‘I was just being me’: Emma Morwood on Sewing Bee, dopamine dressing and her summer in the spotlight

Emma Morwood has had a whirlwind week.

Last Tuesday, the Midlothian mum joined over a hundred friends, family and fans in Rosslyn Bowling Club as they watched her take on two fellow amateur sewers in the final of The Great British Sewing Bee.

Though she narrowly missed out on the crown, the Belfast born 45-year-old’s vibrant, infectious spirit which shone throughout the ten week series has put her in high demand since the contest concluded.

In the last seven days she’s been a guest on the Irish celebrity chat programme The Six O'Clock Show and even bagged herself a regular slot on Grant Stott’s radio show, dissecting the show-stopping costumes appearing each week on Strictly Come Dancing.

“It’s taken me double the length of time to walk anywhere,” she said. “I was in the toilets at Edinburgh Airport the other day and a woman was like ‘Oh my God, it’s you!’ and asked for a photograph. I said, ‘Can I wash my hands first?”

“It’s just funny. People have been so lovely.”

Emma makes all her own clothes, using bright colours and patterns to show her personality | BBC/Love Productions/Neil Sherwood

The multi-talented mum, who has an impressive career as a professional opera singer, is hard to miss with her colourful hand-crafted outfits - a signature style she calls “dopamine dressing” which fans of the show adored.

Her bright and bold designs were a triumph in the sewing room, a multi-coloured swimsuit and trouser set winning her garment of the week in the first round of the contest.

But she admits her daring colour combinations did occasionally clash with the personal tastes of judge and former Savile Row tailor Patrick Grant.

“He’s very knowledgeable and knows what he likes, which is navy and brown,” she said. “And, as you know, that’s not my colour balance at all. I think he did despair a little about my colour choices.

“My daughter, whose middle name is Violet, sent him a card before the semi-final saying how dare he not like the colour purple, because she loves it.

“Then when they met at the final they had a big conversation about purple. He was really sweet.”

As a critically acclaimed opera singer, Emma has performed with leading orchestras and conductors across Europe, and has starred in various operas including productions of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Strauss' Capriccio and Mozart's Cosí fan tutte | Supplied

While Emma has always loved the show, she almost didn’t apply, thinking she wasn’t good enough having only been making clothes for just over three years.

“I hadn’t sewn much before that other than making face coverings during the pandemic,” she said. “Eventually I just thought I’ve got nothing to lose.”

“I actually applied on the day applications closed. The day after I was told I was going to be on the show and got the first briefs for the made-to-measure tasks, my family and I went on a two week camping trip around Scotland with no internet access.

“I had to use cafes in Glen Coe and Mull to reply to the briefs because they were the only places with internet. It was all quite stressful.”

Emma told almost no one she had applied to the show and had a WhatsApp chat of seven people - the “inner sewcle” - who knew she was filming. The whole time she was in Leeds her mum thought she was rehearsing for an opera.

She recalls being “terrified” to watch the show back, wondering whether people would find her bubbly personality and bold style “too much”. But she was quickly reassured after the first episode.

“These shows are never trying to get the worst out of you,” she said. “They want to show true representations of people.”

She revelled in being part of a production where she could just be herself - unlike her professional life where she is “always playing a role or telling someone else’s story”.

“I've had some lovely messages saying how empowered they feel by the colours that I've worn, and people asking where I get my energy from.

“I was just being me and that is quite an empowering thing to do.”

Emma said she has grown in confidence and resilience as a result of the show - as well as unlocked a new level of multi-tasking | BBC/Love Productions Ltd

During the show, she realised she loved the feeling of being in front of a camera, and is curious to try presenting on TV or radio if any opportunities for her arise.

Despite experiencing the less glamorous, behind-the-scenes reality of the programme, Emma is as big a fan as ever. “The magic hasn't been lost on me, which is really great,” she said.

“They say don't meet your heroes. I feel like I met a whole TV show that was full of my heroes, and I still love it.”