The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn

The Repair Shop experts hit the road, leaving their workbenches behind to witness the results of their skill and dedication, visiting the people who have been reunited with cherished mementos and discovering how these once-broken objects are being put to use again.

First into the barn is Steve Price with a remarkable homemade replica of Doctor Who's robotic companion K-9. Built as a GCSE project in the mid-1980s with help from his father Bert, the remote-controlled robot inspired Steve's lifelong interest in engineering. Decades later, K-9 is battered, unreliable and missing some of the features Steve always dreamed of adding. Since losing both of his parents in 2014, the model has taken on even greater significance, representing their encouragement and support. Electronics expert Mark Stuckey takes on the complex circuitry hidden inside the machine, determined to restore K-9's movement, improve its controls and finally complete the childhood project Steve never quite finished.

Next to arrive are Christine and her grandson Shaun from Wales, carrying an attaché case that once belonged to Shaun's great-great-aunt Pauline, a cook who catered for Winston Churchill during the Second World War. Pauline worked at both Downing Street and Chequers, helping prepare meals for some of the most important figures of the era, including Churchill and Eisenhower. The bag accompanied her everywhere and still houses treasured mementos from her extraordinary wartime experiences. After decades of use, the case is dirty, worn and falling apart, with broken straps and damaged corners threatening its future. Leather expert Suzie Fletcher carefully restores the historic case, preserving a unique family connection to one of Britain's most iconic wartime leaders.

Colin and Trish Dunmore bring in the shattered remains of a ukulele that belonged to their son Cameron, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident aged just 29. A gifted musician and teacher, Cameron carried the ukulele everywhere, including on his travels and teaching adventures in Thailand. After an accident left the instrument smashed and abandoned outdoors for months, it seemed beyond repair. Yet when Colin and Trish were clearing Cameron's belongings, a chance discovery in the undergrowth reunited them with the precious instrument. Luthier Julyan Wallis faces the enormous challenge of rebuilding the ukulele while preserving the marks and memories left by Cameron's hands, hoping to return a cherished reminder of their son to playing condition.

Finally, John Cambridge arrives with a battered cowboy hat that played a small but fascinating role in music history. In 1970, John performed alongside David Bowie, Mick Ronson and Tony Visconti in The Hype, the short-lived group widely regarded as the first glam rock band. Worn on stage during their earliest performances, the hat is believed to be one of the last surviving costume pieces from that groundbreaking era. Decades spent crumpled in storage had left it misshapen and fragile, with damaged wiring and a deteriorating sweatband. Master hatter Jayesh Vaghela undertakes the delicate restoration, determined to bring this unique piece of rock ‘n' roll history back to life while preserving its authentic character and remarkable connection to the rise of David Bowie and glam rock.

Clockmaker Steve Fletcher travels to Stourbridge to see John and Bert, the animatronic cobbler who has stood in John's shop window for nearly 50 years. Once a childhood fascination and now a cherished part of John's business, Bert had suffered a broken wrist and worn-out mechanics. After strengthening the figure and rebuilding its movement, Steve visits the cobbler, which is back in action and continuing a tradition that has entertained generations.

Electronics expert Mark Stuckey visits Ricardo Cogginotto and the treasured Brazilian radio inherited from his father. The radio had fallen silent after decades of use accompanying family fishing trips, football matches and treasured moments together. Following a careful restoration, Mark visits Ricardo, bringing him a device to listen to the Brazilian music he once listened to with his dad through the repaired radio, reigniting vivid memories of his childhood in South America.

Meanwhile, luthier Julyan Wallis follows up on one of his most ambitious restorations: a badly damaged mandolin that travelled the world with Royal Navy veteran Tom Seddes and even entertained the royal family aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. Damaged by an accident at sea, the instrument seemed beyond repair. With its structure rebuilt and voice restored, Jules visits Cornwall to hear Tom playing once again, proving that this seafaring companion still has many songs left to sing.

Bookbinder Chris Shaw tackles a battered vintage steamer trunk belonging to Andre, the husband of the late Paul O'Grady. Originally owned by celebrated American performer Gypsy Rose Lee, the trunk was bought by Paul in the 1970s and later became a home for his most personal memories, including photographs and the invitation to the couple's wedding. Torn lining paper, broken wooden compartments and missing leather handles mean the ambitious repair requires help from leather expert Suzie Fletcher and woodworker Will Kirk. Once restored, Chris travels to Paul's hometown of Birkenhead, where the trunk is destined to take pride of place in an exhibition celebrating Paul's life and career.

Ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay is presented with the shattered remains of Al Dog, a wolf statue treasured by Lisa Constantine and her daughter Katie. The statue is important to Lisa as a memorial to her son Alex, who died suddenly after collapsing at work. But an unlucky leap from the family cat broke it into many pieces. Kirsten painstakingly restores the shattered wolf, rebuilding its missing pieces and retouching the body paint. A small burgundy ribbon, inspired by Alex's favourite colour, provides a personal finishing touch before Al Dog returns home to Pontefract.

Electronics expert Mark Stuckey takes on a sought-after 1960s valve amplifier that belonged to DJ Andre Joseph. Andre's sons, Marvin and Ryan, hope the silent equipment can once again bring music to their father, whose life changed after an aneurysm and stroke in 2021. Mark tests and replaces defective valves, repairs poor contacts and renews a failing component in the preamplifier before putting the system through its paces. Once working again, Mark visits the family, in the hope that the revived amp is helping recreate the music-filled gatherings Andre once hosted and allowing him to reconnect with a treasured part of his past.

Finally, bicycle restorer Tim Gunn is challenged by an unusual tradesman's bike once used by London's gas lamplighters and now owned by gas engineer Paul. Its brakes do not work, the wheels are stiff and buckled, and the all-important flame-tipped pole has no secure mounting. Tim repairs the wheels, restores the mechanics and fabricates a sympathetic period-style bracket, adding vintage oil lamps to complete the transformation. Once repaired, Dom Chinea joins Paul in London to see the bicycle back in action and carrying the traditional equipment used to illuminate the capital's historic gas lamps.