Episode 7 The Great Pottery Throw Down

To me, keep going.

To me, to me.

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Nice one, Denise, thank you, love.

Look at this, an actual mountain of clay.

Well, it is the semifinals, after all, and over the next four days,

our four potters will be lifting,

squishing and moulding this into something that none of us

can do without.

I am bursting with anticipation.

Welcome to The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Last time...

SHE GROANS

..Clover's exquisite Russian dolls

finally saw her work enter the Pot Of The Week gallery.

Luckily some magic happened,

I have managed to find my inner peace.

But we had to say goodbye to Nam...

I'm getting worried now.

..and Cait as Ryan only just managed to cling onto

his place in the competition.

-Now, lad.

-I know.

Now four brilliant potters remain...

Squidge it, squidge it, squidge it.

..all of them previous winners of Pot Of The Week.

But which of them can handle a throw-down set by a mystery guest..

THEY CHEER

..that's the fastest ever set...

Pull the handle, come on.

-It's got a hole in it.

-..a spot test where anything could happen...

-It's very scary.

-..and a huge Main Make...

-Tell us where you want it.

-It's massive!

..that could see one of these semifinalists flushed away?

# Making time

# Shootin' lines

# People have their uses

# People have their uses... #

I never thought I would be in the semifinals, I'm very scared.

In my dreams I've wanted to come this far,

I've been visualising it a little bit.

The judging is going to be fanatical, I think.

I need to pay attention to every kind of detail.

The finals, then, it's in the grass.

This is what we want, really, at the end of the day.

Good morning, potters. ALL: Good morning.

I'm not going to lie,

I'm flushed with excitement about this week's Main Make because Kate

and Keith would like you to build...a toilet.

Beautiful!

This is the most clay we've ever given you.

It's a really big build.

It can be any shape or design, but it's got to work as a toilet.

You have got four hours.

Potters, get potting.

In this first stage of the Main Make,

the potters must handcraft all the components

of their toilet and get them ready to begin drying.

I've never done a toilet before, so I'm learning on the job here.

There's a lot of technical factors that can go wrong quite quickly,

so it's quite an exciting challenge.

It's an ultimate handbuild, actually.

There's all sorts of skills that they've got to show us.

The potters are going to have to build four component parts and then

join them together. They've got the pedestal, they've got the bowl,

they've got the rim and U-bend.

You really have to grasp the actual practicalities of this.

It sounds so simple, but you have to get that engineering.

There's so many different joins here and they're very structural joins.

When you sit on a toilet,

you don't want anything wonky or leaning, do you?

And you don't want great overhangs where you're going to be worried

that your weight might even break it.

It's a design classic in its structure.

The reason why the toilet hasn't really changed much in shape and

form over many, many years is because it actually works.

It's what they do to it after that,

whether they build appendages onto these things,

they want to get their own kind of personality across in these.

This is handmade, they don't have to make it look like the loo that we

know and love and use every day.

At the end of this epic make,

the judges will sit on the potters' work...

..to ensure its build quality.

Ah! Who's going to sit on it? Good luck to them.

And the toilets will be plumbed in and flushed.

This is unbelievably difficult.

Not only to build, but to get it to function is going to be... Yeah.

For their toughest handbuild yet, the potters will be using one of

ceramic's strongest clays, tandoor.

I've never used tandoor clay before.

It feels a bit like cement.

And, yes, it is the same tough clay used to build the ovens you get naan

-bread from.

-It feels like it's full of stones, very coarse,

which means it's going to be really good for holding the structure.

All the textures in it, it's so nice.

It's actually going to go quite well with my theme.

I'm actually making a turtle toilet.

Ryan is building his turtle toilet from large, thin slabs of tandoor.

It'll have fins attached to the sides of the bowl and when you sit

on it, the turtle's head will peep out between your legs.

When you're a little kid and you're scared of the big toilet and you're

going from potty training to something else, I'm trying to make it a bit more friendly for children.

-So, what section is this?

-This is actually now going to be my plinth.

I've made some formers and I'm going to wrap this round because I want it

-as strong as possible.

-It's quite thin, isn't it?

-I can feel it thin here.

-On that edge, yes.

Rather than using slabs...

I keep reminding myself this coiling should be the same as the small Russian dolls.

..hoping for a stronger plinth, Clover is constructing with coils.

I've got a bucket as the part of the toilet which I'm going to build

first because I want the support to be quite dry

and I'm making the wall quite thick. I'm not a very good builder.

I never played with those builder toys when I was little.

I played with dollies.

Clover's hand-coiled plinth and bowl will eventually be carved and

decorated with a stained-glass window design in a bid to turn a

visit to the smallest room into a religious experience.

You almost need a sound effect when you sit on it like...

# Ah, ah, ah... #

Heavenly angels.

I think so. That usually happens anyway when I sit on a toilet.

Dear me.

But this surface is actually a lot rougher than I thought it would be,

so I need to figure out how I'm going to make it smooth so when I

colour it, it's going to be nicer.

Look at your former, Clover, look at how you're going to get that out.

It's got this lip here.

I don't know if the lip is at the bottom, but you've got to think.

-Yeah.

-It's all very well using a former and building clay around it,

but then you've got to think, "I've got to get the former out."

As well as using formers for the plinth,

the wider toilet bowl will need even more support

and for that, Richard turned to his partner Charlotte.

Her ladyship didn't want me to use her brand-new,

nonstick wok which I thought was very unfair of her.

The old wok they found at the back of the kitchen cupboard

will support the base of Richard's coiled bowl, which,

along with his plinth,

will be decorated with an idyllic country scene of a meadow,

filled with flowers and butterflies.

