Welcome to The Repair Shop, where cherished family heirlooms are
brought back to life.
Anything can happen. This is the workshop of dreams.
Home to furniture restorer Jay Blades.
Nowadays, things are not built to last,
so we've become part of this throwaway culture.
It's all about preserving and restoring.
We bring the old back to new.
Working alongside Jay will be
some of the country's leading craftspeople...
I like making things with my hands.
I love to see how things work, and I want to know how things work.
Whether it's a Rembrandt or somebody's family piece,
every painting deserves the same.
..each bringing their own unique set of skills.
You're about to witness some magic.
They will resurrect...
- ..revive... - Oh, yes!
..and rejuvenate...
..treasured possessions
and irreplaceable pieces of family history.
Oh, my goodness me! It looks like it's new!
Bringing both the objects...
- Oh! - Oh, wow!
..and the memories that they hold...back to life.
- SOBBING: - Oh, thank you!
Today, at The Repair Shop, clockmaker Steve Fletcher and
furniture restorer Will Kirk team up to take on a grand project.
Oh, my goodness!
The back leg was so bad, it was rocking all over the place.
This is what happens to grandfather clocks quite a lot.
They fall onto the ground, smash, and obviously it's a lot bigger job.
And ceramicist Kirsten Ramsay rescues a much-loved vase from a
crack of doom.
It's so vulnerable, with that huge crack going right way through it,
could literally just send the crack right the way round
and it could break in two.
Hello, how we doing?
- Very good, thank you. - You all right?
- Yeah, nice to see you. - But first to arrive today is Zetta Rome, her
husband Bill and a wounded member of the family in need of assistance,
from Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell,
The Repair Shop teddy bear casualty department.
This is Pink Ted.
Ah, bless.
Made of sheepskin.
He's adorable, isn't he?
Do you mind if we gently take all his clothes and bandages off?
No, please do!
So, what's the history, then, behind the teddy bear?
Well, he was given to me just after I was born, I suppose.
- Right. - In the war, and I think he was bought from Harrods.
He's been with me all that time.
He got evacuated to Scotland.
- OK. - He survived measles and chickenpox and boarding school.
- Yeah. - And he's survived the first lot of children, my children,
and then our grandchildren.
What he did not survive was the puppy dog.
And it was a good thing it was only the arm, really,
it could have been a lot worse.
I think because he took the arm off,
he probably demolished the arm and left Pink Ted to one side.
- That was lucky. - Yes, yes, definitely.
The children have played hospitals with him ever since!
LAUGHTER
That's why he came in all bandaged up.
That's why he came in like that.
So this is made of sheepskin, then, is that right?
Yes. Teddy bears were usually made of mohair,
which is really soft and lovely.
But during the war and just after the war,
there wasn't a lot of mohair,
it had been used for soldiers' uniforms, blankets, etc,
so they had to think of other ways they could make teddy bears.
And he is really nicely made for a sheepskin teddy.
I like his worn patches, and his fadedness.
That gives him character and age and things,
so I wouldn't want him to have a brand-new red ear on the side.
No. With regards to his ears, we have one good ear,
so with that we can remove the good ear, we will split it into two,
so the back of Pink Ted's ear will become the front of the new ear.
- That's wonderful! - You're very welcome.
- It's wonderful. - He's in safe hands, OK.
Oh, bless!
Right, come on, leave them to it.
So, are you going to be able to do it, ladies?
It's notoriously difficult to work on.
Because it's sheepskin,
because of the frailty of the fabric that we're working with,
a lot of restorers won't actually touch it.
My relationship with Pink Ted is
so special because we have always been together.
Leaving Ted here is quite emotional for me.
I feel a bit like a mother leaving her child in hospital.
What I'm a bit scared about is that you said you were going to open him
- up. - Yeah. - Her face when you said, like, open him up.
- It's hard sometimes. - It is quite interesting you saying that,
because we do have to be very careful,
particularly in front of the owners,
what they see once we actually start to do a restoration,
because it can be quite upsetting.
Yeah, because you're going to open... You're operating on him.
We are. We do it as lovingly as we can,
but sometimes it can look a little bit brutal.
Severe, yeah.
We'll tell you when to look away, when it gets gory.
Thank you. That's very kind of you.
I'm worried about this front seam.
I can't see any other way.
