EXTRAORDINARY PORTRAITS RETURNS TO BBC ONE FOR SECOND SERIES

Extraordinary Portraits is a six-part series that sees musician and passionate collector of art Tinie (formerly known as Tinie Tempah) match members of the public with extraordinary stories to a selection of distinctive and celebrated portrait artists.

The artists are then challenged to turn these personal and powerful experiences into compelling portraits.

In the first episode of the new series, painter Stuart Pearson Wright is challenged to capture charity fundraiser Harriet Middleton's joy and love for her Shetlander heritage.

Cancer survivor Harriet volunteered her knitting skills to help raise over £100,000 to buy the island's only hospital an MRI scanner. Now she is paired with an artist who has been called one of the most gifted portrait artists of his generation. Stuart is well known for his figurative paintings and irreverent, sometimes humorous tone.

This link-up will see Stuart swap his paintbrush for knitting needles and forego his studio for the Scottish Isles to create a portrait that does the island proud, just as Harriet did.

Speaking about the first series, Tinie said: “I wanted to put a spotlight on contemporary British heroes; to hear their stories and help create an opportunity where the world can learn about them and their experience through art. Portraits are powerful, and a great way of achieving this, but historically they have been reserved for ‘high society’.

"When a portrait of mine went into the National Portrait Gallery I remember the immense pride, inclusion and acknowledgement I felt. It was unquantifiable - it made me feel like I was part of a change in the narrative, and so I hope the extraordinary people I have met making Extraordinary Portraits feel the same way.”

Extraordinary Portraits returns Monday 13th June at 8:30pm on BBC One.