My plan is like a Victorian time, where the decoration goes inside

the toilet, and that really appeals to me.

When you're stood having a pee, you've got something to look at.

The beauty is taken right the way round the whole item.

Every time we come to your workbench,

I always wonder what era he's going

-to be talking about.

-Like Doctor Who.

You're like the Doctor Who of pottery.

While Richard rolls back the years with his ancient wok...

Ryan's like, wrapping a Christmas present.

It's the moment of truth for Clover's mop bucket.

And if the bucket's lips prevent her from removing it...

..she'll have to start her plinth again.

Woohoo! It's out!

Panic over.

It's not a panic that Freya will face

for the components of her toilet.

I'm not using a former to build the bowl

because my shapes are quite organic-y.

Despite hand coiling free from formers,

Freya's design is hugely complicated.

She has meticulously planned a Victorian tribute

to Mother Nature with a bowl circled by abstract female forms

and a plinth with an intricate relief pattern.

There's a plan, Freya?

-Oh, is it Freya we're talking to?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yes.

I always have a plan!

I've decided to take early Victorian as a reference.

Yes, I heard that Richard is doing it.

And there's lots of floral,

luscious, juicy vegetation.

These are almost like roots.

It does look like a tree,

but there's a great sense of three women

and this is like a woman's dress.

-It's fascinating.

-It's all about the intense relief in the detail.

The intense relief of the toilet!

Yeah, yeah.

-You made a pun, Freya.

-Oh, did I?

THEY LAUGH

OK, potters, halfway through your time.

Just so you know, you've got two hours left.

My boyfriend has a very special relationship with the toilet. He...

SHE LAUGHS

You guys, stop it. So I'm determined to make him proud.

HE MOUTHS

The cats do share the same toilet.

The what? You share it with a cat?

Yeah, they drink from it.

They?

-OK. So, Ryan - you're well travelled.

-Yep.

What's the strangest toilet you've ever used?

Japan. It talks to you,

like it heats up the seat and it cleans you at the same time.

It's really weird. You don't know what button to push.

You just push any button and all the spray starts coming out.

You get a pleasant surprise.

Ryan's hoping there won't be any surprises,

pleasant or otherwise, under his rim.

The water's going to come in this end and hopefully swish it round to

the front and go out these holes and these holes.

There's a logic behind it because if you make these holes too big at the

front here, all the water is going to come out here and not make its

way to the front of the pan, so you're trying to balance that.

But if the holes are not big enough, there won't be enough flush,

there's a lot of logic behind it.

I really like the way Ryan has approached this task.

Everything seems to be on target.

He's already achieved his rim.

I turned my back, I turned around again and there was a huge section on. It just seemed to be instant.

But I want to see an element of hand building in this.

I don't want to just see, pardon the pun, a bog-standard toilet.

-Freya, are you all right?

-I'm all right.

-You've finished everything?

-No, I've got loads to do.

Freya's bowl did look quite large

and with a large challenge like this,

formers are definitely a good thing, don't you think?

Not necessarily.

She's building practically, she's building upside down,

so she's definitely going to have a flat top because she's

-building against a flat piece of wood.

-Yeah, granted.

But all the pieces do have to fit together and I just don't want Freya

to be thinking on her feet all the time.

Gently teasing it off.

What I want to see with Richard,

it's fine to use the past as an inspiration,

but it's not got to be a pastiche.

He's really got to move forward and we said that about him.

Clover's ecclesiastical thing,

there's a lot of room for embellishment there, isn't there?

I was really impressed with the way she was using those coils,

but it was a bit concerning on her former, wasn't it?

But now Clover's second former...

This toilet bowl is actually a lot harder than I thought.

..is proving just as tricky as her first.

My former was extended with paper and it was a little bit soft and

when I press it,

it's sort of off shape again.

I will let it dry a little bit

and then I have to amend the shape a lot.

That will be a lot of work there.

But there's one component of this epic Main Make for which the potters

won't have to create their own formers.

-Is this the beginnings of a U-bend?

-Yes, this is the tube.

Not a sentence I thought I'd ever be saying.

'They've been given a precisely measured pipe

'and mould to create a U-bend.'

So I'm just trying to suss that out.

This is the bit which fits at the bottom of the toilet.

Unless they can figure out how to join them together,

when it comes to judging, flushing will not be pleasant.

This actually attaches to the bowl and then the big basin will go on

top of this as well, at the same time.

But while Richard has decided to leave assembling

his U-bend until the clay is dry,

Ryan has chosen to try and get even further ahead.

I'm kind of making it up really.

So I've got to kind of join the pieces together and make this kind

of gallery and cut it. That goes in there.

The water goes down and up and out.

Actually, no, this is how it's meant to be.

Solving the U-bend mystery is a distant prospect for some.

It looks quite heavy.

It's really heavy, that.

Freya has now been hand coiling her free-form bowl

and plinth for almost three hours.

I've got a plan, but the plan is only a plan

and you've got to like, DO it.

Yes, it's all very well sat there

doodling and with all your measurements.

Exactly. Singing to the toilet.

But your measurements have got to come to life.

Yeah, a different story.

30 minutes remaining before the potters' toilets must begin drying.

Good U-bend, Ryan.

-Thanks.

-Never thought this would be happening, did you?

No, just casually looking at my U-bend!

-CLANKING

-Oh!

-Sorry.

-My nerves, my nerves.

Offering up the rim, so now it sits hanging over slightly.

I'm feeling absolutely under the pressure.

