Northampton man crowned joint winner of BBC's Great British Photography Challenge 2021

A Northampton man is "honoured" after an unexpected twist in the final episode of the BBC s Great British Photography Challenge saw him named as one of two winners.

Tyrone Williams, 28, from Northampton and Jackson Moyles, 21, from Dunfermline, are two of the first photographers to claim the title of champion in the new BBC series, which sees six passionate amateur UK photographers guided and judged by portrait icon and Dazed & Confused magazine co-founder, Rankin.

Rankin, whose subjects have included the Queen, David Bowie, Madonna and Kate Moss, praised all six contestants and said he was "so proud" to have worked with them all.

He said: “Picking a winner for the show was really hard. It prompted some heated debate between me and the other judges. Tyrone and Jackson are completely different photographers, with two very different styles and career paths.

"Tyrone is an art photographer, with a really clear voice. His work grabbed my attention from the very beginning. Jackson’s work, on the other hand, grew as he found himself over the competition. So in that way, they were both stand-out photographers who showed their talent during the competition.

"There was no way we could split them – they were both clear winners in their own right. Now we’re excited to invite everyone to have a look at their talent first-hand as they reveal brand new works in their winners exhibition launching at 10pm on Monday 14 June.”

The series, which took place over the course of four weeks, had no weekly eliminations so allowed all six hopefuls to develop their signature style and build a diverse portfolio as they tackled various photographer assignments up and down the country. The assignments included anything from smartphone camera briefs to themed photography challenges set by celebrity guests and expert creatives.

The final episode - which was broadcast on BBC Four on Monday (June 14) - the six contestants were in Rankin's home country of Scotland as they sought to impress him with three climatic assignments: a dramatic landscape challenge in Glencoe, a photoshoot with two up-and-coming Scottish music acts and a chance to go off-piste and showcase their personality and creative flair through the Wildcard task.

The contestants then each exhibited their best work from the series with both Tyrone and Jackson equally impressing the expert judges.

Tyrone, on his unforeseen joint victory, said: “I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to work with and meet such passionate photographers and creatives.

"Winning the series has been such a great feeling and an amazing validation for my photography portfolio but I feel all of us have achieved so much in the series.

"To all execute the challenges as we did and to all exhibit our work in the final, helping each other with every step, you can call us all winners.”

Tyrone has been practicing photography for over ten years alongside working as a graphic designer. His images focus on urban environments and spotlighting the mundane to show an everyday beauty.

Both artists’ photographs from the Great British Photography Challenge - as well a set of brand new images which draw on their experiences from the series - can now be enjoyed first-hand in a digital winners exhibition available on Public Offerings Ltd, a platform founded by art curator, and Great British Photography Challenge mentor, Ellen Stone.

The two digital exhibitions will mark the expansion of Tyrone and Jackson's career as photographers as it celebrates their achievements and artistic growth.

All episodes of the Great British Photography challenge are now available to view on BBC iPlayer.