Being really, really careful here.
There it goes.
When we're working on them,
we actually build a bit of a relationship with them
because they do have character,
so you'll quite often find us saying,
"It's all right, you'll be fine."
They come in quite grumpy sometimes, don't they?
And by the time they leave, they've got a smile on their faces.
I know you think we're mad, but they do, they do, definitely.
- No two ways about it. - Out it comes.
The stuffing that he's got in him is quite interesting.
This is called sub and it's kind of, if you like, early recycling,
because these were all the threads and bits that they swept up off the
mill floors, and we will re-use that if we can.
Taking this out, we have to be really careful that it's not adhered
or stuck or anything, if he'd got damp at some point in his life.
Then we could cause, again, more damage.
I have to say, looking at him,
he's actually in quite good condition inside.
And he would have been this colour.
The Repair Shop is a sanctuary for many ageing members of the animal
kingdom in need of revival.
But next to arrive is neither fish nor fowl.
Patricia Leavy has a treasured heirloom in need of some attention.
Here, I'll take that for you.
- Thank you. - Let's go over to Kirsten.
Kirsten, here we go, we've got Patricia.
- Hello, Patricia, how do you do? - Hello.
I'm Kirsten. What have you got in the bag, then, Patricia?
A pot that was my mum's.
It's been around ever since I can remember.
- It's a good one. - That's beautiful, isn't it?
I think it's a lovely thing, even with that...
I keep it turned to the wall.
You know, it would have been valuable, but there we go.
The pot is Royal Barum ware, produced by the firm CH Brannam.
Brannam originally made floor tiles, before moving into art pottery in
1879, counting Queen Victoria among their most distinguished customers.
How did your mother come by it?
Well, my mother had a marvellous eye for china.
Some people she knew, they were a very big family,
and there a big anniversary. They wanted vases,
so she lent this out and got it back like that.
Oh, how disappointing!
She wasn't cross, she was just disconsolate and she said,
"Oh, it would have been valuable, she said, "It's a good piece."
- Yep. - There's a little bit of a scratch in there,
but I don't mind that.
I'm really surprised actually, having happened so long ago,
that actually more of these bits haven't flaked away.
It's got a crack running through it.
- Has it? - Yeah, you can hear it, actually.
Oh, where's the crack?
So, there is actually a crack coming up from the base there,
right the way across.
Could I have just done it?
I wouldn't have thought so.
They must have done it at the time that that was done.
Yeah, quite possibly. Asking an obvious question, you know,
what is it that you would like to happen to this vase, you know,
what would you like me to do?
Make it nice again.
OK. Such a beautiful glaze, isn't it?
Will you get exactly the same blue?
I will do the very best that I can.
It's really good that Patricia's brought this vase to be restored
because, actually, it's so vulnerable
with that huge crack going right the way through it,
could literally just send the crack right the way round and it
- could break in two. - I think, when you have things like that,
it's a sort of moral responsibility to your family,
and to family possessions.
I mean, you don't sell the family silver.
I'm hoping that I can mimic that glaze quite well,
which I won't know till I try!
But I shall certainly do my best.
Bear doctors Julie and Amanda are mid-operation on
Pink Ted's life-saving surgery.
Ooh, steady on, now!
- I know, that's his... - What have you done?
- Took his innards out. - You took his guts out?
But look what good condition that the sheepskin's in inside.
We're very lucky.
You're good, you're happy with that?
- Yes, we're happy. - Very happy. - So no problems?
- No. - You sure?
Oh, yeah, all going to plan.
Because to me, it looks like that's a bit of a problem!
LAUGHTER
Isn't it amazing how all that came
- out of there. - It is, it is amazing, but I mean,
I'm still worried about it.
Are you? Don't worry.
Now Pink Ted is unstitched and unstuffed,
Amanda and Julie can start to repair him.
The toughest job is making sure the new fur bears more than just a
passing resemblance to the old.
I'm painting
onto the sheepskin, to try and replicate,
not what he would have looked like when he was new,
but what he actually looks like now.
Played around and discovered that hair colour, of all things,
is the best thing to colour it.
It's just being able to get it into the right places, and I'm really
pleased with the match.
'It's something that we feel
'very strongly about with these old bears.'
You don't want it to look like a new arm on an old bear.
The pieces that we put on have to look like
they've been there forever.