You think four hours is good?

No, it's not enough.

Clover's flexible form has resulted in a bowl much larger than she planned.

I accidentally made a bath.

I'm trying to make it smaller

by cutting a section of it and rejoining it.

This new join massively increases

the risk of her bowl cracking during firing.

Is it just me, or is it really hot?

And she's not the only one with size issues.

The plinth is going to be roughly between 20 and 50...

28...

28...

No, I've got numbers here,

but I might have changed my mind about that.

Potters, you've got 20 minutes left.

At the end of that 20 minutes,

all your pieces need to be in the drying room or on the table.

Oh, gosh. It's just not ready.

I honestly don't know what I'm doing.

I don't even know how we use the mould.

I'm doing...

I'm doing part of the U-bend.

I would just like to get this on there like that.

I find this really confusing.

The U-bend. Oh, I'm just in a puzzle for no reason.

This is going to give me a bit of a turtle finish.

They're going to be hollow, because I know Keith will be moaning

-they're too heavy or something.

-This is your final push.

Oh, I keep looking at it and it just doesn't make any sense.

Five minutes left.

I don't have a basin to work, I just have to imagine.

Oh, my God.

I cannot understand this.

I'm going to stick it on at leather hard stage.

This is actually going to be my turtle head.

Less than a minute, Potters, you need to be getting your bits in the

drying room if they're going in there, or on the back table.

Ryan, you love the adrenaline rush of my ten-second countdown.

Everyone's got their bits in.

We're on ten now, come on.

Nine, eight. You've got to get it in there.

Seven, six, five, four...

Three, two...

Well done, everyone. One.

Awesome work, it's been a big morning for you, well done.

The toilets now need to be left to dry until the clay is leather hard,

before the potters can begin

constructing and refining their designs.

And while they wait for their next visit to the loo,

the potters face a Throw Down, tailor-made for the semifinal.

Potters, welcome to your Throw Down.

Now, as you might have noticed, Keith has normally got his apron on,

but he's not, because cruelly,

he's been given the boot by Kate in favour of a former pupil,

-is that right?

-It is, Sarah.

I'm really excited to welcome Johnny Vegas.

Hiya.

Johnny Vegas is best known as a comedy legend of stage and screen.

But his potting alter ego has a passion for ceramics

that has burned for decades.

I did a degree in ceramics at Middlesex University,

where I was tutored by the wonderful Kate Malone.

I think I've set them an incredibly difficult challenge.

I don't think they will have seen this coming

in a month of Sundays.

What do you want our potters to make today, Johnny?

I'd like you to make a teapot, the difference being,

I'd like you to make it in under a minute.

THEY SNIGGER AND LAUGH

I know you're shaking your head, but look at me.

I'm someone who life left behind.

If I can do it, I'm sure you can.

Johnny, I've got a stopwatch here.

Three, two, one, go.

That's fast and frantic.

-Ten seconds gone, Johnny.

-That looks all right.

I can see his head pumping with the concentration.

-Oh, I know.

-It's just gone 20.

Oh, God, that's not even flat.

Right, Johnny, you're halfway in your time now, 30 seconds.

OK. 30 seconds?

30 seconds. I'm in trouble. I'm in trouble. Right.

-20 left.

-20 left?

Just think Salvador Dali.

-15 left.

-OK.

You are now at ten.

Nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

APPLAUSE

You had a second to spare there.

I did, didn't I? I got cocky.

Now, here's the big test.

If I've passed or failed is, it has to pour.

Let's see. More tea, vicar?

APPLAUSE

The Victoria and Albert museum

have got one of his one-minute teapots in

-their collection.

-Because after Kate and her mates gave me a third in my

degree, it was the only way I could get revenge.

OK, potters, Johnny did it in one minute.

We're going to be nice. We're going to give you five minutes

to make five teapots.

It is the semifinal.

-Get ready.

-Best of luck.

We need a lid, a spout and a handle.

Five minutes, your time starts now.

Come on.

Keep it at a good pace.

That's it.

Go!

Come on, Clover! In with that spout.

That's it, that's it.

You're 30 seconds down, guys.

-Come on.

-It's gorgeous, good girl.

Handle on. Freya's got a teapot, Ryan's got a teapot.

Good going, Clover, come on.

-Come on.

-Richard's on his second one.

Richard's going for the Fred Flintstone look.

-I'm liking it, though.

-Well done, you've got a teapot there.

Three and a half minutes left.

Come on, you're meant to be well over halfway

through your second teapot. Come on.

Good girl, Freya. Go on, crack on.

Good one, Clover. I like the base on that one.

I love the base on that one.

Two and a half minutes left, guys.

-Come on, potters! Lid. Good one, Clover.

-You can do this!

-You can do this.

-Pull the handle, come on.

-It's got a hole in it!

-Two minutes left.

Come on, this is the semifinal! Push for it.

Come on.

-Oh, where's my water?

-Number four for Ryan. Go on, lad.

Go on, Freya.

Freya's just completing her fourth. Is she going to get to five?

Come on!

Freya, you're going all right there.

Clover's on number five. You've got to get a lid,

you've got to get a spout, we need to see handles.

You're on your final minute now, guys.

You're really going to have to get a move on now

with this last one.

OK, 45 seconds left. 45 seconds.

If you've got time, finesse, finesse, finesse!

LAUGHTER

Come on!

Come on, this is a semifinal!

Keep pushing! Use every last second, please.

I want to see you try your fifth teapot, come on.

Here we go, guys, you've got to count down with me.

ALL: Ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four, three, two, one.

