Artist Roxana Halls is known for challenging how art depicts women. She has been given the task of depicting not one, but two sitters as she explores the unbreakable bond between Georgia and Melissa, twins who survived a near-fatal crocodile attack whilst swimming in a lagoon in Mexico. This traumatic event has left its scars and changed their perception of body image, family and their own inner strength.
Celebrated international photographer Christy Lee Rogers helps Cee Cee, a model with albinism, on her journey from self-proclaimed "ugly duckling" to elegant swan, as she shares her struggles with how she is perceived by the outside world and her own self-belief. Christy helps Cee Cee to love herself as she is and find the natural beauty she hid for so many years in a breath-taking underwater photoshoot.
Dale Grimshaw, famed for creating street murals with a Fine Art approach, builds a special bond with Patrick, a personal trainer from South London. Patrick was photographed carrying an injured English Defence League member to safety during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2020 and was propelled into the media spotlight both here and around the world. This powerful image and act of kindness was hailed as a symbol of unity and humanity. Armed with spray cans and oil paint, Dale learns more about the man behind the headlines and aims to use his unique skill and vision to create a portrait that captures the real Patrick.
Kelvin Okafor, a hyperreal artist who specialises in pencil portraits, meets and draws Catrin Pugh, a survivor of a bus crash that left her with burns across 96 per cent of her body. Kelvin goes to Wales to talk to Catrin's family about how they supported her during her physical and mental recovery. Kelvin describes Catrin as the phoenix who rose from the ashes. After 650 hours of work, is Catrin prepared to see every detail of herself through his eyes?
Thomas Croft, the artist behind Portraits For NHS Heroes, meets Mark, a former Royal Marine who survived an explosion during a foot patrol in Afghanistan in 2007. The injuries Mark sustained resulted in a triple amputation - he lost both legs and his right arm. Despite this traumatic experience Mark has become an inspiration. He is a charitable fundraiser, mentor and a role model to other amputees, and is an ambassador for the Royal Marines Association. Thomas is renowned for his ability to tap into the emotions of his subjects, and together, Thomas and Mark explore how we perceive bravery, masculinity, and family.
Portrait artist Caroline Pool paints Alec Burrough, an 88 year-old dairy farmer from Devon who refuses to slow down. Despite having worked on the farm for 70 years, Alec continues to get up at dawn to care for his cows and ride his tractor, working alongside three generations of family. Caroline is known for creating allegorical portraits that capture the character and personality of her sitters; she believes it's more important to capture someone's individuality over an accurate face.
In this unlikely match, painter Stuart Pearson Wright is challenged to capture charity fundraiser Harriet Middleton's joy and love for her Shetlander heritage. Cancer survivor Harriet volunteered her knitting skills to help raise over £100,000 to buy the island's only hospital an MRI scanner. Now she is paired with an artist who has been called one of the most gifted portrait artists of his generation. Stuart is well known for his figurative paintings and irreverent, sometimes humorous tone.
Charlotte Banfield has cerebral palsy and autism. Bullied at school and once afraid to leave the house, she is now an adaptive surfer. Her match is Bella Kotak, a fine-art, fashion and portrait photographer who is inspired by fairy tales and nature. Can Bella transform this shy surf champion who was once afraid of water into the main character of her own fairy tale?
This week, experimental artist Lo Lo celebrates the bravery of Jahmal Howlett-Mundle coming out as a bisexual footballer. Jahmal's story hit the headlines when phone footage of him coming out to his teammates went viral. Once crippled with anxiety, the semi-professional footballer and teacher found solace in sharing his truth - and who better to transform this into a work of art than Lo Lo, a non-binary painter, sculptor and filmmaker.
Karenjeet Kaur Bains is a record-breaking British powerlifter and Team GB's first female Sikh Champion. Amar Stewart is a British artist based in North Carolina's vibrant art scene. Famed for his paintings of hip hop stars depicted as royalty, Amar is self-taught and doesn't play by the rules, and this masterpiece will be no different. In his exploration into the woman behind the powerlifter, Amar meets her mother, who was denied the same athletic opportunities, and her father/trainer, who is proud that his daughter is smashing stereotypes as well as records.
In this Scottish link up, contemporary portrait painter Ross Muir depicts the strength and hope he sees in Jamie Dalgoutte, a young man who went through the care system and is now helping to build a future for himself and others. Jamie was in care with 14 different families before the age of six, and he now devotes his time to promoting positive change in the system by working with people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Award-winning painter Laura Quinn Harris is famous for the amount of detail she puts into her works. Laura started life in academia before finding her creative side, something that links her to her sitter - inspirational rapping teacher Christian, who went viral when 50 Cent shared a clip of him performing in front of a class. Laura's meticulous portraits take hundreds of hours to complete, but before she can begin she needs to see Christian in action, taking his blend of accessible teaching and mental health awareness into the classrooms. She wants to portray Christian's many sides in a single painting - but will her love for visual pattern and his love for rhyme pattern create the perfect recipe for a powerful portrait?
Bill Bailey matches extraordinary NHS workers with some of the UK’s best artists. In this episode, Martin is taken on by Nick. Inner-city trauma surgeon Martin treats two stabbings a day and two shootings a week, and most of his patients are still children. But it’s his work outside the operating theatre that’s saving the most lives. Sculptor Nick Elphick aims not just to replicate the human form but to express a deeper meaning within his pieces. Will he be able to capture everything that Martin is?
Junior doctor Grace is paired with painter Jemisha Maadhavji. Grace was still a student when a man jumped from the third floor of a shopping centre and landed on her, causing life-changing injuries. Painting this remarkable young doctor is Jemisha, an artist whose vibrant works of art are inspired by subjects who don't fit conventional social labels.
Araf, a paramedic, is paired with acclaimed photographer Brock. For 26 years, Glaswegian Araf has been saving lives on the road and changing opinions off it. Attempting to capture this remarkable man is photographic artist Brock Elbank. Brock began his career in high-end fashion, but his love of celebrating those people who often go unrecognised in society has led him down a very different path.
End of life care nurse Jules is matched with magical realist painter Belinda. Following the death of her father, Jules is on a mission to make people’s last days as pleasant as possible, arranging everything from Taste for Pleasure sessions to last-minute marriages.
In this episode President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Adebanji Alade, takes on the whole Edwards family. Adebanji is no stranger to creating epic works of art, but here he’s tested to the limit: six people from three generations, spanning 60 years of dedicated service with a strong work ethic and an even stronger family bond.
In this episode, hospital porter Holly is matched with classicist painter Mark. Holly joined the NHS as her way of giving back to the service that saved her eight-year-old daughter’s life when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Award-winning artist Mark Draisey also had a change of career when, in 2016, he reignited his love for portrait art after a 30-year career as a caricaturist and illustrator.
