The Repair Shop

Enter a workshop filled with expert craftspeople, bringing loved pieces of family history and the memories they hold back to life. A heartwarming antidote to throwaway culture.



Season 14 - Episode 24







The team takes on four more extraordinary items rich in personal and historical significance, each in dire need of repair.



First into the barn are Paul and his son Sam from Bradford, with an extraordinary clock that’s housed within a dazzling miniature drum kit. Commissioned by Paul’s late father as a 25th-birthday gift, this handmade brass and gold-leaf model was crafted by a renowned local clocksmith, but years of sun exposure have dulled its shine, and its tick no longer tocks. Drum restorer Pete Woods and horologist Steve Fletcher team up to bring back its sparkle and precision, honouring the memory of a beloved dad and the craftsmanship of a devoted friend.



Next, paper conservator Angelina Bakalarou meets Rachel from Devon, who brings in a water-damaged photograph of her great aunt Maud Shaw. Maud was hired by President John F Kennedy and his wife to be their children’s ‘very own Mary Poppins’ and looked after Catherine and John Jr through good – and famously tragic – times. Gifted by Jackie Kennedy herself when Maud retired from the White House in 1965, the photograph was accidentally soaked by a watering can and left wrinkled and stained. With painstaking care, Angelina washes, flattens and retouches the image, preserving a treasured piece of family and American history.



Ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay welcomes Jean, a former Barnardo’s child, who brings along a wax statuette that was gifted to her in recognition of her remarkable fundraising efforts for the charity. On learning that hundreds of children from Victorian times were buried in unmarked graves at sites across London, Jean set about raising thousands of pounds for a series of statues to mark the names of the dead and was presented with this statuette by the sculptor of one of the statues. But with her precious possession having been badly melted by a radiator, it will take all of Kirsten’s skills to reshape it back into a fitting memorial.



Finally, luthier Julyan Wallis meets Nat – now from Yorkshire but originally from Venezuela – who brings in a precious musical instrument from her childhood. The cuatro is a traditional four-stringed instrument central to her country’s heritage. Originally gifted by her father, the cuatro was damaged during house repairs and left unplayable, leaving Nat distraught. It’s now down to Julyan to repair its cracks, reset its frets and restore its voice, reconnecting Nat with her heritage and giving her daughters a chance to carry the music forward.



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Thank you,

skorpion.