On October 13th 2021, ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’ will make a return to the UK’s Sky Arts channel and streaming service NOW for its eighth season – and yes, there’s relevance to Pink Floyd fans! The series ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’, with hosts Stephen Mangan and Joan Bakewell, brings together a batch of amateur and professional artists as they battle it out to impress expert judges Tai Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano and Kate Bryan. Taking the famous subjectâs chair this year are: Celeste (Singer/Songwriter), Kelly MacDonald (Actor), Gabrielle (Singer/songwriter), Lydia West (Actor), Nish Kumar (Comedian), Alexa Chung (Model/TV Presenter), Alistair Campbell (Politician), Ian Hislop (Journalist), Hugh Skinner (Actor), Daniel Mays (Actor), Gyles Brandreth (former politician) Emma Dabiri (Author), Sophie Cookson (Actor), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Actor), Polly Walker (Actor), Philip Glenister (Actor), Chris Packham (Naturalist), Ali Jawad (Paralympic powerlifter), Arlene Phillips (Dancer), Grace Neutral (TV Presenter), Maggie Aderin-Pocock (Scientist), Sergei Polunin (Ballet dancer), Karen Gibson (Conductor) and David Olosuga (Historian). Nine artists compete in each of the eight heats, and each heat winner will go on to paint none other than Nick Mason, taking a break from the preparations for the Saucerful Of Secrets tour next year, in the semi-final. For the grand finale, three finalists will battle it out to take home the crown, painting the iconic Barry Humphries, best known for his on-stage and television alter ego Dame Edna Everage. This seasonâs Portrait Artist of the Year winner will receive 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. Portrait Artist of the Year will air on Sky Arts, Freeview Channel 11, and streaming service NOW. Episode screening dates and times aren’t yet available.
