Belfast’s H&W cranes bring Keith to tears on Channel 4's The Great Pottery Throw Down

Northern Ireland’s Harland and Wolff yellow cranes have starred on Channel 4's The Great Pottery Throw Down.

The Belfast firm’s iconic landmarks were featured as a childhood memory after Northern Ireland contestant Donna made them into a Staffordshire flatback.

Entitled there’s ‘No Place Like Home’, Donna depicted ‘Samson and Goliath’ and Milton Keynes after being challenged to make a pair of the Victorian mantlepiece classics which tell a personal story.

The judges were so impressed with the Bangor potter’s ornaments, even bringing Keith Brymer Jones to tears, they were crowned the overall winning pieces and a place in the prestigious Throw Down Gallery.

Inspired by the iconic cranes of Belfast’s shipyard, Donna, explained to fellow Northern Ireland host Siobhán McSweeney: “It has been in my skyline all through my childhood. All my family worked in the shipyards. I have called it ‘No Place Like Home’ because there’s just no place like Belfast.”

Introducing her creations to judges Rich Miller and Keith Brymer Jones, Diane added: “My design is based on Milton Keynes where I used to live and back home in beautiful Belfast.”

In response Keith emotionally said ‘they’re fantastic, they’re wonderful, they really are’.

He continued: “What you’re do so wonderfully is you have taken Milton Keynes and Belfast and used it as you’ve used it as your background to the whole flatback and it just works really, really well.

Rich agreed: “They are absolutely stunning. I love the dresses, there’s just so much detail. Every time I’m looking at them there’s just something new to see.”

Summing up, the judges added that Donna was one of the only potters who had ‘thought about the composition in terms of the mirroring of the figures’ and had shown great ‘attention to detail’ which was ‘absolutely brilliant’.

Donna earned the prestigious title of the Potter of the Week and the flatbacks will now take pride of place in the Throw Down Gallery.

Phoning home to Mum at the end of the programme, Donna laughed: “The Belfast cranes brought me luck this week.”

A spokesperson for Harland & Wolff, added: “We were delighted to see our famous cranes Samson and Goliath feature in Donna’s show-stopping work of art, and it is lovely that she chose them to depict her home of Belfast because they had been such an important part of her life.

“Our long history in the city and unmistakeable yellow metal skyline has made Harland & Wolff synonymous with Belfast. We are proud to have been chosen to depict its identity, and, as we grow and bring more ships and jobs back to the city, hope to remain at its heart for many generations to come.”