The Great British Sewing Bee

The Great British Sewing Bee is currently delighting BBC viewers – but what do we know about judge Esme Young’s life?

The Great British Sewing Bee judge Esme Young has faced her fair share of struggles.

In 2016, Esme replaced May Martin as a judge on the hit BBC competition. She has since delighted BBC viewers alongside Patrick Grant and a number of hosts, including Joe Lycett, Sara Pascoe and Sophie Willan.

Over the years, Esme has established herself as an esteemed British fashion designer. In 1972, she founded a shop in Camden Town called Swanky Modes, alongside fellow designers Judy Dewsbury, Melanie Herberfield and Willie Walters.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Swanky Mode’s clothing appeared in Vogue, Honey and The Face, and was photographed by David Bailey, Nick Knight, and John Swannell.

Since then, Esme has made costumes for many films, including The Beach, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Romeo and Juliet, and Trainspotting. She notably designed the bunny costume worn by Renée Zellweger in the first Bridget Jones movie.

That’s not all, as one of Esme’s most famous designs was the Amorphous Dress worn by Linda Kozlowski in the 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee – a dress that is now in the V&A Collection.

But away from her successful career, Esme has also been through a number of challenges.

Personal struggles

Esme grew up in Bedford with her stay-at-home mum and her dad, who was an RAF pilot. He was a fighter pilot in World War Two.

Speaking with The Telegraph in 2022, Esme opened up about her life in north London, after moving into a one-bedroom flat in 1983.

“I’ve never been able to afford my own home. I’ve lived in social housing since 1983 – in a one-bedroom flat in Islington, north London, rented from the charitable housing trust Peabody,” she explained.

Reflecting on her previous money struggles, Esme told This is Money: “I could not afford to pay rent so I lived in a squat with my brother and friends… We had to pay for our electricity via a meter but otherwise we lived rent-free.”

The designer has previously shared her support for the Macmillan cancer charity, after her mum died of cancer.

“Even though I do not have much money, I give as much as I can to Macmillan Cancer Support. My mother died of cancer and it gave her and all the family lots of support,” she shared.

Hidden condition

In an interview with SheerLuxe, Esme revealed that she was “partially deaf” and therefore only learned to read when she was seven years old.

“My teachers thought I was thick and my father used to describe me as ‘dreamy’ – but, really, I was in my own little world because I couldn’t hear anyone,” she explained.

“I also didn’t learn to read until I was seven because I didn’t know how to make the right sounds. It’s still a bit of a problem today because I have to look at everything visually.”

The Great British Sewing Bee is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

BBC viewers bid farewell to another contestant during the latest episode of The Great British Sewing Bee.

The Great British Sewing Bee is back with the BBC competition officially in full swing.

During Tuesday’s episode of The Great British Sewing Bee (July 28), BBC viewers saw the remaining contestants tackle three challenges to earn their place in next week’s episode.

First, they needed to make three pairs of knickers from an old T-shirt in the Pattern Challenge.

They were then tasked with making a garment from items that were heading to the landfill in the Transformation Challenge.

Finally, the sewers had to make an outfit with an environmental message made to measure their models.

Anna impressed judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young during week three, earning garment of the week.

However, Angie’s time in the competition came to an end, and she was eliminated from progressing further in the show.

As her fellow contestants rushed to give her a hug when her name was announced, one of them praised her for being ‘amazing’ during the competition.

Speaking about her time in the programme, she told the camera: “It’s been so special sharing this love of sewing with other like-minded people. I feel really fortunate.

“You’d think, having spent, you know, day after day sewing and planning sewing, that I’d want a rest. No, I’m going to make a coat, might make some trousers, might make a few more knickers. You know, loads.”

Issuing a four-word remark before leaving, she added: “Not going to stop.”

Next week, the show celebrates the rich fashion and textile traditions of Mexico.

A synopsis reads: “The pattern challenge sees the sewers create a folkloric top, using fabrics created by indigenous communities in Mexico’s Oaxaca region.

“For the transformation, they use a tablecloth to create a garment with an eye-catching structure, before coming up with a made-to-measure outfit inspired by one of the many Mexican festivals found across the country.”

The judges will also be joined by guest judge Erika Alvarez, the renowned fashion designer.

The Great British Sewing Bee continues Tuesday’s on BBC One from 8pm.

The Great British Sewing Bee returned with 11 amateur sewers hoping to be crowned winner.

A contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee has opened up about her health condition.

The popular BBC competition has returned for its 12th season, with Esme Young and Patrick Grant reprising their roles as judges, whilst comedian Sophie Willan replaced Sara Pascoe as presenter.

As the new season aired its second week, the 11 remaining amateur sewers took part in three challenges.

First, they faced the Pattern Challenge, constructing a top with adaptive elements, then they faced a Transformation Challenge, where they had to convince the judges that their least favourite colours, brown and purple, could be transformed into attractive garments.

Finally, in the Made-to-Measure, the sewers had to use one colour to create an eye-catching outfit.

During the first task in the show, two contestants opened up about their passion to promote adaptive clothing.

Oxfordshire engineering PhD student Beth shared: “The adaptive side of it is really great because it’s quite a personal thing for me.

“My dad broke his neck in a motorbike accident. Very luckily, he’s still with us but he can’t feel with his hands.

“I’ve used really big buttons with quite large button holes so he can do them himself.”

Beth, 24, also shared how she creates clothes for her own needs, explaining: “I have scoliosis which is the curvature of the spine, and so being able to make dresses or tops that celebrate my back from all the lifting I do is quite an empowering thing.

“Without sewing that wouldn’t be possible for me.”

Not long later, another Sewing Bee star shared their health condition, after suffering from pain.

Contestant Rebecca, 27, revealed she made garments adjusted for her own needs.

She said: “Almost everything I make for myself is adaptive. I have chronic stomach pain, so for me, adaptive fashion is making sure there is nothing tight around my stomach.”

The chartered actuary from London was crowned winner of the first challenge, and celebrated: “I’m so thrilled to have specifically won the adaptive fashion challenge as an invisibly-disabled person.”

The Great British Sewing Bee airs Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.