We’re rivals in the final but we have a really tight bond
BY NICOLA METHVEN
SEWING Bee finalist Matt Gage plans to give up his job as a broadcast engineer after reaching the final of the TV stitching contest.
Tonight, viewers will see how he fares in the final against jewellery designer Nicole Akong, from London, and hospital doctor Clare Bradley, from Winchester.
Matt, 43, started sewing when he decided to throw a drag party three years ago and make his own dress.
Having survived to the final of the BBC show, he now hopes to ditch his job – in which he monitors 45 TV channels broadcasting around the world – and instead create outfits for a living.
He said: “I would love to give up my day job and sew as a career, perhaps creating costumes for theatre, TV or film. I’ve finally found my passion and I would love to be doing it full-time.”
Clare, who has been working fulltime during the pandemic, said she nearly didn’t make it through the first week of the competition.
She said: “My worst moment has to be getting only three-and-a-half hours sleep the night before filming the first episode, and feeling completely deranged as a result.”
The 38-year-old was also unable to comply with the show’s plea for secrecy over taking part – because she needed to get her NHS shifts covered. She added: “I wasn’t able to keep it much of a secret that I was going on the show, because I had to recruit half our department to help me out with work swaps and cover. They’ve all been pretty good about keeping quiet though.”
The contestants this year have formed an extremely tight bond.
Nicole, 42, grew up in Trinidad where her mother taught her to sew as a teenager, so she could make her own outfits.
She said: “I think it’s fair to say that we will be friends for life. The experience of going through all those challenges in the sewing room together has cemented us in a way that only that type of shared experience can.”
Clare agreed, adding: “I think we’re a bit like one of those gangs of oddball superheroes, who all have some mysterious talent that comes in handy in a tight spot. We got on tremendously well.” ● Sewing Bee, BBC1, tonight 9pm.