So I'm just going to keep working at it, looking at the original,
until I get the result that I want.
- How we doing, ladies, you all right? - Hi, Jay, yes, we're really good.
We're just discussing now that we're ready to put pink teddy back
- together again. - Is this the colouring that you've done, then?
Yeah. So this is the piece for the new arm.
That's the old arm.
So I've kind of been trying to...
Match them up. That's cool.
- Yeah. - So that's his arm, that's another arm?
- Yeah. - Yeah. - What's these, then?
- Ears. - Oh, his ears.
- That's its ears, yes. - Not ITS, his ears.
- His ears. - Thank you.
He can't hear at the moment because his ears are still there,
- so we haven't caused any offence! - Right, his ears. - OK.
So when you stuff his arm, you're not going to give him any biceps,
- are you? - Oh, no. - You're just going to keep it simple, yeah?
- No. - Because he hasn't been to the gym.
- He'll look like... - He's an elderly gent.
That's what I like to hear.
Pink Ted is not the only elderly gent in the workshop today.
A grandfather has arrived
in need of resident horologist Steve's attention,
to bring him out of retirement.
- Excited! - Hello, you must be Linda and Ian?
- That's right. - This grandfather or longcase clock has been passed down
four generations to Ian Murphy and his wife, Linda.
Would you like to tell me a bit about it?
Yes, I inherited it from my mother,
and she inherited it from her father,
who inherited it from his father.
Right. That's great to know.
So, let's just pop the hood off and have a look at the mechanism.
Right, can you tell me what sort of age you think it might be?
Well, the date on the front there, 1712,
and we've done some internet research and we can't find
William Robb in 1712.
We can find him in 1800s, but not 17.
- OK. - That date has been added afterwards.
- Oh. - Right. - I would put it much later, at around 1750,
- that sort of age period. - As old as that?
Yes. This is definitely from the 18th century.
- Yes. - So have you known it working?
Oh, yes. I have known it working, definitely.
It possibly hasn't worked great for maybe 20 years now.
Right, OK. So we have just the basic time mechanism,
which looks as if it's all there.
It's absolutely black in there.
You can't see that there's any brass at all, it's completely black.
So that's quite a challenge, getting all that cleaned up,
- but an enjoyable one. - If we could just get it ticking, we'd be happy.
OK. So there are different things we can do with the dial as well.
See, originally, the chaptering would have been silvered and the
centre would have been silvered.
These outer bits would have been left brass and
the spandrels here would have been polished brass.
And over the years, it gets polished off.
So this is a dial, and you can see the chaptering has been silvered.
This would have been re-silvered. This is not the original silvering.
And that's the sort of look that you get on it,
if you wanted to go that way.
I would like it to be silvered again, if that's how it used to be.
They look really smart when they're done,
so we can certainly do that for you.
Yes. Oh, smashing, thank you very much.
So, we need to talk about the case.
Because that needs some work doing to it as well.
Will, if you pop over and have a quick look at the case.
While Steve's got the clock covered,
Will's the man when it comes to the woodwork.
I think this case looks in reasonable condition,
but there are a few areas that need addressing.
- Right. - Number one,
this plinth is loose.
- Yep. - It's been screwed up there, and also this bracket foot there is...
I was about to say, it's loose, but at the back, you're missing one of
- the legs! - That's really kind of you to bring it along.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
I'm so excited it's going to be restored.
We've got an empty space at the moment and it would be nice to fill
it again with the clock, all shiny and bright.
Really excited, because it's nice
to see it back in the living room again.
And it'll be great to hear it ticking.
That's no way to fix it...
You scared me! What are you doing?!
That's no way to fix a clock.
Are those all the places that need work?
Yeah, so what I'm doing is, I'm using this...
..blue tape here to point out everything that needs to be done.
That really is an excellent idea.
So I've got all of this to do.
What are you doing?
I'm doing a complete overhaul on this.
I've got to do a lot of repairs to the movement.
I don't think it's been apart for 60, 70 years.
So you've got all that cut out for you, as well.
I'll pop this over on my bench.
Oh!
- Pretty straightforward. - Then over to you with the case.
Then over to me with the case.
So the first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to strip the movement
down completely. Then I can properly inspect it for the reason why it's
not working. It just depends on how much, where there is.
