him.
Even Kiell himself had no idea why he’d been chosen to present Sewing Bee.
He wasn’t afraid to address the elephant in the room either. In his first episode as a host, he joked: ‘Now this challenge is judged blindly, so the judges are off to watch Ghosts on iPlayer, as Esme has no idea who I am or why I got this job.’
But judge Patrick Grant saw the potential, slid into his DMs, and it turned out to be an inspired decision.
Even on X (formerly Twitter), where compliments are few and far between, the response was overwhelmingly positive. You’d have struggled to find a single negative tweet and it seemed he’d found a home there for good.
But to clarify: I’m not a monster. I would never suggest that a woman take time off to have a baby and lose her job as a result.
I absolutely love Sara Pascoe. Every time I see or hear her, I fall even more in love with her nervous energy and obscure quick wit. She’s absolutely fantastic on Sewing Bee because she’s just completely herself at all times.
I’ve seen her stand-up too many times to count, and there’s such an ease to everything she does.
Still, I do think it’s a missed opportunity not to have kept Kiell on, too – the pair of them could’ve made the dreamiest of double acts. And one that isn’t made up of the same few presenters – Rylan, Alison Hammond, Davina McCall, or AJ Odudu – currently hogging every corner of British television.
Sewing Bee is as close to perfect as television gets, but even perfection can evolve. I don’t think Bake Off would work with Noel Fielding on his own. Granted, Alison Hammond’s chaos gives every show she touches the Midas touch, but these gentle-competition formats thrive with a dynamic duo at the helm.
As Sewing Bee’s judges, Patrick Grant and Esme Young are a criminally underrated double act whose chemistry puts Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith to shame. But with Kiell proving to be such a seamless addition to the franchise, it feels strange – almost wrong – to return to Sewing Bee without him.
Since launching in 2013, Sewing Bee has been consistently popular, but it hasn’t quite captured the zeitgeist the way Bake Off or even The Great Pottery Throw Down has – and in my opinion, it’s so much better than both.
It’s inclusive, innovative, and packed with warmth, even if that’s the last thing we need during this insufferable heatwave.
But I really believe it could break through to the next level with Kiell joining Sara.
As well as his everyman charm, he was brilliant at the off-beat comedy that interrupts the contest – something Sara also excels at. Together, they could be an unstoppable pairing, capable of transcending Sewing Bee altogether.
Regardless, one episode in and there’s already a lot to be excited about the Sewing Bee, including Sara Pascoe. I’d listen to Jojo Siwa’s torturous cover of Bette Davis Eyes on repeat for Caz, and Saffie’s purple and yellow pleated dress in the made-to-measure was a work of art. Every single contestant feels like ‘one other watch’, which is unheard of.
I just wish Kiell was there too.
Great British Sewing Bee airs Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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