As one of the contestants on the Great Pottery Throw Down, James Douglass established himself as both a potter and a personality. Sarah Millington meets him

Potter James Douglass still can't believe he ended up on TV. The big, bearded Northerner who was voted off in the third episode of The Great Pottery Throw Down, a competition which will see the winner crowned Top Of The Pots, still finds the whole thing surreal. "I never thought I would do anything like this at all,” he says. “Look at me. I’m overweight and I’m hairy.”

Despite the pressure, he did enjoy it though. "It was fun, although getting used to having a camera thrown in your face in the middle of making did take some getting used to. I’ve talked whilst making before and answered questions, but this was another level."

Following the stellar success of its sister programme, The Great British Bake Off, produced by the same company, this second series of The Great Pottery Throw Down launched earlier this month. For some, for whom nothing can compete with Mary Berry and a Victoria sponge, it’s a poor relation; others, meanwhile, have compared its formula of mixing likeable characters and a traditional skill favourably with Bake Off’s similar winning blend.

James, 25, first learned of the programme through posters at The National Glass Centre in Sunderland, where he works part-time as a gallery learning facilitator while also studying for an MA in ceramics. He would never have thought to apply if he hadn’t been badgered into it.

“It was never anything I aspired to do, but other people persuaded me to do it,” says James, who lives in Newcastle. “I put my application in on the day of the deadline. I didn’t think anything of it. I got a call about two weeks later asking me for a telephone interview. Then I went down and did a camera interview, then I had a practical interview. You talk to the camera while you’re working because the main skill is to be able to make, but also explain as you’re doing it.”

Though fully aware that he was being assessed for his personality, as much as his pottery skills, this didn’t put James off. When he was chosen as one of the ten contestants, he was hugely flattered. “I think to be perfectly honest, I took more pride in the fact that they considered me a relatable character,” he says. “This job has set me up incredibly well for that because I talk to complete strangers every day of my life.”

Filming took place last August in Stoke-on-Trent, the home of pottery, and saw potters of different ages and walks of life demonstrating their skills under the watchful eyes of judges Kate Malone and Keith Brymer Jones, while being jollied along by host Sara Cox. The knowledge that their successes and failures would also be under the scrutiny of the viewing public made it an intense experience. “If you imagine, the programme is 55 minutes long and takes three days of filming and it’s probably about 17 or 18 hours of filming each day,” says James. “Ninety-nine per cent of what you do will never ever go on TV.”

Added to the pressure was the fact that contestants had no editorial control – meaning the footage could have been used in ways they weren’t happy with. James says that, thankfully, this didn’t happen. “I was a little bit nervous when I first watched it,” he admits. “The first I saw of the finished article was when it was on air. We finished filming in August and I hadn’t seen this till two weeks ago so being in limbo for that long wasn’t easy.

“I watched the first programme with my girlfriend and when it finished she said, ‘It’s exactly how you are with me every day’ and that was the biggest weight off my shoulders I’ve ever had. The fact that my friends and family and colleagues and everyone else has said, ‘That’s exactly how you are’ is the biggest sense of achievement for me.”

James loves making for family and friends. "I love the fact that if someone needs a new plate or bowl, I can whip a few up for them," he says. "I love to be able to make something handmade and unique and the objects are cherished highly as a result."

While you might assume that anyone entering a TV competition must be in it for self-promotion, James says this wasn’t his main objective – nor, he believes, was it anyone else’s on the show. “It didn’t matter if I came last, as long as I’ve been myself and shown that there’s a nice hub of artistry in this part of the country,” he says. “I think for me, that’s what I wanted to show more than anything.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to promote myself a little bit, but for me it was never about winning the show. Getting on the show was a win for me because of the fact that I was the only contestant from the North. You’re all in the same situation. If I’m feeling nervous, I can guarantee the other nine are the same. It’s like a team coming together at the start of a season – you’re all individuals but you soon realise that the bigger picture is promoting ceramics, in the same way that Bake Off has promoted baking.

“There were never any squabbles. There was no drama. It was like being in a school group and it was assessment day and the judges were the teachers or the headmaster and Sara Cox was like the cool teacher who’s laidback. Afterwards you go to the pub and have a pint with everyone. It felt like a team. There was a lot of camaraderie. TV is a great leveller in terms of age and experience.”

Now that he’s dipped his toe in the water, James would certainly consider doing something else on screen. At the moment, he’s weighing up his options. “My contract at The National Glass Centre runs out in August but I’ve got my Masters until October so I’ll be in the building till then,” he says. “Then I’ve got to decide what I’m going to do from there. I’ve always wanted to go into teaching.

“I’ve never seen myself as an artist – I’m a maker. If a design house came to me and said, ‘James, we love that. Make us 10,000 of those', that would just be pie-in-the-sky stuff. I think I’ve got quite a level head on me for my age, but something could come round the corner that I never even thought I could do.”

In the meantime, he intends to enjoy fame while it lasts – even if it does mean getting a bit embarrassed when he’s asked for his autograph. He feels the Throw Down journey was entirely positive. “It was been a fantastic experience,” says James. “It’s given me more confidence in what I do – it’s been that reassuring hand on the shoulder saying, ‘Stick to it, you’re doing all right.’ I would recommend it.”

  • The Great Pottery Throw Down is on BBC2 on Thursdays at 8pm