The Great British Sewing Bee 2023 winner announced
The Great British Sewing Bee has crowned its winner for 2023.
The finale of the BBC competition show saw some tense moments in the workroom as our final three - Asmaa, Mia and Tony R - shed tears of happiness and frustration as they were hit by a number of sewing struggles.
The top three were pitted against each other for one last time in three tough challenges, the first of which saw them tasked with making a Victoriana-style evening dress, with Mia coming out on top, followed by Asmaa and Tony in last place.
In the second challenge, the trio had to transform female party wear into a male red carpet outfit, with Asmaa's dress capturing the judge's hearts. Finally, the finalists had to create a multipurpose two-in-one dress fit for the Met Gala for their models, who this week were friends and family members of the contestants leading to some emotional moments.
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As the deadline approached, things got tense in the workroom with Mia left "gutted" as she accidentally sewed half of her dress backwards and did not have time to fully fix it. After the judges gave their critiques there was only one thing left to do - decide who would take home this year's coveted gold mannequin.
Ultimately, it was Asmaa who walked away with the top title after her final garment was highly praised by the judges, including being dubbed a "feat of genius" by fashion designer Patrick Grant.
On her win, Asmaa compared the achievement to the high of receiving her medical degree, saying: "Thank you. I can't really put into words how I am feeling. This is not real, this can't be me, it feels amazing. Amongst everything I have done in the last 45 years of my life – this has to top it all – not the medical degree, not anything else, this is it."
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She went on to pay a touching tribute to her family and how sewing has brought "balance" to her life: "My grandmother was a seamstress who taught my mother, who then taught me. I think this confirms it is in the blood.
"The only thing that has really kept me going and kept me balanced in life and especially in the last few years has been sewing – it's my escape and my way to forget about all the troubles in the world and at work – and I don't think I will ever stop."
All nine series of The Great British Sewing Bee are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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