Sky Arts Announces New Series Of Portrait Artist Of The Year

Stephen Mangan and Joan Bakewell are to return in 2020 to Sky Arts with a new series of Portrait Artist of the Year on Tuesday 21 January at 8pm.

For the sixth year running, the series will see aspiring artists compete to see who has what it takes to be crowned Portrait Artist of the Year 2020. Throughout the series we will see 24 celebrity sitters from the worlds of stage, screen, sport and music become the subject for the painters.

Sitting this year are: Anjili Mohindra (Bodyguard), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education), Mickey Flanagan (Comedian); Trevor Nelson (Radio DJ), Noel Clarke (Kidulthood/Adulthood), Ashley Roberts (TV Personality); Tinie Tempah (Musician), Len Goodman (Strictly), Dame Harriet Walter (The Crown/Succession); Asim Choudhry (Comedian), Russell Tovey (The Good Liar/Years & Years), Doreen Mantle (One Foot In the Grave); Fearne Cotton (TV presenter), John Cooper Clarke (Performance Poet), Haydn Gwynne (Beauty & the Beast); Zawe Ashton (Fresh Meat), Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty), Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs); Lydia Leonard (The 39 Steps), Ken Stott (Rebus) and Mike Leigh (Writer/Director); Omid Djalili (Comedian), Deborah Findlay (The Lady In The Van/The Split), Wunmi Mosaku (Temple/Luther).

The eight winners from each heat, all filmed at Battersea Arts Centre, will then go on to paint celebrated singer and actress Elaine Paige OBE in the semi-final, followed by Lemn Sissay, author of Sunday Times Best Seller 'My Name Is Why', who will sit for our finalists at London's prestigious National Portrait Gallery where our winner will be crowned. The 2020 Portrait Artist of the Year will receive a £10,000 prize pot from Sky Arts, a wide selection of art materials from Cass Arts and, very excitingly, have their winning portrait hung at London's very own Royal Albert Hall.