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Sky HISTORY will crown Britain’s best craftsman this autumn in brand new UK series The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker.

Hosted by Lee Mack, Rick Edwards and master craftsman William Hardie, this carpentry contest sees 10 of the country’s finest joiners gather in Epping Forest to whittle, carve and chop their way to the final, to see who will be crowned ‘Britain’s Top Woodworker’. The winner will also have the chance to stage their own exhibition at the prestigious William Morris Gallery in London.

Master Carpenter William Hardie oversees the construction of a grand and spectacular cabin in the woods. Each standalone ‘room’ is based on a different historical theme, including a Victorian pub, Nelson’s cabin on HMS Victory, a Gothic bedroom, a Georgian hunting lodge, and a 1960s’ Mad Men-inspired lounge.
The contestants are challenged with group, skills and creative tasks to produce amazing items to furnish the rooms while expert guest judges with specialist knowledge of the different historical eras join the show each week to offer advice.
Lee Mack, Rick Edwards and William work with the guest judges to decide who progresses to the next round and who will get 'The Chop'. Lee Mack said: “When I was at school, I loved woodwork mainly because there was never any homework. Being surrounded by the amazing carpenters in this competition has reinvigorated that love and has inspired me to invest in my first shingle froe (Google it…).”
Rick Edwards added: “I came into this show knowing absolutely nothing about carpentry. The contestants and Will took me on a real journey. I learnt about techniques and styles of woodwork and, perhaps most importantly, I learnt things about myself - for example, I’m not good with my hands.  It’s great to be part of a show celebrating a trade that, in an era of disposable furniture, deserves more respect and appreciation. I’ll never look at a table the same way again.”
 
The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker premieres on Sky HISTORY on Thursday 15 October at 9pm. Sky HISTORY is available on Sky 123, Virgin 270/BT 327/TalkTalk 327. All episodes will be available on catch up services.
 
Programme information 

Episode One – Kings and Queens of the Wild Frontier – Thursday 15 October at 9pm

Week one’s historical era is the American Frontier, and the contestants are furnishing a homestead from this period. For the first group challenge the woodworkers are separated into two teams and are charged with each making a centrepiece table for the cabin.
For their skills task the woodworkers have two hours to make a rudimentary stool from a short section of tree and some basic tools. The creative challenge brings out the group’s inner cowboy and cowgirl with saddle racks, settles, benches, trunks and a child’s cradle among the offerings. When guest judge Robert Young arrives, he is very impressed, but which pieces will be chosen for the Frontier cabin?

Episode Two – Rolling out the Barrel – Thursday 22 October at 9pm

Week two sees a new addition to the cabin – a Victorian barrel-shaped pub. As Rick says: “once you’ve got a basic homestead, obviously the next thing you want is a boozer”.
This week’s theme is Victorian style and the group task is to make a bar for the oddly shaped cabin – a combination of cabinet-making and fine decoration. The creative task takes the gang into their own happy hour as they have to make additional pieces for the bar - with games, shelving, hat stands and mirrors taking shape in the workshop.
Guest judge Rowan Bain from the William Morris Museum arrives to cast her eye over the pieces and calls time on one of our woodworkers’ dreams of making it to the next round.

Episode Three – The Magic Treehouse – Thursday 29 October at 9pm

This week’s episode introduces a new extension to the cabin complex – a Gothic children’s treehouse – all pointed arch windows and dark materials, the kind of place that would give most children nightmares.
In the group task our teams are charged with creating the key feature of the room, a child’s bed. For the skills task the group take on their toughest challenge yet, to whittle a child’s toy from one block of wood.
Creatively, our woodworkers pull out all the stops, as an array of fantastical items for a children’s gothic bedroom come together in the workshop. From chess-sets to toy boxes to magic bookshelves and everything in between, the woodworkers let their imaginations run wild. But what will our guest judge, Gothic expert Michael Snodin, decide is good enough for the cabin, and who will be sent home?