That's it!

CHEERING

Well done.

Unbelievable.

I thought I'd made five, I only made four.

No wonder I was titivating.

The judges are looking for a set of five teapots,

each with a body, a lid, a spout and a handle.

We have got five.

This is my absolute favourite.

You could not knock that over if you tried, could you?

But this is the old, important pouring test.

You could actually have a cup of tea and then flip it over and eat your

dinner of the bottom half, couldn't you?

-Beautiful.

-Nice.

-I have got to say, I am loving the monster spouts.

-Yeah.

They're so bad.

There's some nice detailing.

-KATE:

-And frilly-edged tops as well.

I really rather like them.

I've a good feeling about this one. Yeah, that pours.

They're great, aren't they?

Lovely. They're almost Gaudi-esque.

They look like blokes in flat caps coming through the work gates,

talking to each other.

-Tea for one?

-Oh, yes, please.

Don't mind if I do.

-That's a good pour.

-That's a good pourer.

I really like these.

He has taken the time to pull the handles.

Well, let's do the all-important pour test.

That's a good one, that's going to hold.

-It's got a lot there. It's a lot.

-Look at that.

-There's two tea cups there.

-That is excellent.

Look at the pour on that.

I WISH you'd done five.

-I thought I'd actually made five.

-Oh, did you?

Yeah, and then I was just like, "Oh, I've got time, I'll tweak."

I wish you'd realised.

Johnny will now rank the potters' teapots from worst to best.

I'm absolutely thrilled with the results that we got.

Fourth place is Ryan because he has the lowest amount of teapots.

It's basically because he can't count.

What I would like is if our remaining potters

would choose their favourite teapot

and I'll make a decision based on that teapot.

Third place is Clover.

Technically and aesthetically,

it's not holding up against the other two.

Second place is Richard.

The twist on the handle, and there's just a quality

to these massive spouts.

And first place is Freya.

To think that five of them made in five minutes,

I think that just deserves to win.

Johnny, thank you so much for coming in.

Thank you, thank you for having us. It's a pleasure.

A little round of applause for Johnny - guest judge extraordinaire.

Potters, you've worked really hard today, so you can go home,

put the kettle on, possibly make a pot of tea or five and relax.

We'll see you back here tomorrow morning bright and early.

And best of luck, all of you.

Well done.

-Well done.

-Well done, Freya.

That's worth the stress that I've been through to do the toilet.

I just couldn't believe it - Johnny Vegas is demonstrating!

Wow.

I thought not in a million years am I going to do one,

let alone five!

It's now becoming more of a reality,

it's a competition, it's a semifinal,

and the next stage is the final, so we know it's very close.

The toilet components have been drying overnight.

And the thickness of the clay in each pot

dictates if it's the correct consistency to begin construction.

It's still really wet. I thought it would be dry by now.

I want it to be a little drier.

I like to err on the side of caution, really.

So I'm just hardening it all up.

It's quite firm, actually, so it should be fine.

You can't really bend it around that much,

but it's soft enough to add things and to carve nicely.

It's still sagging.

I'm really panicked now. Things need to be joined together.

There's no time wasting, waiting for it to dry.

The semifinalists now have a huge to-do list.

I've got a lot of things to be sticking on.

Bowls need to be secured to plinths, rims fitted to bowls...

I'm just trying to make it all a nice level rim.

..and each handcrafted plumbing component

must be precisely installed for that perfect flush at final judging.

I've got in such a tizzy about this U-bend.

Hopefully I can keep the speed up.

I'm just thinking about the teapot. I'm like...

Sometimes it just takes you to be quick.

Mine is more like an L-bend, I'm afraid.

There's no U around it. If the water drains, I'm happy!

This is just a cushion for supporting this.

Even though Ryan got ahead and fitted his U-bend

at the making stage...

-Basically...

-POPPING

It's just the balloons popping.

..he's still managing to keep himself busy.

Did you cut it down that way and then build up the sides here?

I did, yeah, because, basically, if you build that up a little bit,

the water level will be higher.

Once attached, the U-bend will need to trap enough water

to create a seal.

The aim is not to think too much, otherwise I'll confuse myself.

If it doesn't, the potters won't have a functioning toilet

or the approval of the judges.

Just got to keep trimming and offering up.

Squidge it, squidge, squidge it.

The base is just so soft, and then when I push the pipe in,

the shape's knocked off again.

Even if they think they've attached a functioning U-bend...

SHE GROANS ..the potters are about to find out

if they've made a plinth that can take its weight

along with the toilet bowl.

I'm really cautious about cutting my stand,

just because what if I've got it wrong, you know?

I need to cut a bit on the stand so that

the waste pipe can come out.

I've smoothed all the inside now,

so the plan is to get this on and I'm going to flip it again.

So I'm going to put my base on it upside down.

The waste part is dropping. It doesn't attach.

SHE GROANS

OK.

But for one potter, hand coiling has meant that their plinth

has got more to support than anyone else's.

Guys, I need a hand.

I'll just smooth out my hole and I'll be with you.

SHE GROANS

Hand under it.

Oh, tell us where you want it. Forward a bit.

The bowl in the middle, a bit forward.

Does that need support there? It's going to collapse.

It's all going to collapse. We're collapsing here, Freya.

-I can feel it going.

-Where is it going?

We need to go over. We're not even centred.

-I'm holding this as well.

-What are you holding?

Get some support in here. Anything.

-That's sinking.

-Shall I let it go?

-OK, yeah. Let it sink, it's OK.

-Yeah, let it sink.

-Get something under it.

