The Great British Sewing Bee host Kiell Smith-Bynoe's private life away from show

Nicky Morris
·3-min read
The Great British Sewing Bee host Kiell Smith-Bynoe
The Great British Sewing Bee host Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Love Productions/James Stack/BBC)

Kiell Smith-Bynoe very quickly won the hearts of The Great British Sewing Bee fans after joining the show for season ten. The comedian and actor, who took over from regular host Sara Pascoe after she went on maternity leave at the end of last year, has been praised by viewers for his hosting style.

Kiell is a familiar face on our TV screens thanks to his roles in various comedy series, including Ghosts, Stath Lets Flats, and Man Like Mobeen. But how much do you know about his life away from the cameras? Keep reading for all we know…

Kiell Smith-Bynoe's early life and acting career

Kiell was raised in east London by his mum, who moved to the city from Barbados in 1961 when she was nine years old.

In an interview with iNews earlier this year, Kiell explained that his mother was "very strict" when he was growing up after his uncles had run-ins with the law.

"My grandad went blind quite young, so my nan had to do the work for everyone," explained the 35-year-old. "My nan worked hard. My mum looked after the boys. The boys rebelled against her because she was their sister playing the mum, and ended up going down paths that she didn't want me to go down."

Kiell Smith-Bynoe as Mike and Charlotte Ritchie as Alison in Ghosts
Kiell Smith-Bynoe is best known for playing Mike in Ghosts (Guido Mandozzi)

Kiell was just a teenager when he found his passion for performance after attending acting classes at Theatre Royal Stratford East. He went on to train at East 15 drama school before polishing his improvisation skills at Hackney Empire.

The Ghosts star's first acting role came in 2012 when he was offered a part in ITV's crime drama, Whitechapel. From there, he went on to make comedy videos for his YouTube channel, which led to a stint on Channel 4's spoof news show Britain Today, Tonight.

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Charlotte Ritchie as Alison and Kiell Smith-Bynoe as Mike in season five of Ghosts
Kiell stars opposite Charlotte Ritchie in Ghosts (BBC)

Since then, the actor has appeared in various comedy series, including Friday Night Dinner, Man Like Mobeen, Stath Lets Flats, and perhaps most notably, Ghosts. 

Kiell's hosting gig on The Great British Sewing Bee came after his appearance on the 2021 Christmas special. It was show judge Patrick Grant who offered him the role via a message on social media.

The Great British Sewing Bee host Kiell Smith-Bynoe with judges Esme Young, Patrick Grant
Kiell was offered the hosting role by Patrick Grant (Love Productions/James Stack/BBC)

Revealing how he got involved with the programme, Kiell said: "I thought, 'Are they asking me to come back on? And if they are, why is it coming through a DM from Patrick Grant rather than a formal offer to my agent?' And he was just like, 'Would you come back and do the main gig?'"

Kiell's life away from the show

When he's not busy filming The Great British Sewing Bee or his latest comedy series, Kiell likes to travel and often shares snaps from his trips on Instagram.

Over the past several months, Kiell has holidayed in New York, Dubai, and Spain. He even took his mum back to Barbados for a month-long trip and shared a carousel of sun-soaked snaps from their trip on social media.

"Being able to take my mum back home for a month is a blessing, of course there were times I wanted to pop her on a cruise ship and let her give me a call when she got to Dover but I didn't coz I'm a good son," joked the star, adding that he recently got his Barbadian citizenship and felt "proud to have heritage from such a beautiful place".

As for his love life, Kiell tends to keep his relationships out of the spotlight.