THE Great Pottery Thrown Down viewers were left in tears after a contestant revealed the heartbreaking meaning behind a design on her tea set.
A new season of the Channel 4 programme saw 12 of Britain’s best home potters get set to compete in order to be crowned the best at the wheel.
The first two challenges involved creating a children’s crockery set and ceramic milk bottles – and things soon took an emotional turn.
When Christine Cherry presented her children’s crockery set to the judges, Rich Miller immediately noticed how she had painted a fairy with brown skin.
In a tear-jerking moment, Rich soon emphasised how significant that decision was for representation.
He said: “I massively respect the fact that you’ve chosen to give the fairies brown skin, you know,” as Christine affirmed: “She had to have brown skin.”
The judge then recalled how, when he was growing up in the ’80s, he “never saw reflected back at me in broader society images that reflected what I was seeing in the mirror”.
Becoming emotional, the judge continued: “I’ve got a small daughter now and actually I’m gonna cry.”
Christine also became tearful, stating: “I just never saw anything like her in any of the books and it was important.”
Fellow judge Keith Brymer Jones also became choked up as he praised Christine for her work, telling her that her design is “inspirational”.
He added: “What’s wonderful about it is that it’s that attention to detail of yourself that you’ve brought it through to the design.”
Viewers expressed their admiration for the heartfelt moment and the beauty of Christine’s work.
Alongside a sad-faced emoji, one person tweeted: “Christine’s design has set me off. I’m crying. All over the place.”
Someone else said: “This isn’t just pottery. Every child deserves to see themselves as a fairy. Just beautiful.”
The Great Pottery Throw Down returns on Sunday at 7.45pm on Channel 4 and is available to watch on All 4.
