Ryan Gosling and Tom Daley's shared pastime is to be the focus of new Channel 4 reality show The Game of Wool

Knitting is going to be brought in to focus by Channel 4 in The Game of Wool. The broadcaster has apparently been inspired by celebrity fans of the hobby such as Tom Daley, Ryan Gosling, Lorde and Nicholas Hoult.

In the show, top knitters Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell, who design for fashion labels such as Chanel and Vivienne Westwood, will challenge ten contestants Each week, the two experts will be joined by a celebrity judge who will help decide who goes through and who will be “cast off” home.

Gilpin and Greenwell will be sure to put the knitters through their paces; Gilpin will be judging their creative approaches, whilst Greenwell will be inspecting their technique.

Knitters will take on The Big Knit as a team, and The Wee Knit individually, with filming set to take place in the rural Scottish countryside, which is steeped in knitting and wool heritage. At the end of the competition, only one will win the glory of being the first winner of The Game of Wool.  A Channel 4 spokesman said: “Each week, the competitors must create a whole host of unique makes and larger-than-life sculptural pieces, all made from wool. These include clothing, jewellery, home accessories and furniture, and they may even try their hands at ‘yarn bombing’.”

Yarn bombing is a form of street art where colourful knits are put on objects rather than paint and chalk.

Exec producer Wendy Rattray added: “This is knitting but not as you know it. Expect a rainbow coloured extravaganza set in the Scottish countryside where brilliant knitters, young and old, will produce the most unexpected and jaw-dropping knits.

“Wool is officially cool and we are delighted to showcase the best of the best in this exciting new format.”

The show will air on More4. There’s no further information yet, such as when the show may air or who the contestants will be, but we’ll bring you more information as we have it.