But I think it's pretty obvious that it's dirty and worn.
Another Repair Shop patient is on the road to recovery.
Pink Ted is finally on the mend.
We are a little bit keen now to get those finishing touches done before
Pink Teddy goes back.
Literally the last few stitches going in,
then we have a few skin grafts to go in place.
- How we doing, ladies? - You've walked in at the right moment.
They're never finished until they have a bow.
Aw, bless! He does look the part.
- He's got both ears. - Both ears, both arms.
You've done a grand job.
We are really pleased... Zetta was wanting some of these areas left.
She liked some of his sort of ageing.
Internally, he has been completely lined and strengthened.
The arm looks like it's been there forever.
That's amazing. I can't believe you've done that.
Right, let's get the rest of them. All right, guys.
When you're ready, we've got a little reveal here.
- It's exciting, isn't it? - Very exciting.
LAUGHTER
ALL: Aw!
Little chap.
Very good. Which are the new bits?
I was going to say...
Which arm is the new one?
This is the new arm.
And we made his new ear using the old ear as two fronts.
So the back of his ears...
- That's really clever. - Yeah, really good idea.
The back of his ears are
- the new bits. - That's brilliant.
- Zetta... - She's going to be so happy with that.
Wonderful. I'm amazed.
I am as well. I'm blown away.
No, you've done a brilliant job.
I don't think anyone would look at Pink Teddy now and think it was a
different bear than we started with at the beginning.
I think he's still Pink Teddy but complete.
Now Pink Ted can be reunited with owner Zetta and her family.
And barring any more unfortunate canine encounters,
is ready for another 75 years of family service.
It's like Christmas and Easter and birthdays...
Oh!
Oh, my goodness!
He's all better.
Oh, that's brilliant!
"Hooray," he says!
That is so lovely.
Welcome back, Pink Ted.
It's totally amazing.
Before he was mended, he looked a bit sad.
He did look sad, didn't he?
You think he's happy now?
He does look happy now.
He's never had a bow as grand as that before.
I never thought that he would be able to be mended after the
puppy dog chewed him up.
And now he has come out the other side and he's brilliant now.
I have promised Pink Ted to my granddaughter, eventually.
But I hope that he and I will go through a bit more of life together.
I'm not finished with him yet.
As one old gent is restored to his family,
Steve is just getting started on the 18th-century grandfather clock.
First job, wash off the years of built-up dirt.
What's on the menu, then?
- Soup? - Yeah, absolutely. - I'll have some of that.
Clock-a-leaky.
Ho, ho, that's a sharp one.
There was an awful lot to do in this clock,
because it's about 240 years old.
It has ticked about seven and a half billion times in its life,
if it's been working every day.
So it's incredible.
All those ticks have taken their toll on the clock's moving parts,
and have left Steve a massive job to try and wind back time.
So this pinion here...
..has got quite a lot of wear to it.
But it's quite fortunate that this pin is quite soft as well,
so what I'm going to do - I can actually scrape it with a scalpel.
And I'm going to
just shape it to get rid of the little groove that has worn in it.
Because that, when it engages with
the teeth, can actually
stop the clock.
Meanwhile, Will is working on the case,
and discovering there might be
a little more to do than at first sight.
Steve?
Oh, my goodness.
This is what happens to grandfather clocks quite a lot,
is that actually the glue blocks that hold it all together, they
dry out and fall out. And they fall onto the ground, smash,
and obviously it's a lot bigger a job.
Yeah. The back leg was so bad,
it was rocking all over the place, so I think
that, and that was flapping off the side,
so that along with the fact
that everything's flapping everywhere else,
it was only a matter of time, do you think, before that just...
No, absolutely, it would have fallen over.
In the nick of time, I think.
- In the nick of time. - Yeah, absolutely.
Leaving Will to deal with the shattered case,
Steve is forging ahead with returning the clock face silver.
I'm just putting the silver powder on, rubbing it in.
As you rub it on, it releases a
very, very thin layer of silver over
the surface of the brass.
Big areas are the most difficult ones to get a nice, even finish.
Sometimes you end up doing it
again and again until you get it right.
Right, now I've done that, I need to just wash it off quickly.
It's gone on so, so well, very pleased with that.
How are we doing, Steve? Your bench is empty!
- That means you've finished. - No, no, no, no, I've not finished. - No?
