Gabriel Nichols will demonstrate throwing a chiminea using ‘wild’ Humber Estuary clay on the show
From left, Rich Miller, Siobhán McSweeney and Keith Brymer Jones of Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down(Image: Channel 4)
A master potter from Barton-upon-Humber will be returning to the kiln on Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down to fire the imaginations of the remaining contestants. Gabriel Nichols, who last appeared on the show in 2023, will be guesting as a judge in the episode airing on Sunday, February 8.
The show runs over a number of weeks with Britain’s top home potters competing to be crowned best at the wheel. In Gabriel’s highly-anticipated return, he will challenge the potters to master one of the most difficult forms in functional ceramics.
Gabriel will demonstrate the complex process of throwing a chiminea using unrefined “wild” clay, dug directly from the banks of the Humber Estuary. Known for his expertise in large-scale architectural ceramics, Gabriel will then join judges Keith Brymer Jones and Rich Miller to critique the contestants’ attempts to replicate the ambitious piece.
During Gabriel’s first appearance on the programme, he set a memorable challenge involving traditional chimney pots. His return highlights his reputation as one of the UK’s leading authorities on traditional production pottery and the use of locally-sourced materials.
Gabriel said: “What I love about The Great Pottery Throw Down is that it shows just how demanding and rewarding making functional pottery can be. Using wild clay and traditional techniques connects you directly to the landscape.
“It’s a physically intense process, and I’m excited to see how the potters handle a material that has such a unique character and history.” Gabriel said the show first found him through social media – “we have a very large following on Instagram and TikTok” – and invited him to appear as a judge two seasons ago.
“We do a lot of videos here and and I’m quite relaxed in front of the camera. I think it’s one of the reasons they wanted me to come back.
“Everything you see on the telly is quite real,” he said. “I met the contestants for about five or ten minutes, to show them what to do.
“I think The Great Pottery Throw Down is great in the fact it doesn’t just look at home potters, amateur potters, they also show people like myself who are professional potters and that it is still a viable way to earn a living.” He said the filming for this coming Sunday’s episode was last October.
“I think this second time was even more enjoyable in the sense I was a bit more relaxed.” Gabriel did not want to say anything about the show that might give the game away.
With a career spanning 42 years, Gabriel is a master production potter at William Blyth Tile Works, the UK’s only remaining site hand-making traditional clay roof tiles. Working from The Old Tile Yard in Barton, he produces everything from delicate garden “Long Toms” to massive tree planters and heritage commissions.
Gabriel originally planned to be a farmer and was due to head off to Germany to work on a farm at the age of 16. Sadly, the farmer who was to be his sponsor died in a tractor accident.
With Gabriel’s parents running a pottery in Wensleydale, a conversation about a ceramics course in Harrogate came up and Gabriel, encouraged to “give it a shot”, applied and got in. “I remember that first day getting on the wheel and realising how much I enjoyed it.”
Gabriel went on to launch Yorkshire Flower Pots, a name that will have been seen in garden centres up and down the country, that went on to become a fully automated process of production. “I woke up one day saying to myself I’d not personally handled a pot for two years, and I went back to making pots again.”
The pieces made at William Blyth use locally-sourced Humber clay. “All the ponds around here are as a result of digging out clay,” he said. “In its heyday this was the biggest area in the UK for tile making.”
Alongside his work for William Blyth, Gabriel co-runs the Gabriel Nichols Pottery with fellow potter and educator Tessa Oldroyd. Together, they offer a comprehensive educational programme, teaching everything from wheel-throwing to Raku firing.
Tessa, a qualified educator with a background in contemporary craft, has been instrumental in expanding the studio’s reach, helping students of all levels discover the “transformative joy” of working with clay. The Great Pottery Throw Down is due to air on Sunday, February 8 at 7.30pm on Channel 4.