Monty Don, who a huge fan of traditional crafts, is to present a series which celebrates six of the craft skills that built Britain and its heritage, ranging from thatching to stonemasonry. The series starts on Friday 12 February 2010 at 9pm on BBC Two.

Under Monty's watchful eye, three hopefuls who are passionate about learning these trades are put through their paces by the country's leading practitioners of wood craft, metalwork, thatching, stonemasonry, weaving and stained glass. After six weeks of apprenticeship and labour, their work and achievements are judged by experts in their chosen field to see who has best mastered the craft.

In the first episode, 46-year-old garden designer Charles Hooper, full-time student and single mum Sarah Charlton, 33, and 29-year-old supply teacher Tom Vaughan begin their intensive apprenticeship working with green wood, undeterred by the gruelling schedule.

There are a little over 600 dedicated green wood workers in the country today, including the episode's mentor Guy Mallinson. He left a successful cabinet making business in London for a new life in Dorset, devoted to the simplicity of green wood craft. He works without power tools, screws or glue or fixings - just freshly cut or unseasoned wood and ingenious tools, such as the pole lathe and the steam bender.

While Monty explores the importance of green wood in history, the trainees learn how to cleave the raw material, to turn blocks of wood on the pole lathe, and to manipulate the components fresh out of the steam bender. Then comes the final test - designing a chair and making it with no assistance.

Can they pull it off and impress the country's leading authority and published author on green wood, Mike Abbott?

Meet the Mentors:

Andy Oldfield - Stone Mason
Andy Oldfield is Head Mason at the stone masonry yard at Hardwick Hall, an imposing stone Tudor mansion constructed for ‘Bess of Hardwick’, Elizabethan England’s second most powerful and wealthy woman. Andy’s team has ongoing work conserving the beautiful stone at Hardwick Hall but their reputation travels far and they’re also kept busy with requests to work on other stone buildings in the surrounding counties.

Andy started at Hardwick as an apprentice and has been captivated by the job ever since. He now works and teaches at Hardwick but also loves letting his creativity run free by carving stone in his free time.

Don Barker - Blacksmith
Blacksmithing runs in Don’s family and after initially training as an Engineer, aged 38 he could no longer fight his natural calling and decided to follow his 200 year old family tradition and to become a blacksmith.

In October 2002 Don was elected to the Court of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths - the first working blacksmith to be elevated to the Court for 200 years. He now holds many prestigious titles including that of Freeman of the City of London, Liveryman and Bronze Award Holder of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths.

Dave Bragg & Matt Williams - Thatchers
Thatchers Dave & Matt are on a mission to start a thatching renaissance. Their company is committed to preserving regional styles of thatching and in particular to working to reintroduce and conserve the regional styles of thatching indigenous to Oxfordshire, where they’re based.

Dissatisfied with companies who provide homogenised thatched roofs - with little skill and alien materials imported from Asia - Matt & Dave are passionate about promoting regional thatching styles and are seeking to prove thatchers can easily grow and use locally produced materials.

Margo Selby - Weaver & Woven Textile Designer
Margo Selby is an award-winning, passionate, woven textile designer who started her career hand weaving on a loom in her bedroom and whose products are now stocked in galleries and shops all over the world.

Margo develops all of her fabrics on a handloom in a workshop beneath her shop. She would love to spend her life working solely on her traditional handloom but is regretfully aware that this is not a viable sustainable option nowadays. Margo has diversified her business to incorporate a more commercial and affordable brand, which she develops on her hand loom then sends to English mills to be woven to her specifications.

Guy Mallinson - Wood Craftsman
Guy is a Master Craftsman in wood who has designed for everyone from Prince Edward to Walt Disney.

Keen for a lifestyle change and with three boys bouncing off the walls of his Fulham house Guy gave up his stressful urban life and moved with his family to rural West Devon. As well as setting up a new workshop to enable him to continue to create one-off furniture commissions, Guy decided to go back to basics and set up a new company within a spacious, gloriously bucolic enclave in his own woodland.

Sophie Hussain - Stained Glass Restorer & Artist
Sophie Hussain’s career in glass started by studying Architectural Stained Glass at university in North Wales. It was here that she won a prestigious prize giving her the opportunity to work at Goddard & Gibbs, the late leading glass company, in her university holidays. Sophie flourished, came back to university with skills superior to all her peers and never looked back.

Having spent time working with historical glass restorers at restoration studios, Sophie frequently restores and renovates historical stained glass. When the opportunity arises Sophie also loves nothing more than using her traditional skills to design and create one off pieces of contemporary stained glass art for private commissions.

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