I'm getting on. I've just got the
dial all silvered and looking lovely.
I've just got to lacquer it now, then the dial's all done.
Steve's also decided to add an extra special touch for owners
Ian and Linda.
- I've found a hammer. - That's a hammer?
Yeah, that's a hammer. And basically,
every hour the hammer will curl back like that and strike.
RESONANT DING
Ooh, that's nice.
Over at the ceramics desk,
Kirsten has been fixing the large crack on the Brannam vase that the
owner didn't even know was there.
I've consolidated this crack, this hairline crack.
It goes right the way from here all the way round,
right through the base.
Quite amazing that this actually stayed in one piece because it's a
really bad crack and you can hear...
ECHOING TAP
Before it sounded, it was like a
really sort of dull thud when you tapped on this.
And now it's got a nice
ring to it. I stabilised that, here, as well.
And filled it.
And I had to put in these ridges as
I was filling, to mimic the actual
original of the piece.
I'm going to start painting because when you put your first coat of
paint on, it always shows up any
imperfections and things you've missed out in
your fill. I'm kind of looking for the base colour there, really.
Now Kirsten is cracking on with fixing the original problem,
the chips in the glaze, before the pot's owner, Patricia,
returns to pick it up.
The blue pot belonged to my mum.
She gave it to me about 40 years ago.
I'm longing to see it, I really am.
Oh, hello again!
- How are you doing? - Fine. - You all right? - Yeah.
Hello, nice to see you.
- So there's my baby. - There's your piece. Yes. Yep.
Are you ready to have a look?
- Oh. - There we are.
- Wow. - OK? - So which is the bit that's been...
No, let me guess.
This is metal so...
I can't see.
It all looks splendid.
That's great. Actually, that's the area.
- Really? - There. Yeah.
- I'm thrilled to bits. - That's lovely. - Thank you so much.
You're very welcome. I'm just glad that you're pleased with it, really.
- It's lovely. - Oops!
LAUGHTER
If it survives the journey back.
I might be back here next week!
LAUGHTER
I'm really cock-a-hoop.
It's marvellous, I'm thrilled to bits with it.
I think mum would love it, she might even want it back!
The rest of The Repair Shop team
is busy finishing the grandfather clock.
Will has spent hours stabilising the case, Steve has fixed the mechanism.
Now they can be reunited in all their 18th-century glory.
Plus, Steve's added a surprise chime.
Steve, now that's what I call a clock.
- You've done a good job here. - Thank you very much.
Will's done a great job with the case - really, really good.
And the dial, I've re-silvered all the dial.
Will, come over here, mate.
What I want to say, is you've done a good job on the box here.
On the case.
Sorry, on the case.
And Steve's got this ready to strike.
CLOCK CHIMES
ALL: Hey!
And it's going to do that every hour.
Well done, Steve. Teamwork.
Dream work. Amazing.
250 miles away in Hull,
the clock has been returned to owners Ian and Linda, who have no
idea that Steve has added an extra little surprise.
- Look at that. - Ah! - It's fantastic, isn't it?
Oh! Look at the cabinet as well.
It doesn't look like the same clock at all, does it?
That's fantastic.
We don't really keep a lot of stuff in the family, but this is the big
- heirloom, if you like. - It's a lovely sound.
Calming, homely.
TICKS
- I can fall asleep to that. - You probably will!
CLOCK CHIMES
You're joking!
How's he done that?
Oh, God! That's great.
- Dear me. - I don't know what to say.
That's fantastic.
That's the icing on the cake.
SHE GASPS
Fantastic, isn't it?
It makes you feel quite emotional to think,
- all those years it hasn't chimed. - No.
- Oh, it's lovely.
It's a good surprise, is that one.
Yeah, it is, it's a lovely surprise.
Absolutely amazed. It looks absolutely fabulous.
And the chime, it was absolutely superb to hear it because it's
something... I've never heard it before in my life.
And it was a very, very nice surprise.
Now we know what it was like when it was made.
Everything is working.
It was nice just to have that little moment.
Before, it was really just a piece of furniture.
Now, when I look at it,
it's a real heirloom, it's something to be proud of,
something to be taken care of and something that will be passed down.
Join us again next time, as more family heirlooms are restored and
treasured keepsakes revived in The Repair Shop.