The show did not return in 2017 prompting much speculation that it had been caught up in the fallout from the disagreement between production company Love Productions and the British Broadcasting Corporation that followed on from The Great British Bake Off's move to Channel 4. However, on 20th April 2018 the BBC announced that they had commissioned a fifth series of The Great British Sewing Bee but that it would not return until 2019 and that comedian Joe Lycett would replace Claudia Winkleman as host.
The only people who ever address the camera directly are the hosts, and then it is only in the introduction before the actual program starts. During the program, the hosts only speak to the judges and contestants.
The presenters, judges and contestants always wear the same outfit on both days of each episode.
As of 2022, there have been five different buildings used for filming. Series 1 was filmed at 47 Balls Pond Road, London. The cafe scenes were in the "Other Cafe and Gallery" across the road. Series 2 and 3 were filmed at Metropolitan Wharf, Wapping, London. Series 4, 5, and 6 were filmed at 47-49 Tanner Street, London. The roof top table is on the roof of the building to the back and overlooks the railway line. Series 7 was filmed at Trinity Buoy Lighthouse, Trinity Buoy Wharf, Docklands, London. Series 8 was filmed at Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, Leeds.
Despite each contestant being filmed during their sewing, there is only one time that you ever see any of the cameras or crew. This is 29 minutes and 27 seconds in to program 2 of series 8 when you can see two camera operators in the room.