Great British Sewing Bee: Meet BAFTA award-winning contestant from Worthing

The BBC One show sees amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer. The programme is is back for a ninth series, starting next Wednesday (May 24) at 9pm.

Sara Pascoe – who replaced Joe Lycett as host last year – returns alongside familiar judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young.

Taking part in the series is Catherine Woolley, 34, who is a senior games designer living in Worthing. She was named among the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ (BAFTA) Breakthrough Brits in 2015.

She has also served as a juror for the Games Awards and attended BAFTA Young Game Designers events – seeking to inspire the next generation of developers.

Catherine told the BBC: “I feel like I wanted to prove to myself that I can try a scary thing. Usually it’s the things we don’t try that we regret, so I thought I’d go for it. Perhaps allow some to see that people from all backgrounds or looks can be into sewing and to not judge a book by its cover.”

When Catherine bought her first home, she invested in a sewing machine and ‘has been sewing ever since’. In an effort to dress sustainably she repurposes day dresses into underwear or other garments.

She has a unique style which has included making Edwardian-influenced outfits and accessories.

“We didn’t have a sewing machine, that I knew of, growing up, but we got to use them in secondary school for a very small amount of time in textiles,” Catherine said. “After that I then didn’t do any sewing machine sewing until maybe 2016 or 2017.

"I picked up crochet as a hobby when I started working in the games industry and really enjoyed making presents for family members however it got to a

point where my nieces were growing older and large crochet projects took so long, so I decided to see if I could add sewing to my crafts to allow me to make more things for family and friends and myself.

"I love it as a distraction really, it’s great for your mind to get into a project, and then have something cool at the end of it, and know that you made it.”

After graduating from the University of Wales in Newport – where she achieved first class honours for a bachelors in Games Design – Catherine worked at EA Bright Light, creating a series of interactive books for the Nintendo DS. She later worked on the final two titles in the Harry Potter game series.

Catherine – who has previously been named in MCV magazine’s ‘Top 100 Women in Games’ initiative – moved to Creative Assembly in 2011 where she worked on Alien: Isolation on the studio's console team.

Motorcyclist Catherine also loves to bake and she keeps fit with pole fitness which she’s been practicing for more than eight years. She qualified as an instructor last year and now teaches in her local gym.

She will be among 12 sewers trying to impress the judges. The BBC website preview for episode states that the judges will ‘want to see how the newbies deal with Classics with a Twist'.

For their first pattern challenge, the sewers will make a top with a twist at its centre, which is a ‘straightforward construction with a tricky brain-teaser’.

The synopsis read: “For the 90-minute transformation challenge, they take the office uniform – a pencil skirt and blouse – and give it their own personal twist to reflect their style.

“Finally, in the made to measure round, the sewers meet their models for the first time and attempt to perfectly fit a dress that has cut-out details. Who will impress the judges and win garment of the week, and whose hopes of staying in the competition won’t last beyond week one?”

The ten-part series will be available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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