CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night’s TV: Proof oldies can cut it on a TV contest – and they’ve got better stories to tell
The Great British Sewing Bee (BBC1)
Fifty years ago, they were more often than not the butt of the joke. But we’re finally learning to appreciate the strong women of vintage sitcoms.
Watch an episode of Fawlty Towers now and it’s the magnificent Prunella Scales who dominates many scenes. And far from being a downtrodden housewife in Happy Ever After, June Whitfield is the mainstay of that show, not her on-screen husband Terry Scott.
The greatest of them all was Penelope Keith as The Good Life’s arch snob, Margo Leadbetter, a woman with a voice so shrill it could draw flower beds to attention.
Woodworking teacher Neil cited her as an inspiration for a 1970s-style dress with a page boy collar when The Great British Sewing Bee returned. “I didn’t appreciate it at the time,” he admitted, “but Margo was a fashion icon.”
Esme Young and Patrick Grant are back as Sewing Bee judges, but this is the first full season for host Kiell Smith-Bynoe
This is the tenth series of Sewing Bee and features the oldest participant to date, 84-year-old retired scientist Don
The dress was orange with a paisley pattern that, I remember, used to be popular on tableware. Margo’s husband may have had reservations about it, but… “Jerry! Be quiet!’ – he wouldn’t have dared to show it.
This is the tenth series of Sewing Bee and features the oldest participant to date, 84-year-old retired scientist Don. In fact, as far as I can tell, Don is the oldest person to ever appear on a reality competition on British television.
Arlene Phillips was 78 when she appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2021, and Angela Rippon was a year older when she showed off her high kicks on Strictly last year. The oldest Bake Off cake maker was Flo Atkins, just a boy (71) when she entered in 2017.
Don proved to be a real character and while he may have struggled to meet the Sewing Bee’s punishing deadlines, he proved that octogenarians can compete with rivals a quarter their age.
Don (pictured) proved to be a real character, even if he may have struggled to meet the Sewing Bee’s tough deadline
The judges also seem more relaxed, without the obligation to engage in scripted banter
TV bosses are missing a trick by ignoring this age group. There are many in their eighties who are just as energetic and bubbly as any bunch of raucous twenty-somethings. . . and the old ones have better stories to tell. Doesn’t matter Big Brother, we want Big Grandpa.
Esme Young and Patrick Grant are back as Sewing Bee judges, but this is the first full season for host Kiell Smith-Bynoe. He brings a more relaxed style than any previous presenter, with a light touch of humor instead of the forced jokes of predecessor Sara Pascoe. The judges also seem more relaxed, without the obligation to engage in scripted banter.
The seamstresses are an unusually chatty audience, commenting as they sew. One revealed that her fabric was handmade in Tanzania, another explained why her topstitching was exactly an inch from the folded edge of her hem. All Kiell had to do was watch and learn.
He was distracted by photos of 75-year-old amateur artist Janet. It featured some of her paintings, including one of her and her partner Adrian naked in bed, ‘having an afternoon off’.
Nowadays, a pension book is no guarantee of good behavior.