A WINCHESTER woman has been crowned the winner of this year’s Great British Sewing Bee.

Clare Bradley beat off stiff competition from TV supervisor Matt Gage and jewellery designer Nicole Akong to be awarded the title in the BBC One show.

Clare, a respiratory consultant at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, won the first challenge – creating a little boy’s kilt without a pattern.

She used her mathematical skills to create the right amount of pleats and fit the mannequin which impressed judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young, who said the piece was “amazing”.

Clare sewed her final piece, a made-to-measure glamorous evening gown, for colleague Alex, an anaesthetist from the QA.

The 38-year-old went back to the golden age of Hollywood, with slinky 1930s style fashion.

Once the final stitch was in place and the catwalk was over, the sewers’ friends and family, along with past competitors, arrived to celebrate.

Patrick said her red ballgown was the “epitome of elegance”, while Esme congratulated Clare on the garment.

Whilst judging, Patrick added: “Everything needed to be sewn to perfection and it was.”

Host Joe Lycett announced that Clare had won and she responded that she was “very surprised”.

Her mum added that she was “gobsmaked”, before Clare said: “I do hold myself to high standards, with other things I have gone in for I’ve trained for.

“This is something I did for fun. I signed up to have some fun…I definitely did that.”

She was also praised by her fellow contestants for her work throughout the competition.

Following filming Clare has been busy on the frontline during the coronavirus fight, but has still found time to do a little sewing.