BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee is set to return to screens for its third series next week and one Manchester contestant is hoping to stitch her way to the top.
Crafts enthusiast Deborah Simms, a project support officer at Manchester Metropolitan University, was selected to take part in the show last year and will battle it out over six episodes in the hope of being crowned Britain’s best amateur sewer.
The 26-year-old will appear on the show, which airs on Thursday February 5, alongside expert judges May Martin and Savile Row’s Patrick Grant.
Deborah wrote on her blog: “I was so high on adrenaline throughout the entirety that I fully expect any time I’m on screen to be basically a series of incoherent grunts and giggles, TV gold!”.
“This has been a long time in the making, I originally filmed the Great British Sewing Bee right after the last show aired in 2014. So it must have been April? I’ve been sitting on my hands waiting to tell you all for so long, trying to keep friends and family from telling the world whilst simultaneously wanting to jump up and down and have a dance about it.
“The recruiting was a completely whirlwind affair with trips up and down to London. But I have to say it has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I have made best friends for life. We talk basically every day, about work, sewing, knitting, family, and of course our nerves about the show airing.”
Originally from Blackburn, Deborah was taught to sew when she was just 11 by her mum and once worked in a fabric shop which fuelled her sewing passion.
V excited now about #GBSB 3. We’ll be supporting the lovely @DFabricate, from our own sewing fold! #GBSB #SewingBee pic.twitter.com/DeOXQM9YGk
— Ministry of Craft (@ministrycraft) January 28, 2015
She wrote: “If I have a project on the go I can’t wait to get back home! I finish work at 4.30pm so dash off to get the bus and start sewing immediately.
“If I don’t have a project planned I’ll have my tea and go up and tidy my sewing room and then start to make something. The longer I sew the more anxious I get if I don’t do something sewing related each day.”
Deborah is also a craft tutor on weekends teaching embroidery at the Ministry of Craft in Manchester, who have been tweeting their support for her appearance on GBSB.
GBSB is made for the BBC by independent production company Love Productions, who are also the makers of the popular Great British Bake Off.
The 26-year-old even made her own dress for her recent wedding to husband Terence.
In the first episode the challenge for the sewers will be creating pair of trousers, transforming a denim skirt and making a summer dress.
And Deborah has promised followers she will be tweeting updates alongside the show.
She said: “I can’t wait to sit down with a cup of tea and watch my friends sew and chat, and panic. It’s going to be a blast! I hope you’ll join me in a blow by blow on twitter, at #GBSB, I’m @DFabricate.”
Image courtesy of Deborah Simms, with thanks.
