THE suave presenter of hit TV show The Great British Sewing Bee has revealed Hibs football casuals were his fashion influences.

Savile Row tailor to the stars Patrick Grant, 40, has captured the imaginations of millions as the face of the BBC2 show, which reached its finale this week.

The programme, which he co-presented with Claudia Winkleman, 41, regularly drew more than 2.5 million viewers a week.

But the Edinburgh style guru said his inspiration came not from the cosy world propagated by the Sewing Bee, with its love of crochet and shirt-making, but from the 1980s football terraces in his home city.

Grant, an ex-Edinburgh Academy pupil, said: "Growing up in the eighties in Edinburgh there was not much fashion about; there was either Aitken and Niven or Jenners. Any new brands or styles you saw on the streets were worn by football casuals. They were the style icons, so to speak.

"I worked with a number of Hibs fans in a cafe in Princes Street Gardens and they turned me on to Lyle and Scott, Pringle, Burberry and Barbour."

He added: "Fashion-wise Edinburgh has changed dramatically in recent years – you notice that the men are a lot better dressed these days and take a lot more pride in their appearance."

Grant, originally from Edinburgh's Morningside, lives in London, where he has risen to prominence as the owner of Savile Row tailors Norton & Sons.