Sssssshh. Superstar stylist Sam McKnight told us about his (then) upcoming appearance on ‘The Big Blow Out’ a few months back, and swore us to secrecy. But the moment has come: think of this show as the hairdressing equivalent of ‘The Great British Bake-Off’, with tongs instead of whisks, and styling sprays in place of icing. (Well, you get the drift.)

It's on at 10pm on Mondays on E4, and we absolutely LOVED the first episode, in which the band of contestants. Hosted by AJ Odudu, Sam’s fellow judge is session stylist Lisa Farrall, an expert in styling Afro and textured hair who’s also worked with some of the biggest music stars out there (Harry Styles, anyone?) – and it promises to be tense stuff.

There are tears, there are tantrums, and there are a LOT of hairpieces, amidst the miasma of lacquer. The first episode challenged the stylists to create a ‘masterpiece’ hairdo, of the type stylists like Sam McKnight confect for catwalk shows, with the brief ‘This Is Me’ – a clever way to introduce all the stylists’ stories (see them all below). This week’s show certainly wasn’t about the everyday styles we all need to get up and get on with our lives, but it is definitely entertaining.

We go back a l-o-n-g way with the so-talented Sam McKnight (um, is the 80s far enough back…?), who tells us that he got involved with this show to help a new generation of talent an opportunity to make their names.

It has always boggled our minds that TV doesn’t dedicate more airtime to beauty, when it’s so present in women’s magazines. But this is a welcome step towards putting that right, a must-watch for beauty-hounds (you can catch up on All 4 if you missed Monday’s show) – and we can’t wait to see who’s crowned, at the end of it.

Watch it here

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