The Great British Sewing Bee star Esme Young's love life: Is she married?

Esme Young is back on our screens for the new series of The Great British Sewing Bee, which sees amateur sewers compete to impress the fashion designer and her fellow judge, Patrick Grant, in a bid to be crowned Britain's most sensational seamster.

While fans of the show have loved watching Esme on their screens since she joined in season four, how much do you know about her life away from the cameras? Here's all we know…

Who is Esme Young?

Esme is a fashion designer and television presenter, who joined the reality programme in 2016. 

© James Stack

In the 1970s, Esme, along with fellow fashion designers Judy Dewsbury, Melanie Herberfield, and Willie Walters, founded a shop in Camden Town called Swanky Modes. 

The label quickly rose to prominence thanks to superstars Grace Jones and Cher favouring their designs, with their clothes appearing in magazines and newspapers such as Vogue, Nova, Honey, The Sunday Times and the V&A Little Black Dress Book. Their designs have also been photographed by renowned photographers, including Helmut Newton, David Bailey, Nick Knight, John Swannell, Neil Kirk.

Esme, 74, has made costumes for various Hollywood films, including The Beach, Bridget Jones' Diary, Romeo & Juliet and Trainspotting.

In an interview with RTE, she revealed that Renee Zellweger's iconic Tarts and Vicars party bunny costume was one of her creations.

"Renee wanted the bunny outfit to be tighter because her character wasn't skinny," she said, explaining her thought process behind the outfit. "She really wanted a cleavage, so the costume pushed her breasts up. She could hardly sit down in it because it was so tight."

Is she married? 

Esme likes to keep her home life out of the spotlight, and so it is not known whether she is married or has any children. However, speaking to the Herald she implied that she hadn't married or had children, although she did admit to boyfriends in the past. "I've never felt broody," she said. "I mean I like children and in a way their [her siblings] children were my children too. I never felt an urge to get married."

The presenter does have a big family, however, and is the second of five children. She was born in Bedford to parents Brian Pashley Young and Patricia Josephine Cole. Her father was a career officer in the RAF, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1944, a Commander of the same order in 1960, and a Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1972. Her mother was a secretary who worked as a nurse during the Second World War.

© Production

Esme resides in London and has lived in social housing since 1983 – in a one-bedroom flat in Islington, north London, which is rented from the charitable housing trust Peabody. Speaking about her home to The Telegraph, she said: "It is rent controlled and I have tenure for the rest of my life. I also own a beach hut on the north Kent coast which I bought for £500 many years ago."

When asked if she has any plans to retire, she said: "I'll have to keep working until I drop because I don't have a private pension. I think my family would help out if I got into real financial difficulties."