Episode Four – All Aboard! – Thursday 5 November at 9pm

There’s nothing a wood buff likes more than to go back to the time of tall timber ships – when shipbuilding and woodworking ruled the waves. This week sees the addition of the Admiral’s Quarters to the cabin complex, harking back to the time of Nelson’s ships in the Napoleonic War.
The two groups have to create a cot bed that moves with the motion of the ocean to enable the admiral a good night’s sleep. The skills task isn’t plain sailing as our would-be sailors craft miniature boats from blocks of wood, and they’re tested for their sea worthiness by Admiral Hardie and Midshipman Edwards.
Back in the workshop, and the creative task sees the woodworkers creating individual items for the Admiral’s quarters, with secret compartments and side tables galore, and when it comes to judging, Will and the guest judge Brian Matthews make a choice that takes everyone by surprise.

Episode five – Mid-century vintage – Thursday 12 November at 9pm

Week five brings us to the time of Mad Men – the era of the 1950s and 60s. Sleek, minimal furniture, new techniques and space-age design are the order of the day as the woodworkers are employed to furnish the mid-century lounge that Will has built.
For the group task, our two teams have to create a sideboard to take pride of place in the lounge, whilst making a magazine rack is the skills task and the pressure is getting to the woodworkers as at least one rack falls apart before the judging. Finally, the mid-century era is brought to life with the creative task, which sees our woodworkers create some truly jaw dropping designs. From futuristic floor-lamps and floating coffee tables, beautifully crafted stools and ornaments, the competitors make a roomful of fabulous furniture, but which pieces will our guest judge Tom Raffield take through, and who will be shown the door?

Episode six – Georgian Pursuits – Thursday 19 November at 9pm

This week’s historical era takes us back to Georgian times – and a study in the woods. The first thing a study is going to need is a writing desk and for the group task our remaining woodworkers split into two teams to make the perfect Georgian desk. The skills challenge is to make a book stand in two hours and for their creative task the woodworkers really get into the Georgian mindset with gun racks and trophy wall-hangings.
When guest judge Georgian furniture expert Amy Boyington arrives, we find out whose pieces make it into the cabin, and who we will be bidding a fond farewell to.

Episode seven – Back to Nature – Thursday 26 November at 9pm

For the semi-final the show goes back to nature with no historical era but instead a sense of the beginnings of woodwork and a place to contemplate life – the hanging woven willow nest.
There are only two tasks this week – the first, which is an amalgamation of the group and skills task, is to make a ladder to provide access to the nest. For the creative challenge this week the woodworkers take their inspiration from nature and are freed from the constraints of a specific historical era.
Between them they create a picnic basket, a midnight feast container, a very upmarket bird box and a large wind chime. Which will guest judge and Eden Project designer Michael Pawlyn rate the best? Most importantly, who will go forward to the grand final?

Episode eight – The final: let’s go outside! – Thursday 3 December at 9pm

It’s the grand finale and we are down to our final three woodworkers. Their mission is to create important pieces for the exterior of the cabin complex.
Using environmentally friendly methods by using off-cuts and leftover wood from the first seven shows the finalists plan to make a curved bench, a rustic swing seat, and a firepit shelter with a hanging seat.
For a bit of light relief and for old times’ sake the woodworkers take a break to do their final skills task – they have to make a weathervane for the roof of one of the cabins.
Back at the final task and the woodworkers are seriously under pressure, unsure if they will finish in time. The pressure ratchets up even further when they get wind of this week’s guest judge – a giant of the industry known as the ‘godfather of contemporary furniture’, John Makepeace OBE.
John gets a chance to examine all the finalists’ work over the last eight weeks. What does he make of their talents? Which items will our expert judges deem worthy of a place alongside Will’s cabins, and who’s body of work will impress them enough to be crowned our series champion?