Use that as a support.

Look, put some clay in there, wedge it up.

-Then you can work on it a bit.

-Yeah. Thanks.

-All right?

Thank you.

Potters, I hope you're not feeling too drained.

-You have one hour left.

-OK!

I'm trying to get my rim attached,

but because the toilet has actually shrunk,

so the rim is slightly too big for it now.

I'm just alternating.

Hopefully the plinth is strong enough,

I just need to carve away all this extra weight.

OK, now the rim is fine, I need to join them.

You don't want to sit on something which ain't level.

Just done a bit of carving, but that's only the beginning, really.

I think I was just way too ambitious.

Now it's just a case of fitting this outlet valve.

Water enters the toilet via a precisely-positioned opening

-at the back of the rim.

-How do you measure it?

If it's cut in the wrong place, water will go everywhere,

except where it's supposed to.

Unfortunately, my rim is quite small,

so the water pipe will be really jetting water into it.

Put my turtle head on.

Just adding slip to smoothen out the surface.

I'm now putting my fins on.

I'll be pretty disappointed if these fins fall off,

because obviously they're the main part of the decoration.

I'm being fanatical about strengthening them.

I've put a coil around the top and bottom.

Toilet seat...holes.

I'm just going to carve into the surface to define the church window.

We need to put a rim on it.

I'm just highlighting the bit I want to paint a lot of colour on,

with the white slip.

The pipe is broken.

One minute left, one minute left.

Oh, God.

Hopefully it will be working, I don't know.

There's all sorts of things that can go wrong

in the firing, you know?

Tools down, please. Tools down.

SHE EXHALES

Our biggest Main Make yet has meant our longest wait ever for a firing.

So the toilets have been drying for five days now.

There have been a few issues, though.

Freya has chosen to dry it on this solid prop, and as that bowl,

and as that pedestal have shrunk back,

this prop hasn't given way to it at all,

and it's just split on the join.

Ryan's piece has had a few problems.

As this piece has dried,

the big lump of a bowl has kind of stayed pretty static,

and this back piece has obviously just stuck to the board

and it's opened up this stress crack.

The bisque firing will reach 1,000 degrees centigrade

and last at least 20 hours.

I'm just going to take this firing really slowly,

so the risk of these toilets blowing up is reduced.

But I have everything crossed that they survive.

There's some thick walls in there,

and some of those have retained moisture, so it's a worrying one.

I'm going to lose a bit of sleep, I think.

Oh, that's a nice fit.

Are you going to try and sit on it before you decorate it?

Before the potters' long wait for the toilet is over,

they face another challenge to determine who will go through

to the grand final.

It's the most liberating Spot Test Kate and Keith have ever set.

Potters, for your semifinal Spot Test,

Kate and Keith would like you to make...

whatever you like.

You've got to let your creative juices run wild.

We want you to design and make an original piece that reflects you.

You can make any shape, any size, it can be a sculptural piece,

it could be practical for the home, but I want to be impressed.

You have two hours to create your masterpiece. Best of luck.

Potters, get potting.

HE EXHALES

Each potter has a bag of clay and access to basic glazes.

Whilst their finished pieces won't be fired,

the potters must demonstrate an ability to create stunning work with

no guidance whatsoever.

It's now down to us and nobody else. You know, it's our ideas.

I'm really happy about this. It's definitely liberating.

Week after week, Freya has shown

her free-spirited approach to pottery.

This is like a really good opportunity to let the reins free.

Even WITH a brief, she's lacked discipline, so with no direction,

where will she go?

I'm going to do a jar and then decorate it.

It's so nice just to not fill a criteria all the time.

I was not expecting to be allowed to be free style.

Clover's chosen to go with a twist on something

she made earlier in the competition.

We have made a dinner set before,

but we haven't made proper noodle bowls.

I'm going to make a set of four

and I'm going to make four small side plates.

I'm going to make chopstick holder as well.

Ryan has been methodical with his designs,

planning has been the key to his success.

But now, he's had no time to plan.

I quite like making bottle-shaped forms,

so I'm going to do some vases and

then brush on colour at the same time as well.

In some ways, it's very liberating.

In others, it's very scary.

Richard has always channelled his love of history into his pots,

and this time he's travelling back to the 15th century.

I'm doing a medieval style jug with a goblet and a bowl.

I shall hopefully be decorating in a Gothic style.

But he's not the only one with a foot in the past.

-Do you know where the word potty comes from, to go potty?

-No.

Well, it was a madness and it was because they used lead in the glaze.

-Oh, right.

-It was down to the lead diluting into the beer

and the people literally got lead poisoning and went potty.

Yeah, Kate used quite a lot of lead glazes early on in her career(!)

Yeah, early on... You can tell, really.

I think it echoes a lot of where I've come from.

There's a lot of influence from my father there.

It's because of him that I'm here right now.

I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.

I kind of want it quite neat edged, quite controlled, really.

I don't know if that's going to get me points or not,

that's the trouble.

The judges might not like my personality!

Having thrown her first vase, true to form,

Freya's decided to change her plan and throw a second.

I'm going to do two jars.

I may put one inside the other,

so essentially, that's a double-walled jar.

The more finer this type of shape

would have external applied decoration on,

and that was a higher class of vessel.

I wish I hadn't chosen to do a four-piece set now.

I think that's a stupid idea.

Potters, just 30 minutes to complete your masterpieces.

Which colour, which colour?

The potters are free to use as much or as little glaze as they like

to bring their creations to life.

I do like a lot of blues, but I'm going to keep mixing in

-and then play around with the surface pattern of it as well.

