Initially when I saw her on the TV she seemed rather 'strict' but you read about her life story and, although she is honest with people which, I guess, can come across as brusk she sounds like the most amazing, kind, loyal woman.

Covering her childhood, family life, career starts and many highs, friendships, teaching and ending up with her much loved time as a judge on The great British sewing bee (which is one of my favourite cosy shows). Her work has been featured in a range of magazines and newspapers including Vogue , ID , The Face , The Sunday Times and so much more.

I’d highly recommend if you’re a fan of Sewing Bee and just want to find out more about Esme, it was a really lovely read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The material is squandered - interesting detail about the times and personalities is given no more weight than the vast amount of family detail. As a result this book was an amazing insight into a life that I would have loved to have lived had I the flare or basic artistic skill. Personally, I find her interesting because she's a woman who's never married, doesn't have children yet has created and is part of an enormous extended family she has met through her career.

The '90s saw a career move into costumes for films, where she designed outfits for Trainspotting , Bridget Jones's Diary and The Beach , before she moved onto the small screen herself.

From adventures at Central Saint Martins to The Great British Sewing Bee , go behind the scenes of Esme Young's amazing life. I love how Esme talks about Swanky Modes, a London collective in the '70s, and the key times when these four women worked together for the love of fashion and clothes, managing families and other commitments. There was little emotion - the struggles were glossed over, so we didn't get to see the pain, which made the triumphs less triumphant. Some of Esme’s stories from her childhood and particularly her own and her siblings boarding school days were hilarious. To see Esme becoming a TV star in her 70’s and being a mentor and inspiration to sewers is really wonderful .