Andrea Cleary: Great Pottery Throwdown is the type of reality TV that can restore our faith in humanity

The Channel 4 show hits those rarest of notes in contemporary TV entertainment: authenticity, joy in creativity and kindness

Rose Schmits, Keith Brymer Jones and Richard Miller of The Great Pottery Throwdown on Channel 4

Sometimes what you need is a good cry. On Sunday nights for the past ten weeks, I’ve taken to the couch with a mug of tea and a blanket and settled in for my weekly weep. It’s not a heart-wrenching drama or a Hollywood tearjerker that sets me off, but 12 pottery enthusiasts trying their best to produce beautiful works of ceramic art.

The Great Pottery Throwdown is Channel 4’s most wholesome show; which is ...