Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 line up of celebrity sitters revealed

Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 arrives this autumn on Sky Arts and NOW – here’s all you need to know.

The upcoming season of Portrait Artist of the Year will feature talented artists hailing from various corners of the UK, vying for the coveted 2023 title.

This year’s competition will showcase a diverse range of celebrity subjects, drawn from the realms of theater, film, sports, literature, and politics.

These artists will engage in a fierce competition, striving to leave a lasting impression on the esteemed panel of judges, which includes Tai Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano, and Kate Bryan.

Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 begins on Wednesday, 4 October with hosts Dame Joan Bakewell and Stephen Mangan.

This year’s series will begin with a special Portrait Artist of the Decade episode, which will see the winners of past series of Portrait Artist of the Year return once more to Battersea Arts Centre to paint iconic actress, Dame Judi Dench.

The main new series will kick off a week later on Wednesday, 11 October at 8PM on Sky Arts.

This year’s Portrait Artist of the Year celebrity sitters

Meanwhile the line up of celebrity sitters appearing across the new series are Emma Freud, Richard Curtis, Fleur East, Ainsley Harriott, Rory Stewart, Rob Delaney, Jay Rayner, Nihal Arthanayake, Susanna Reid, Phillipa Perry, Alan Titchmarsh, Sue Barker, Josh Widdecombe, Nicky Spence, Shirley Ballas, Vanessa Kingori, Mishal Hussain, Nigel Havers, Lenny Rush, Joe Sugg and Daryl McCormack.

The winners of the heats will paint British pop icon Emma Bunton while the finalists will paint broadcasting legend and Portrait Artist of the Year royalty, Dame Joan Bakewell.

This year’s winner will receive a £10,000 commission to create a portrait of world-renowned conservationist Dr Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE, which will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in December.

Plus, as part of the show’s tenth birthday, Sky Arts will attempt to set an official Guinness World Records title for the most people painting online and in a single venue simultaneously.

The mass portrait painting event on 30 September will feature national treasure Sir Lenny Henry as the sitter. The event will take place at Lindley Hall in London, with 200 free spaces available for amateur and professional artists to join the celebration in-person. The session will also be livestreamed allowing anyone across the world to join in.

Sir Lenny Henry said: “I loved sitting for Portrait Artist of the Year in 2022 and it was a real honour to take part. This year is a little different, but no less momentous. I’m so grateful for the chance to be invited back to play my part in what will hopefully be a new world record for the history books!”