Helen Rattray, who grew up in Arbroath, is one of seven amateur contestants joining professional sand sculptors in the BBC’s new competition, Race Against the Tide, filmed on West Sands Beach in St Andrews.
From Arbroath to the sand
Set to premiere in August, the programme pairs each amateur with an experienced sand sculptor and gives teams just six hours to turn tonnes of sand into themed sculptures before the tide reclaims their work. The filming location, West Sands, is a familiar stretch of coastline to many people in Angus and Dundee and is less than a short drive from where Helen is now based as a Fine Art student in Dundee.
Helen’s profile in the show highlights a varied life and work history. She spent three decades working as a physiotherapist in Glasgow before returning to study art, and the programme notes she is a former martial arts competitor who has won Scottish, British, Irish and European kickboxing titles. Her practical skills and competitive experience are presented as assets in the high-pressure, weather-exposed context of the competition.
Local connection and wider field
The series brings together contestants from across the UK: carpenters, leather workers, designers, plasterers and chainsaw sculptors feature among the participants. That diversity is intended to contrast different creative approaches and backgrounds against the particular challenges posed by sand sculpting and the Scottish coastline’s changeable conditions.
- Location: West Sands Beach, St Andrews, Fife
- Teams: Seven pairs (each a professional sand sculptor and a newcomer)
- Time limit: Six hours per build before the tide returns
The contestants will be assessed by established names in the sculpting community. Judgement is to be delivered by artist Sadie Clayton and internationally recognised sand sculptor Jamie Wardley, while Scottish presenter Iain Stirling fronts the show. Local viewers will recognise St Andrews’ coastline in a setting that the programme uses to showcase both technical skill and the aesthetic drama of ephemeral art.
What it means for Arbroath
For residents in Arbroath and the surrounding area, Helen’s participation offers a visible local connection to a national broadcast and an example of someone from the town pursuing art after a long professional career elsewhere. The regional tie is strengthened by her current studies in Dundee, positioning her squarely within Tayside’s creative and educational networks.
While the competitive format emphasises spectacle, the show also brings attention to coastal landscapes that many Angus residents use for recreation and work. The production’s spotlight on West Sands may prompt memories for those who have visited the Fife shore and could renew interest in local geological and environmental conditions that make such ephemeral art possible.
| Contestant (amateur) | Background |
|---|---|
| Helen Rattray (Arbroath) | Former physiotherapist; Fine Art student in Dundee; former kickboxing champion |
| Athena | Stationery designer, Bristol |
| Yusuf | Leather craftsman, London |
| Alex | Carpenter, Wales |
| Mary | Plasterer, Surrey |
| Shane Green | Chainsaw sculptor, West Yorkshire |
The programme’s format — teams racing to complete elaborate sculptures before the tide destroys them — also underlines the temporal nature of works created on the foreshore. For local communities, such events are a reminder of the interaction between human creativity and the coastal environment, and of the practical considerations that arise when art meets tides, weather and public access.
Residents interested in watching can expect a blend of creative endeavour, competition and the characteristic levity brought by the presenter, set against the familiar but ever-changing backdrop of Scotland’s east coast. The series is another example of national broadcast attention focusing on locations and people from this part of the country, giving Arbroath viewers a local figure to follow through the competition.
