Portrait Artist of the Year is back for another series, with a new selection of talented artists competing for a £10,000 commission to paint the esteemed Scottish-Italian classical solo violinist, Nicola Benedetti, which will be exhibited at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Hosted by Stephen Mangan and Joan Bakewell, the show will see the artists battling it out in a bid to impress expert judges Tai Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano and Kate Bryan.
And it wouldn’t be Portrait Artist of the Year without a stellar line-up of subjects from the showbiz world, known as sitters, who the artists will get to paint.
So, how do you watch Portrait Artist of the Year 2021? Who are the celebrity sitters? And when does it start?
Here’s everything you need to know.
How to watch Portrait Artist of the Year?
Portrait Artist of the Year 2021 starts on Sky Arts on Wednesday 13th October.
Viewers can watch on Freeview Channel 11 from 8pm, or via NOW.
Episodes will then air weekly.
Who are the celebrity sitters?
There’s a long list of celebrity sitters taking part this year, including actor Daniel Mays and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips.
!["Portrait]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/10/Portrait-Artist-of-the-Year-sitters-048d0cb.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Portrait-Artist-of-the-Year-sitters\"")
You can see a full list below:
- Celeste (Singer/songwriter)
- Gabrielle (Singer/songwriter)
- Alistair Campbell (Former political advisor)
- Kelly MacDonald (Actor)
- Nish Kumar (Comedian)
- Daniel Mays (Actor)
- Lydia West (Actor)
- Alexa Chung (Model/TV presenter)
- Ian Hislop (Journalist and Have I Got News For You? captain)
- Hugh Skinner (Actor)
- Gyles Brandreth (Former politician)
- Emma Dabiri (Author)
- Sophie Cookson (Actor)
- Karen Gibson (Conductor)
- Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Actor)
- Arlene Phillips (Choreographer)
- Polly Walker (Actor)
- Philip Glenister (Actor)
- Chris Packham (Naturalist)
- Ali Jawad (Paralympic powerlifter)
- Grace Neutral (TV presenter)
- Maggie Aderin-Pocock (Scientist)
- Sergei Polunin (Ballet dancer)
- David Olosuga (Historian)
Portrait Artist of the Year 2021 starts on Wednesday 13 October 2021 on Sky Arts. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.