Yes, I can't quite decide why Matthew grates on me so much - I love his hair - I think in some ways it's also a slightly smug thing. The way he accepted tributes on his horrible garden sculpture without changing his expression was somehow annoying. I also very much don't like his design ideas, and always love Sally-Jo's, what I've seen of them (though, actually, not her strawberry planter, which was twee), though she's probably less technically able than either Jim, Tom or Malcolm.
Jim, whom I was inclined to like initially, does come off as a bit smug, with all that gurning. His designs are a bit tricksy for me. I rather like the dark-haired woman (Sarah?) who, while not doing terribly well, manages a smile, a stiff upper lip and a few good lines.
Maybe the issue is with the inevitable comparison with Bake Off, where extreme niceness is the rule? The potters (or, presumably, the way they're edited?) seem slightly bitchier to one another? I suppose the way things have to be filmed - with three days between starting a project and finishing it - may mean their time together is less, or differently spent?
I have found myself wondering how on earth it is done. With GBBO, you know it's weekend-only. With this, you must have to make a much bigger time commitment?