Copyright mirror
He didn’t last long in The Celebrity Traitors but Olympian Tom Daley has had far more success with his new knitting series Game of Wool. Channel 4 bosses are thrilled that the show has been particularly successful with younger viewers - who have been persuaded to swap nightlife for knit-life. The first episode, which aired on November 2, has pulled in 2million viewers and saw the number of viewers aged 16-34s for the 8pm Sunday slot rise by 74%. In the show, 10 amateur knitters and crocheters compete in a series of solo and team challenges as they go head-to-head to become the UK’s first TV knitting champion. Tom, who is the UK’s best known celebrity knitter, is taking on his first presenting role for the show, which sees the contestants set with different challenges each week. Across the series, the tasks include knitting a full-sized sofa, doggy outfits, swimwear, a deckchair, amigurumi food and bags. Their efforts are judged by experts Di Gilpin and Shelia Greenwell, who have knitted for fashion houses including Chanel, Vivienne Westwood , Paul Smith and Nike. Channel 4 lifestyle boss Jo Street said: “It is a total joy to see such a lovely reception to Game of Wool, particularly the volume of young people picking up their knitting needles with us, showing that knitting is a hobby that crosses the generations. “With Tom Daley, Di and Sheila, not to mention our wonderful amateur knitters, we have a fantastically authentic combination of passion, experience, and joy for knitting on screen, as we celebrate the much-loved craft and – hopefully – inspire people of all ages to give knitting and crochet a go.” Tom’s fellow faithful in Celebrity Traitors, Clare Balding , has suggested that contestants with a sporting background, including herself and Tom - along with Joe Marler - were treated as less intelligent by their fellow players. “A lot of my friends are PE teachers, and they find they don’t get listened to, whereas the History or English teacher has status,” she explained. “Those roundtable situations where certain voices carry more votes — there are lots of factors behind that — but it’s real.” Tom was the second celebrity to be murdered in the castle, following Paloma Faith. His demise came after he’d accused Kate Garraway of being a traitor for using the word “flabbergasted” over Paloma being murdered in plain sight. Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
