Patrick Grant is a regular fixture on our screens each week thanks to his judging role on the new series of The Great British Sewing Bee.
While he's known for his illustrious career in fashion design, did you know that the TV star made his acting debut in a major TV drama? Keep reading to find out more…
Back in 2022, Patrick made a cameo in the Sky docudrama, This England, which starred Kenneth Branagh as former prime minister Boris Johnson and depicted the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Patrick played himself in episode four and episode six of the series and filmed the scenes from his factory in Blackburn, where his clothing manufacturer Cookson & Clegg is based.
© Sky/NOWTVHe first appears after an actor playing one of Boris Johnson's team members explains that the government had received around 15,000 applications from British manufacturers to supply PPE.
In the next shot, Patrick is shown talking on the phone while walking on the factory floor. He says: "Hi, it's Patrick at Cookson and Clegg. We registered our details with you on the website at least two weeks ago and we've heard nothing."
© Sky/NowTVPatrick later reappears in episode six, where he is seen speaking to one of the government staff members over video link from his factory. "We put our details in the system over a month ago now, and we've heard nothing from you," he says.
The government employee replies: "Currently gowns are our priority. How many of those can you make per week?" to which Patrick responds: "Probably about 10,000."
© ProductionThe conversation continues with the employee telling the fashion designer: "I'm afraid we're only dealing with manufacturers who can make at least 30,000 per week."
Patrick says: "There are only three maybe four factories in the UK that are that kind of size."
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Patrick's cameo in the show is inspired by true events as the 51-year-old did in fact manufacture PPE during the pandemic using one of his businesses, Community Clothing, which is made at the Cookson & Clegg's factory.
© Guy LevyHe also launched The Big Community Sew, which encouraged members of the public with sewing machines to make face coverings for themselves and their neighbours. Talking about the project in an interview with John Lewis, he said: "We pulled the whole thing together in under a week. I went on The One Show and about 150,000 people tried to get on the website within the first hour. It crashed! But after that, the whole thing just took off."
Patrick began his career in fashion design after graduating from the Saïd Business School at Oxford University when he purchased the bespoke tailor Norton & Sons.
© ProductionThrough Norton & Sons, he also obtained the rights to two further businesses, E Tautz and Hammond & Co., and went on to relaunch E Tautz in 2009 as a ready-to-wear brand.