Episode nine – The Story of the Cabin – Thursday 10 December at 9pm

Lee Mack looks back over the series, and in particular, Will’s dearly beloved cabins.
This is the story of how those cabins came about, the furniture that filled them, the men and women who made that furniture, and how they fared in the competition. 114 items and pieces of furniture have been fashioned by our woodworkers over the series – all under a tight time pressure. It’s an impressive body of work and Lee gives us a tour of the best of them.
Not forgetting Lee’s own work of art that he’s been working on throughout the series – the chunk of his mother-in-law’s tree that’s been sitting outside his house for two years. Will and Rick were skeptical of Lee’s talents but were they underrating him?

Contestants

Name: Darren
From: Bristol
Occupation: Carpenter/Joiner
Background: Darren has been working in woodwork since he left school, he loves the variety that each day brings. Darren has two children and loves building them wooden items, his favourites include special beds and wardrobes he made for his children which included beautiful LED lights.

Name: Lua
From: London
Occupation: Designer/Maker
Background: Eight years ago, Lua packed in her secure job as a travel agent and began a degree in Furniture Design and has never looked back. Lua now teaches and loves to experiment with materials, works on bespoke furniture commissions and designs her own furniture.

Name: Sean
From: Sevenoaks
Occupation: Student
Background: Currently studying at Rycotewood Furniture Centre, Sean has been woodworking for nine years and is self-taught. He has built an impressive workshop in his parent’s garden and loves to film and upload woodworking videos to YouTube and has gained 22,000 subscribers. Having recently turned 20, Sean was the competition’s youngest contestant during filming at 19. Follow Sean on Instagram.

Name: Emma
From: London
Occupation: Designer/Maker
Background: Emma spontaneously enrolled in a Furniture Making course two years ago and is now a full-time designer and maker having left her old career behind. Emma’s furniture design and making business – Dead Mary’s – is dedicated to a spirited woman that she met in France who travelled the world collecting furniture, her spirit lives on in Emma’s work. Follow her on Instagram here.

Name: Glyn
From: Northamptonshire
Occupation: Professional Woodcarver
Background: Glyn has been a woodcarver since he was 12 years old, he’s only ever worked for himself and is now one of the most renowned carvers in the UK. Glyn has been commissioned for high profiles carvings and has designed chairs for MPs and created items for Westminster and the Lord Mayor of London. Follow Glyn on Instagram here.

Name: Brett
From: Bedford
Occupation: Master Craftsman
Background: Brett has worked for the last 27 years as a painting and decorating contractor and has a penchant for repairs. Brett is self-taught his multi-trade skills have earned him the nickname ‘The Finisher’.

Name: Saf
From: Bradford
Occupation: Builder/Joiner
Background: Saf studied Industrial Design at college and university before following in his father’s footsteps to become a joiner. He now specialises in bespoke staircases and furniture, owning and running two companies.

Name: Ollie
From: Lancashire
Occupation: Furniture Maker
Background: Ollie is a trained joiner and furniture maker as well as a self-taught wood turner. His diverse range of skills means that he can turn his hand to pretty much anything and loves to design and make items in the traditional way using sustainable materials. Follow Ollie on Instagram here. 

Name: Annie
From: Isle of Wight
Occupation: Woodworker
Background: Initially trained as a computer programmer, Annie now has nearly 30 years’ experience in woodworking. Annie trained at the Building Crafts College in London where she became a Freeman on the fine woodwork course. She has worked in New York and in London before moving to the Isle of Wight, where she has her own studio. Follow Annie on Instagram here.

Name: Jack
From: Surre
Occupation: Carpenter, joiner. cabinetmaker & furniture maker 
Background: Jack has 30 years of experience in a diverse range of fields and spent ten years at the top of the interior design world for top companies which included working for celebrities. For the last six years when he’s not being a Carer for his partner, he’s been woodworking and furniture making and hopes to develop his own style of products and launch his own brand and workshop soon. Follow Jack on Instagram here.