Patrick Grant is back on our screens this festive period in The Great British Sewing Bee's Celebrity Christmas Special, which sees new host Sophie Willan welcome Strictly judge Anton Du Beke, comedian Lucy Beaumont, actress Susan Wokoma and Tom Wilson, aka Gladiator star Hammer, to the sewing room.
The famous faces will face a trio of sewing challenges, including creating clothing inspired by their favourite festive treat, designing a pattern for a festive present sack and turning second-hand party wear into an outfit inspired by the words of The Twelve Days of Christmas.
Patrick will, of course, be joined by fellow judge Esme Young to keep a close eye on the celebrities before deciding which of them will walk away victorious.
Patrick, 53, is a familiar face on our screens thanks to the hit BBC programme, on which he has served as a judge since 2013. But how much do you know about his life away from the cameras?
Home
Patrick lives in North Yorkshire, having moved to the north from London in March 2020 to be closer to his factory in Blackburn. Speaking about his relocation in an interview with John Lewis at the time, Patrick said: "I came up here with one bag. I spent two months in a friend-of-a-friend's granny annex on a farm, where the newly-retired owner would make my tea every night and do my shopping. I recently went back to London to sort out my house, let the removal company in and now I'm settled in a proper rental."
© ProductionDescribing his home in an interview with Portfolio, Patrick said: "I have a house in the country – it might be stretching it to call it a country house – in North Yorkshire, about a mile from the village of Austwick. It’s in the middle of glorious pastureland, on the boundary between the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Forest of Bowland National Landscape in Lancashire."
Businesses and interests
When he's not busy sharing his words of wisdom with contestants on the BBC show, Patrick works in the fashion world and is the director of bespoke tailors such as Norton & Sons of Savile Row and E. Tautz & Sons. In 2016, the award-winning designer launched Community Clothing, a social enterprise that makes affordable ethical clothing and supports UK textile jobs.
© Guy LevyHe also has a collection with House of Fraser, which launched in March 2023, and a book about sustainable fashion, Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish — How Having Fewer, Better Things Can Make Us Happier.
Away from work, Patrick is a keen cyclist and often shares snaps on social media from his riding trips to idyllic parts of the country, including the Forest of Bowland in North Yorkshire and Knott End-on-Sea. The designer clearly likes to travel around the UK and has shared snaps of various stunning locations, from the Lake District and Cornwall to Fife and Glasgow.
Patrick likes to make use of his natural surroundings through foraging. In an Instagram post from August 2022, the presenter spent a summer's day picking plums and making a batch of jam. Alongside a carousel of photos which showed a basket of plums and a series of jam jars filled with delicious looking preserve, he wrote in the caption: "Rejoice. It's free food from trees and hedges season."
© Patrick GrantRelationships
Patrick likes to keep his romantic life out of the spotlight after his ex-girlfriend was subjected to online stalking. Speaking to the Times about his relationship with Katie, the star explained: "My last girlfriend was so badly stalked online while we were together. I'm loath to put someone else through that ordeal."
© GettyHowever, during an interview with The Times in 2023, Patrick did reveal that he was in a relationship with a London dentist whom he met at a friend's dinner party the year before.
