Sewing Bee Esme Young: Everything to know about the show's judge

The Great British Sewing Bee is a firm favourite at Prima and we love to watch talented contestants battle it out to be crowned Britain's Best Amateur Sewer.

Judges Esme Young and the perennially dapper Patrick Grant are on hand to share their expertise and critiques, while actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe has recently stepped in to take over as presenter.

Esme welcomed Kiell into the Sewing Bee family last October, sharing a selfie of herself Patrick and Kiell on Instagram along with the caption: "Here is the new family. Kiell Smith-Bynoe our new dad."

We've learned lots of fascinating facts about designer of the years, most recently last year that she is a fond collector of skulls – the animal kind, of course – after telling intrigued contestant Tony R: "I collect skulls. I've got a bull's head, a sheep's head, a goat's head..."

Series 9 also saw consultant surgeon Asmaa, who specialises in making underwear and has created post-op bras for her breast cancer patients, winning the show's prestigious golden mannequin. Roll on series 10 to see who will be succeeding Asmaa in 2024.

In the meantime, here's everything else we know about Esme...

Esme, 75, is celebrated for inimitable style, including those show-stopping necklaces, and her uncanny ability to spot a wonky seam.

The designer has enjoyed an illustrious career in the fashion industry since graduating from Central St Martins as a teen, developing a passion for sewing at the tender age of seven. Esme was sent to a convent boarding school from the age of five.

Esme went on to launch her fashion label Swanky Modes, a designer collective with three of her female friends Judy Dewsbery, Melanie Langer and Jeanette Beckham in Camden Town in the '70s. Esme used to frequent the French House and the Coach and Horses in Soho and the Colony Rooms where Francis Bacon used to go.

Their designs appeared in the pages of Vogue and were photographed by iconic photographers David Bailey and Helmut Newton.

In series 8 of Sewing Bee, the contestants were tasked with recreating Swanky Modes' iconic Amorphous dress, which was showcased on the silver screen in the 1980s, and is currently at the V&A.

It was also one of the world's first Lycra dresses – no mean feat considering Lycra is notoriously hard to sew.

Esme recently shared a throwback picture of herself wearing the iconic twist dress from Swanky Modes on Instagram. "Me in Sissinghurst [castle garden in Kent] wearing the twist dress from Swanky Modes and the rucksack," she captioned the photo.

Last year, the TV star delighted fans by sharing an incredible throwback photo of herself in the '70s wearing a pink dress, a pair of gold sparkly tights, metallic heels and pink socks.

In the '90s, she moved into designing costumes, creating Renee Zellweger's iconic bunny outfit in Bridget Jones, and dressing Leonardo DiCaprio and his co-stars in Romeo + Juliet.

She also created Dale Winton's pink lurex suit and his assistant’s dress in Trainspotting, Juliette Binoche clothes in Breaking and Entering and Carey Mulligan and Charlotte Rampling's clothes in Never Let Me Go.

Esme discussed making the iconic Hawaiian shirts for DiCaprio and co-stars John Leguizamo and Harold Perrineau in Baz Lurhmann's masterpiece during last year's series.

The contestants had been tasked with making a co-ord two-piece trouser and top set, as inspired by Esme's tropical silver screen designs.

Esme joined BBC's Sewing Bee in series 4, following the departure of original judge May Martin in 2015. May was part of the judging panel since the show's inception in 2013, along with Patrick Grant, who remains on the show, and has great chemistry Esme.

Esme recently revealed that she and fellow judge Patrick have to keep themselves slightly separated from the contestants during filming, and that they don't have a say in the casting as they could get unintentionally swayed by favouritism.

"I’ll sit down to eat with anyone on Sewing Bee, but we do keep a bit of separation from the contestants," she told The Guardian. "I sometimes get asked if we choose the contestants, but we can’t: otherwise, we could get biased because of their personalities. But at the end, we have a party and they all come to that."

Esme also shared her green room rider for the show, adding: "When I started on The Great British Sewing Bee, I was asked if I wanted any particular foods for the green room. And I just went: 'Oh, I like Mini Cheddars.' So they gave me Mini Cheddars – and they still do. But all that stuff about 'what do you want?' I don't care!

"I don’t make demands at all. Without that lot – the crew, the producers – there wouldn’t be Sewing Bee. I really feel it's a gang; we're all friends. And that's what's important."

Meanwhile, the designer has lamented the lack of haberdashery markets that were everywhere when she was a young designer, which she says have all been replaced with food markets. However, Esme remains optimistic that it could revert back again as people become more conscious about where their clothes come from and show interest in mending their own garments.

"All the markets are food markets now. I used to go to Soho every week to buy embroidery threads and jewellery, but it’s not there any more," she said. "At Saint Martin’s and [Young’s shop] Swanky Modes, we used to go to Spitalfields to buy haberdashery and that’s all gone, too. Food is the fashion now, but I’m sure it will change."

In 2022, Esme released her memoir, Behind the Seams: My Life in Creativity, Friendship and Adventure.

Speaking about her biography, Esme said in a statement: "Telling the story of my life has been an exciting but terrifying experience – making the bunny outfit for Renée Zellweger and later becoming a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee in my late 60s were both much easier. Who knows what’s round the corner? Many thanks to United Agents, Bonnier Books and the Sewing Bee for their support, without them this wouldn’t have happened."

Along with judging duties on Sewing Bee, Esme also continues to teach at Central Saint Martins.

Esme recently told Prima: "I tutor a lingerie course at Central Saint Martins and I have an amazing collection of underwear dating from Victorian times to modern day. I also loved making my niece's wedding dress."

After sharing that her favourite garment to make herself is a petticoat, Esme added: "I make about 50% of my own clothes and then I also buy vintage, and go to charity shops. I would never buy anything online because you can’t feel the cloth."

The Great British Sewing Bee airs on BBC One.

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