Throw Down star wants potters' showcase at museum

An expert judge on Channel 4's The Great Pottery Throw Down has said there could soon be a permanent exhibition of contestants' work in Stoke-on-Trent.

Keith Brymer Jones told BBC Radio Stoke it would be "wonderful" if the idea was officially given the go-ahead.

It would be based at Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton, where the show is filmed, he added, and would showcase the work of the show's former contestants.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which runs the museum, has been contacted for a comment about the project.

The local authority recently announced a temporary reversal of its winter closure at the museum, to kick-start celebrations of the city's 100th anniversary.

"What we're trying to do at Gladstone is have a continual exhibition of the potters' work. This is what's going to be happening next," Mr Brymer Jones said.

"There's a few big wigs in Stoke, and we're really trying to have a permanent exhibition at Gladstone for the pottery thrown down, which will be amazing.

"And that's the future - the future is people investing in ceramics and realising how creative and how wonderful you have to be to do it."

The eighth season of The Great Pottery Throw Down began on Sunday, with 12 new potters competing for glory.

The series helped highlight both the Gladstone Pottery Museum and the city of Stoke-on-Trent, as it is screened in the living rooms of millions of viewers across the country.

The show also has a significant international following – and has even been watched by actor Brad Pitt.

"It's the fact that Brad Pitt sort of says 'watched every season' like you'd say to your teacher, doing your homework... it's brilliant," said Mr Brymer Jones.

He said he had not expected the show to enjoy the success it has had, and initially feared people might think a programme about pottery was "like watching paint dry".

He had high praise for Gladstone Pottery Museum, comparing it to a film set.

"There's nothing we have to do other than dress the building," he said.

"It just allow us to have this amazing backdrop to promote ceramics, and to promote the ceramics industry in Stoke."

Explaining his own personal passion for pottery, he said: "You never stop learning, and it's infinite what you can do with clay, and that's why I love it."

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