-OK.

The forms will be different, the colours are going to be different,

-but they'll work as a series, I think.

-Very playful.

-Yes.

Yeah. Are you quite playful, Ryan?

Yeah, I'm quite playful. I like to experiment and explore.

I'm just cutting it off because it would be boring

if it was just a normal plate. This won't be thrown away -

we're going to have a chopstick holder as well.

Green was a traditional greenware colour they used in medieval times.

It might be a silly idea.

It's probably not going to work.

Are you making chopsticks, Clover?

-Well, it's a dinner set, so...

-That is wicked!

-Cool idea, though. I love it.

-Stupid, Clover!

I'm just sticking this pot inside.

So there's a jar inside for decoration.

With her dinner set finally made, Clover moves on to the decoration.

I'm using the drip trailer to create this dripping effect.

I'm going to cut some fishes out of this one.

Potters, one minute left of this Spot Test.

Any final little touches and zhooshes need to happen now.

Neeow!

There goes Clover.

I wouldn't mind, but she's jolting me!

Ten, nine...

Clover! Eight,

seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.

Tools down, please.

Well done.

Kate and Keith are expecting stunning

and completely original designs that reflect their maker.

So, Clover, you've cut the sides off to make the chopstick holders.

-Yes.

-Very nice use of design.

I wish the chopsticks had been dead-on.

You know, they're a little bit wonky, aren't they?

And, of course, the design that she's used is very, very striking.

Whether it's your cup of tea or your bowl of noodle or not,

the bold use of colour really, really works.

There's a bowl at the end here that's a bit lacklustre.

Richard, the medieval jug. I love the pattern.

These are a bit bland.

And if you're going to do a set of four of anything,

they've got to be the same.

Looking at it as a set, I feel the goblets and the jug

don't suit the bowl.

Ryan...

It's really good.

You've done a variation on a theme, they're not all the same.

You've done a range of decoration that ties them all in.

The throwing is pretty good.

You have played with the colour.

They do show a lovely variety.

I'd have them on a shelf in my home.

Freya, I think technically, within the time given, you have done a lot.

I love the double skin.

You've got such a lovely sense of proportion.

The jar and the lid work.

This is a lovely shape, you've got an amazing shape.

It shows really good throwing skills.

It's a good use of colour.

Blimey, Freya, it's even clean underneath. Well done.

But who's triumphed in the semifinal Spot Test?

In fourth place is Richard.

Richard, it doesn't seem to be a whole set.

In third place is Clover.

If you'd just done that fourth bowl slightly nicer,

it might have pushed you up a bit.

And in second place is...

This one, Freya.

We felt that you really stretched the technique.

You did a lot within it.

So, in first place is Ryan.

Well done, Ryan.

Really lovely set, lovely decoration.

Well done, brilliant.

I made Keith cry twice. That's a winner in my eyes.

Well done!

I'm quite disappointed about myself, I know I can do a lot better.

They didn't really have a great deal to say about the decoration.

But I didn't do a lot.

Keith was pleased that I had a clean bottom.

I hope it will kind of support me a little bit because I really need

all the help I can get with that toilet.

The toilets have cooled.

How they've fared in the first firing could have a huge impact on

the potters' chances of reaching the final.

Let's talk about Ryan first.

It's an amazing handbuild.

It looks like a turtle, he's really got the shape of the head,

-the shape of the mouth.

-If he gets it all right with his glazing,

it could look really stunning.

Let's talk about Clover.

The hole where her U-bend goes in does look really odd,

and I'm not sure whether it's going to practically work.

Clover can decorate, can't she?

You've seen this before and you've loved it.

And she's used the white slip to make the body brighter,

so the glazes will ring true.

It's all to play for with Richard.

He's shown us inspiration in the past,

and his construction looks really, really good.

Let's talk about Freya, then.

I kept going round and seeing this toilet just grow before my eyes.

It's massive!

She was up on the bench building this thing.

Even I'd fall in it.

Do you think she's going to do a Freya where she just pulls it out

-the bag?

-She does bring it together with decoration often.

But after the bisque firing, whose toilet is still intact

and worth decorating?

A crack at the back.

All my fins are on. There's a crack here, though, unfortunately.

One, two, three,

four, five cracks.

There are some cracks, but it's not too bad.

You know, I have something to work on.

I think I beat the crack competition

because I have five cracks.

Everyone else has got one.

OK, I don't think he's got any, actually.

What's pleasing - we're in one piece.

That's your initial worry out of the window.

Now, the other worry, we've just got to glaze it.

We're going for a meadow effect - wild flowers, nice summer's day,

butterflies flying by and having a sit on your toilet,

what could be better?

My inspiration is this stained-glass window because

the colour is just so vibrant.

You know, the traditional toilet is white, so I thought,

"Well, let's do something the opposite, which is black."

Oh, my God! It's heavier than me, that.

With five cracks to repair...

-Oh, that worked!

-..Freya has some work to do before she can decorate.

For the really big, gaping cracks,

I'm going to just put big bits of grog in there.

I'll just fill that one in,

I don't want to spend any more time on this.

I'm just closely looking at the pattern of the turtle.

I've got some inspiration, of the textures and stuff.

I want it to be quite comical, so it's more of an Impressionist piece.

This is looking "turtley" lovely.

-I need to give her a name.

-You've got to decide. Tina?

-Tina.

-Tina the turtle.

-Tina the toilet turtle.

Tina the toilet...

It looks like Tina's been on a night out with that mouth.

SHE HUMS

What kind of glazing are you thinking of putting on this?

