@ScienceSensibility
I hope the contestants are more representative of the population of amateur sewers (overwhelmingly women) this time, and we don’t get the shoehorned drag queens like last time.
I just love to watch the skills on display, without having the BBC’s agenda of the moment pushed upon me.
I'm swimming against the stream and agreeing with
Sense. It worries me that Sewing Bee will go the same way as Bake Off and increasingly showcase professionals and semi-professionals, or people who are dramatically "exciting", rather than talented amateur sewers (of either sex).
It is the very ordinariness of the competitors that has always attracted me. I have to admit that I liked the drag Queen and thought he was very talented and imaginative, but that's not what I'm there to see - I like to see Mrs Wumman or Mr Bloke who are sewing fab stuff for their family or their local Am Dram and who are often self-taught.
These shows that start off being so relatable and then just become a vehicle for an agenda, or a way for professionals to advertise themselves, or just a collection of "characters" become painful IMO.
(That's not to say I don't love a genuine eccentric - I do. It lets people, especially young people, see that they don't have to ft into a mould - but there are so many "look at me, i'm mad, me" types about and it's painful.)