Grandma Ann aged 81 wins Great British Sewing Bee

Eighty-one year old Ann has won The Great British Sewing Bee.

The grandma of seven beat 48-year-old Sandra and 27-year-old Lauren to claim the golden mannequin gong.

Speaking to judge Patrick Grant after being given the award, Ann said: “It’s a real relief to think all of these years I’ve been doing something right. For heaven’s sake Patrick I’m 81! This is absolutely magical.”

Judges Patrick and May said they chose Ann because of her exquisite finishes and beautiful tailoring.

The housewife from Birmingham, who has sewn almost every day for the past 75 years, shone in the final where she produced a “perfectly” symmetrical men’s shirt, a confidently hand-stitched decorated bag and a “beautiful” ball gown, for which the contestants chose their own fabric and patterns.

Ann’s gung-ho approach to sewing looked to throw contestant Lauren off-track at times during the final. The Scottish project manager said: “It would have been great to win and obviously you feel a bit of disappointment but she is awesome. She deserves to win.”

The BBC Two series, a spin-off of its sister programme The Great British Bake-Off, has had consistent ratings of around 2.5 million viewers each week. However, the series has also been criticised for its short four episode run, with some commentators calling it “the ultimate in twee”.

At the end of the final it was revealed that since The Great British Sewing Bee Sandra has gone on to produce items under her own label, Lauren is opening her own haberdashery shop and Ann is “venturing into new territory and has just made a quilt for the first time.”

Fans will also be pleased to know that Stuart now has his own column in a patchwork quilting magazine.