I was going to do the whole thing white.

-Yeah.

-And then I had the women borders at the side.

The decoration's going to be quite fluid.

That kind of Medusa-esque concept that you had before.

-Yeah, it's quite erotic in a nice way of putting it.

-Yeah.

But Victorian as well, you know, and my own interpretation.

The Victorians were great gardeners.

And also the Victorians loved to decorate inside as well as out.

It gets a bit claustrophobic at times.

And Richard's not the only potter going for beauty on the inside.

I'm just continuing the colour, basically, of the rainbow.

All the colours from the outside of the turtle evolving in

so you get a nice, pleasant surprise on the inside.

It's beautiful in there.

It's a loo worthy of a cathedral, or something, isn't it?

Would you do the honour?

It depends what honour you're talking about here!

It took me five minutes to sketch all my ideas out,

but making it is five hours.

Just tits and bums.

The time's ticking twice as fast as normal today,

someone get the clock checked, please.

This is why I lay out all the colour.

They are duplicates, but they're just at different areas,

so it looks like it's got lots of colour,

but it's a duplicate of about 12 colours there.

I'm just creating a shell texture, so when it lifts up,

you've still got a pattern from the shell

continuing down into the piece.

We've just started on the outside.

Time really is rushing by.

We've got to be fairly liberal, I think.

I'm going to have to rush a bit now.

This is a clear gloss coat.

What I want this to do is go on really thick,

and really pop those colours, hopefully.

So I'm putting a lot on.

Any last-minute flourishes, any last-minute checks.

Make sure you're happy with what you've done so far,

because you are one minute to tools-down.

I rushed the colouring a bit to make sure my clear coat

covers all the toilet inside out. I wouldn't say it's finished.

I am just putting the final touches of the clear glaze,

so we should get a nice, bright, shiny, hygienic toilet.

I can feel a countdown coming on.

Ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three,

two, one.

Tools down, semifinalists.

Tools down.

Great work. Yeah, well done.

We can do no more.

It's judgment day.

Richard, Freya, Clover and Ryan will soon discover

which of them will be headed to the grand final.

Very apprehensive. How's the work come out of the kiln?

I would love to make it through to the final.

If I don't make it to the final,

I'm really happy that I made it this far.

My biggest worry is my cracks have gotten a lot bigger.

My piece could be in two.

Things could go wrong, you never know.

And I think we have to assemble the toilet ourselves, right?

I'm not sure!

Each potter has been given their own display stand,

complete with working cistern.

Before judging, they must fit a seat to their toilet

and plumb it in.

I don't think there's supposed to be so much space here.

It's like putting a puzzle together.

I've designed the print on the fabric of the tortoiseshell

and then covered it around the toilet seat.

You lift the shell up to go to the toilet.

This side goes to here.

Is it supposed to go on there?

It doesn't fit.

Right, we're on.

Oh, yes, it does go in.

Ow!

The potters won't find out if their toilets function

until they're flushed for the very first time by the judges.

Fingers crossed for the big...

flush.

Well, potters, let the judging commence, and I think, Richard,

you're up first.

The first thing I noticed, Richard, and it moves me to tears a bit,

you surprise me every time.

Your butterfly decoration,

the attention to detail is just really, really lovely.

They are very clear, very crisp.

You weren't looking for the glaze to run.

You've used the colours to the best of their advantage.

And not only the butterflies, but you've actually used the buff

colour of the body to give a sort of cloudy summer's day,

which is actually a really difficult thing to do.

Had you put a solid blue on, it wouldn't have been as successful.

-There's two sort of issues here. One, the fit.

-Yeah.

That's the first thing I'm looking at -

this kind of bulge here.

Do want to take it for a test ride?

-HE EXHALES

-Yeah.

Here we go. As he lowers himself majestically...

It's a nice height. I'm quite tall.

It's quite a small... Quite a small rim.

But because it's slightly taller, it's quite nice.

-Kate, are you ready to flush?

-Yes.

-It's like a fountain!

-It's a long flush.

It's slightly flat. The bottom's very flat, isn't it...

-The bowl...

-Yeah.

-..the bottom of the bowl?

But the water is staying in the U-bend,

You know, no smells are going to come back up,

-so you've got the theory of it well.

-Thank you.

You were very, very bold and very brave in going for a black toilet

because it's a large object and it could have looked

like a big, black splodge.

Fortunately, you've used the colours really, really well.

-You've obviously done some sort of scratch design on here.

-Yeah.

Which actually looks a bit like the lead from a stained-glass window.

So I'm just going to lift the loo seat up.

It's like snakes and ladders in there, Clover.

It's like a snake going down.

I do like the idea of the pattern going to the inside, sort of,

-echoing, hopefully, the movement of the water...

-Hopefully.

..that we're going to see. I am a bit concerned about your U-bend,

though, Clover. It seems like you've got a little dip

in front of the U-bend and, really, when the water and whatever else

it's trying to flush away,

it has to go smoothly down the U-bend and out.

-OK, here we go.

-Good luck.

-It's a bit small for me.

-Sturdy?

-It's quite comfortable.

-Yeah, it's sturdy.

-OK, here we go.

Well, the water came out through the rim well,

but there is no trap of water there for the U-bend.

-The U-bend is not filling up.

-That's the thing, yeah.

So, Freya, I saw you fighting with this and it had a support under its

chin when it went into the drying room.

It looked as though it was really leaning forward,

and I was concerned that after firing, it wouldn't stand up.

I'm very pleased to see it standing up.

And that is testimony to your perseverance with this.

