A JACK of all trades whose heart was stolen by pottery.

That is the best way to describe Jim Ranson.

Yes, he is a rocker in his 1940s and 1950s cover band, Slim Jim and the Wildcards. And yes he has turned his hand to a fist full of jobs over the years.

But Mr Ranson's true love is clay.

Now aged 53, he has settled in Bognor with his wife and ten-year-old daughter after living in various places along the Sussex coast.

In his garden shed is his potter's wheel from which he supplies all manner of upmarket London restaurants and hotels with dinnerware.

He is particularly proud to supply unique pieces like mussel dishes to the Inglenook in Pagham.

Over recent weeks he has emerged as one of the stars of BBC's The Great Pottery Thrown Down.

There have only been four episodes so far but he has already been crowned top potter - awarded to the best performing contestant each week - and the judges have praised his innovative strawberry pot, garden sculpture and vase creations.

His success is perhaps down to him feeling at home on the Stoke-On-Trent set - a place where he lived for many years while he studied graphics, illustration and later ceramics.

And it is his Stoke-based ex girlfriend he has to thank for pointing him in the direction of the contest.

"I had not heard from her for years and then out of the blue she got in touch on Facebook - which I didn't use at the time other than for band bookings - to wish me happy Christmas last year. We spoke and then in January she contacted me again and said 'There is this competition that would be right up your street.'

"I left the application until the deadline and thought hundreds and thousands of potters would enter so why would they pick me. But then I thought there would be no harm in it so entered. I was so surprised to be picked."

He refers to a "chequered past" with ceramics as he recalls the peaks and troughs as he made a living through art and supplemented it by "dabbling" with all kinds of jobs.

This was all after he studied ceramics at O level and A level and later took on a masters. It was during his master that he caught the pottery bug.

"I've done a lot of jobs, the BBC describe me as a painter and decorator. But my profession is pottery. I love its diversity. You can make all manner of things.

"Sometimes the most beautiful ones are those with mistakes. It's not necessarily about producing something perfect, it's the imperfections that make the pieces different and beautiful."

The contest has been his chance to act on his ideas without always thinking about the supply and demand of his artwork. He has loved the experience so far but said it can be fraught it parts too.

"There is so much I have enjoyed about the show and particularly going back to my old stomping ground after 27 years away. But you can see it in our faces, the panic sets in. You are given a very small amount of time to come up with ideas. There is a pressure you are under to instantly come up with and produce something."

The Great Pottery Thrown Down continues on Tuesday at 9pm on BBC Two.