Siobhán McSweeney has been quietly honing her pottery skills behind the scenes of The Great Pottery Throw Down — though she admits her creations are a long way off master-potter level.
Siobhán, who hosts the Channel 4 series, says she spends downtime during filming trying to recreate the challenges herself.
'I’ve been trying to copy loads of the challenges in my little kindergarten table that they put up for me backstage,' says the actress and presenter, who is best known for playing Sister Michael in the sitcom Derry Girls, as well as hosting the The Traitors Ireland.
When asked what she managed to make this year, Siobhán, who lives in London, joked that her confidence didn’t quite match the results.
'I produced such brilliant work. (I didn’t – they were all a mess!) But I did still manage to make egg cups. There’s a Pottery Throw Down book that I started working from. They have little challenges and tasks in that, so I made a couple of egg cups. And I made tiles. I made a grand total of two tiles.'
Her ambitions, however, were rather unrealistic.
'I did start with the aim of retiling the bathroom, so I think I’ll have to be doing the show a bit longer than I or the audience would want, just to get the bathroom re-tiled,' Siobhán adds.
Siobhán's passion for pottery hasn't gone unnoticed either.
'She’s doing really well,' says The Great Pottery Throw Down judge Richard Miller. 'What I love about her is that she comes in with a really clear idea of what she wants to make for her house. So she’ll arrive and tell me she’s making a soap dish, and ask me about her approach, and whether a certain oxide will work.
'Over the years, she’s gained so much knowledge, and become really fired up about making stuff. And I think it does her so much good, to be able to have a set up and make a few bits while she’s on set. She’s not just interested in the potters and the processes, she wants to do it herself as well. It’s great.'
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• Watch The Great Pottery Throw Down series 9 on Sundays at 7.45pm, Channel 4