I like the way it's a square that rises up into a round.

I noticed in your sketchbook your designs were much more flamboyant

than you've managed to build. And I'm quite sad that

that fluidity from your drawing hasn't carried through.

You've really saved it with glazing to an extent,

and I was impressed by the way you

drew so freely on a vertical surface and a curved...

That's not easy at all.

I know you had some issues with cracks.

You've completely covered those cracks,

but one thing I have to say is, where's your rim?

There's no way the water is going to channel round the bowl.

Where's the U-bend?

I'm seeing a bowl with a sort of letterbox off the back.

The big moment now, Freya.

Would you like Keith to sit on your toilet?

You're more than welcome.

Making dreams come true with that bottom of his.

It's very, very high. It's a good size for me.

I don't know whether it's a standard size.

Kate, are you ready to flush?

-I'm ready to flush.

-Here we go.

-Ready?

SHE SCREAMS

Oh, my God! Sorry, Kate. I'm sorry.

-That's OK. We were worried that was going to happen!

-Oh!

We thought there might be a slight sprinkle, but not quite such a...

-Gosh, that was dramatic.

-That was really aggressive.

-That's the Niagara Falls of toilets.

-It's basically a log flume.

When you first explained the design concept, I thought,

"My God! The fins of this turtle are going to be too far out,

"the head is going to be just too big."

But I have to say...

it's great.

-It's great.

-I was a bit worried that your plinth was thin

and it might slightly distort during the firing,

and it hasn't, that's merit to you.

The loo seat fits really, really lovely.

-You've used ceramic pencils...

-Yeah.

..to accentuate the skin of the turtle.

The eyes, the black eyes, it's just dead-on.

Keith, would you like to now have a ride on Tina?

Entertainment wise, are you entertained by looking down

and seeing Tina's head there?

Well, it's a bit alarming, but...

But joyful at the same time.

-Yeah, it's nice and comfortable.

-I'm ready to flush.

-Take it away, please.

-I'm quick on my feet this time.

-Oh, I say!

-SARA WHISTLES

-That's good.

-Beautiful.

-That is a really good flush.

And, again, your glazes are so thick,

they gave this little bubbling up,

and again it's added to the sense of the water.

-Impressed.

-Thank you.

I think they were surprised that the actual turtle came out quite well.

I think they were expecting something very different.

Ryan and Richard's toilet, they're perfect,

so they go straight through to the final.

It's between me and Freya,

but if we take the overall knowledge and creativity,

I think that Freya is ahead of me.

I don't think that the Throw Down or the Spot Test is going to give me

any leeway on this one, unfortunately.

You've always got it in the back of your mind

that you've not done well in the Spot Test,

and that that could come back to haunt me.

You know, you've got to put your hands up and say

"I wasn't good enough."

You've got a big decision to make.

I mean, every week it's big, but this is the semifinal.

Who are you going to send through to the final?

It has to be Ryan.

He was brave with his design.

I thought it wasn't going to work, and he really surprised me.

Freya, I mean, it was more of a sort of funfair ride, wasn't it,

than a loo? And she came second in the Spot Test,

first in the Throw Down.

Surely that must count for something?

Well, it does, but ironically, the double-walled vase,

the reason why she came second is

because it's actually a very technically complex

kind of thing to build.

Where did that all go wrong with the Main Make?

She did bring it back a bit with the glaze surface.

To paint on a vertical surface, it isn't easy,

and it just flowed from her brush.

Let's talk about Richard.

It was very, very concise, very focused

and he achieved exactly what he wanted to do.

Technically, though, his rim didn't really coincide with the loo seat.

Clover didn't get her U-bend quite right, but essentially,

the design was the most dramatic.

A lot of black there, which can always be a bit risky.

As much as we criticise,

this is one of the biggest makes we've ever done,

and I'm incredibly impressed.

Well, impressed or not, only three can go through to next week's final.

Are you any closer to coming to that decision?

-It's not my favourite part of the process.

-No, nor mine.

Potters, let's have the good stuff first.

And to announce Potter of the Week is Keith.

So, brilliant design concept, wonderful execution...

Ryan. Well done, Ryan.

-Congratulations!

-Well done.

Ryan, you're one of our finalists, congratulations.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

However, the judges have made their decision

and the person leaving the pottery,

and therefore not going through to next week's final, is...

It's Freya.

Well done. Well done.

Well done. Well done, guys. You did really well.

Oh, Freya!

Well done.

'The pressure got to me and it really blinded me

'in this last challenge.'

I'm absolutely devastated, but I knew it was coming.

So I'm not surprised.

I really thought Freya was going to go to the final.

Ryan's toilet is the seventh exhibit in our Pot of the Week gallery.

I feel like I really put everything into that,

but also seeing Freya go, there's that amazing creative level she has,

which is now going to be lost in the final,

which I think is going to be tough for me, actually, because I feel

like she was really inspiring me to, like, go on through.

The amount of work was really outstanding.

That's what it does, it's pushed us and we've grown,

and I've got friends for life now, a group of potters for life.

That's great! I've always wanted that.

-ALL:

-Awww!

I feel a sense of achievement finally in the show.

I didn't feel that before.

Now it just hit me - the final. Really? Yes.

In my life I've done a fair bit, various darts finals, re-enactments,

going to... Meeting some wonderful people.

But this has got to be right up there in the achievements.

Never, never did I ever think I would make the final.

Next time...

Potters, here we go.

Calm down, Clover(!)

The winner...

Stop sagging! No!

..of The Great Pottery Throw Down...

That was evil.

..is...

That wasn't good.