BEHIND THE SEAMS
The Final COUNTDOWN
We hear from Mitchell Bridgewater, former Sewing Bee contestant, in the lead up to the new season of Sewing Bee
THIS YEARS CONTESTANTS!
What inspired you to apply for The Great British Sewing Bee?
As they have inspired almost all of the positive moments in my life, my wife Lisa and sons Freddie & George gave me the push to go on the Sewing Bee. I had taken up sewing during the first COVID-19 lockdown and did an awful lot of it in a short amount of time, experimenting with diverse types of make and material. Lisa was impressed with how excited sewing made me and how quickly my skills were growing that one day after returning to work, I came home, and she had already started the application on my behalf!
Around this time the boys were still unable to socialise and go to their hobbies and were becoming less interested in doing new things so I thought if I could put myself forward for something I loved, doing that might push them to do the same. The rest, as they say, is history!
Can you share a memorable moment from your time on the show?
Even though my tenure on the show was short, there were so many wonderful moments during and after the show that will stay with me as core memories – from meeting my Bee family and the judges to playing in the haberdashery like a child in a toy shop. Two key moments rise above the others – the first was walking into the sewing room for the first time. When viewers see us enter the sewing room, those reactions are real because we are not allowed a sneak peek beforehand. A surreal and dreamlike experience. The second was ‘Stretch with Steve’. The sewing room is hot, busy and, with the time limits, you cramp up holding your position at the sewing machine; so during breaks from filming between challenges the wonderful Steve, who besides sewing in an incredibly fit and dedicated athlete, took us into a carpark behind the sewing mill for a light stretching workout and meditation. We laughed so much and it really did clear our heads and get us through long filming days.