| Genre: | Painting Reality |
| Presenter: | Richard Bacon (2015) Una Stubbs (2015) Richard Coles (2017–2018) Mariella Frostrup (2017–2019) |
| Judges: | Daphne Todd Lachlan Goudie David Dibosa (2017) |
| Theme Music Composer: | Theo Vidgen |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 4 |
| Num Episodes: | 22 |
| Executive Producer: | Colm Martin Claire Nosworthy Kat Lennox |
| Producer: | Nick Wilkinson Sarah Ager |
| Location: | Various |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Company: | BBC Studios |
| Network: | BBC One |
The Big Painting Challenge is a television programme first broadcast on BBC One on 22 February 2015. It is a contest in the style of The Great British Bake Off but with the craft of painting rather than baking.
Una Stubbs and Richard Bacon hosted this series, in which 10 amateur painters took on three specially designed challenges each week, using a wide range of mediums. Expert judges Daphne Todd and Lachlan Goudie decided who would be leaving each week.The ten contestants were:-
Jan SzymczukPaul Bell (Winner)Melvyn FlintAmy GoldringRichard Anthea LayAlison StaffordClaire ParkerAnne Blankson HemansHeather Harding
Mariella Frostrup and the Rev Richard Coles took over as hosts for series 2. Goudie and Todd were joined by David Dibosa to assess their efforts of the contestants and decide who was eliminated. Diana Ali and Pascal Anson also joined the programme as mentors to the painters.
Mariella Frostrup and Rev Richard Coles presented the third series, which began with 10 contestants. Each week, the finished art was displayed to members of the public, who voted for their favourite. Judges Goudie and Todd decided which contestant would be eliminated. In week 2, Fraser Scaarfe was a guest judge in Lachlan's absence.
| Elimination chart | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Painter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||
| Oliver | WINNER | ||||||||||
| Anil | |||||||||||
| Callum | |||||||||||
| Chris | |||||||||||
| Susan | OUT | ||||||||||
| Tilly | OUT | ||||||||||
| Jane | OUT | ||||||||||
| Ray | OUT | ||||||||||
| Bokani | OUT | ||||||||||
| Surjit | OUT | ||||||||||
Colour key:
Painter got through to the next round.
Painter was eliminated.
Painter was the Public Choice.
Painter was a series runner-up.
Painter was the series winner.
Six well known figures - Jane Seymour, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Phil Tufnell, George Shelley, Amber Le Bon and Josie d'Arby - took part in a celebrity version of the contest. Mariella Frostrup was presenter and judges Daphne Todd and Lachlan Goudie returned to critique and review the work. Diana Ali and Pascal Anson returned to mentor the celebrities.[1] Josie D'Arby was crowned the winner in the third episode.[2]
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 February 2015 | 29 March 2015 | 6 | |
| 2 | 12 February 2017 | 19 March 2017 | 6 | |
| 3 | 1 April 2018 | 6 May 2018 | 6 | |
| 4 | 4 April 2019 | 25 April 2019 | 4 |
Sam Woollaston of The Guardian described the first series as "nothing original" to other tried and tested formats, though it did set out to prove painters weren't all "white, upper-middle-class retirees in smocks and straw hats" and worked much better than other programmes because of its visual subject matter.
In April 2018 The Telegraph reviewer gave 3 out of 5 stars for Series 3.