The Repair Shop

A 1960s record player and a flamboyant pair of 1970s boots are given a new lease of life. And a painting by artist Helene de Beauvoir, sister of French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, is also lovingly restored.

First into the barn is music lover Poppy, who is hoping bright spark Mark Stuckey can put the phonic funk back into a record player that once belonged to her late grandmother Catherine. The pair shared a love of music, and despite her millennial age group, Poppy is an avid collector of vinyl from the 60s. But with her nan's record player broken, she is unable to play the discs. Having recently moved into her own first home, Poppy is now keen for the turntable to spin again so that she can listen to the old tunes that remind her of her nan.

Next to arrive is barrister Colin, with a pair of boots harking back to his younger, more rebellious days. In the 1970s, Colin was an art student with only meagre funds. However, that didn't prevent him from splashing out an entire term's grant on the boots that have come to symbolise his first steps into adulthood. Bright red and yellow with wings on either side, the style was also rocked by Elton John in the same era. Now nearing retirement, Colin's hoping that cobbler Dean Westmoreland can get the boots groovy again so that he can relive the exciting days of his youth.

Next, Rachel is seeking the expert skills of Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch. Rachel has brought a teddy named Freddy that is looking rather worse for wear. He was purchased by Rachel's mum – a single mother - when she was a toddler as a replacement for another bear she had lost on a visit to the zoo. Freddy turned out to be a very welcome replacement, with Rachel holding him dear ever since. It's an interesting job for the teddy bear ladies, who need to replicate Freddy's original furry jacket, braces and bee-patterned underpants!

Next in the frame is art conservator Lucia Scalisi, who is tasked with a conservation of historical importance. Owner Jean-Robert and his daughter Natasha are from the same family as French artist Helene de Beauvoir and her older sister, the famous philosopher Simone. They have brought a painting that Helene created of her nephew Alain, Jean-Robert's dad. It's the only picture he has of his father as a boy and therefore holds great significance for him. It's a labour of love for Lucia to follow Helene's brush strokes to recreate the artwork.

The team restores four precious heirlooms, including a shattered ceramic poppy for a war veteran, which was created for the art installation at the Tower of London to commemorate the centenary of WW1, and a 1950s hot towel machine passed down a Cypriot family of barbers. Also on the job sheet is a portrait in pastels of a much-missed sister.

The first arrival is for ceramics conservator Kirsten Ramsay. Steph and her stepmother Alex are entrusting Kirsten with a shattered ceramic poppy that reminds the women of a loved father and husband. The red poppy was created for the momentous 2014 art installation at the Tower of London to commemorate the centenary of WW1. Each of the 888,246 poppies that filled the moat surrounding the Tower represented the lost lives of British soldiers. Thousands of visitors went to gaze at the dramatic sight, and among them were Steph and her late father, Pete. He was extremely proud of his daughter who served in the Royal Artillery, and he bought one of the poppies as a reminder of their day together. Tragically, Pete died of a rare blood disease in 2017 and, just a few months after, Alex decided to move it inside from her garden for safe keeping when it broke into pieces in her hands. Alex knows Pete would want his daughter to have it. That is, however, if Kirsten can piece it back together.

Barber Panos Adamou is the next to arrive, with a vintage tool of the trade for metal master Dom Chinea to spark back to life. The hot towel machine was bought in the 1950s by Panos' Cypriot father, Peter. He settled in the UK, along with many other Commonwealth citizens, to work hard and achieve his ambitions. He trained to be a barber and opened a successful shop where this machine was installed to produce hot towels and water for the wet shaves. Panos and his brother both followed in their father's footsteps and worked alongside him for years, with the hot towel machine loyally steaming away. Eventually, in the 1980s, the machine gave up and was banished to the basement. The Adamou brothers lost their dad recently, and Panos would love to get the machine back in service at his own barber shop in Peter's memory. Dom has a lot of limescale to contend with, which has clogged up all the fixings and has caused it to spring several leaks. Time to showcase his soldering skills.

Next, it's horologist Steve Fletcher's time to shine when Jasvinder comes to call with the clock that was her father, Darshan's, pride and joy. He bought the distinctive wall clock in the 1960s. These timepieces are known as 30 day clocks as they only need winding once a month, a task that Darshan took very seriously. Jasvinder and her brother clearly remember its resonating chime. It's a sound she dreams of hearing again, knowing it will remind her of her father who she lost when she was just eight years old. Steve tackles the enormous main springs which are gummed up with oil, and does his best to make Jasvinder's dream come true.

Lastly, sisters Tiffany and Sarah arrive with a precious reminder of their elder sister Tracy, who died as teenager. The sweet portrait of Tracy, done in pastels when she was 13 years old, is terribly stained, and they are banking on paper conservator Louise Drover being able to improve and preserve it. Louise uses various ingenious tricks of the trade to transform the picture and wow the sisters.

Stepping into the barn is a pair of tiny cowboy boots, treasured by the family of Elton John's former drummer, while queen of the invisible fix Kirsten faces her biggest challenge yet, as she must painstakingly piece together a shattered vintage glass lamp.

First through the barn doors is a pair of tiny but treasured cowboy boots. Belonging to Diane Wynell-Sutherland, the boots were bought for her son by her brother Roger Pope, a talented drummer and session musician. Diane shares the remarkable story of her brother's musical journey and his close bond with her son, from Roger's early days in local bands to his collaborations with superstars like Elton John and other iconic musicians in the USA, where the boots were bought. Tragically, Roger battled throat cancer before passing away in 2013, leaving behind a legacy of music and love. The boots serve as a tangible reminder of Roger's affection for his nephew and his enduring presence in Diane's life. However, the boots are showing signs of wear and tear, with brittle leather and split soles. Expert cobbler Dean works his magic, ensuring that the boots will be safe to wear once again and keeping alive the memory of a beloved brother and his extraordinary life.

The next visitors are Mehmet and his daughter Ozlem who bring in a treasured saz, a traditional Turkish instrument with a poignant history. Mehmet acquired the saz as a teenager, just before the eruption of tensions between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus in the 1960s. Despite the turmoil of the time, Mehmet found comfort in playing the saz, using its music to ease stress and provide moments of respite from the chaos of war. A constant companion throughout his life, the instrument followed Mehmet to his new life in England where it suffered damage, including a significant crack that threatens its integrity. Expert luthier Julyan Wallis takes on the task of repairing the saz, recognising the instrument's significance to Mehmet and his family. With meticulous care and skill, Julyan sets about mending the crack and addressing other issues, including a broken friction peg, ensuring that the saz will continue to serve as a cherished memento for generations to come.

While it's not a timepiece, the intricate parts of the next repair mean Steve Fletcher is well-placed to meet Caroline Caldwell from Castlewellan, Northern Ireland. She brings in a fascinating piece of industrial history – scales used in the linen industry to weigh threads of linen. Caroline's connection to the linen industry runs deep, with both she and her mother and having worked in this once-booming trade that defined Belfast in the early 1900s. Steve takes on the challenge of repairing the scales, aiming to restore both their functionality and their aesthetic appeal. Steve works to address missing pieces and stubbornly stuck drawers, ensuring that the scales will once again serve as a tangible link to Belfast's industrial past.

Left picking up the pieces, quite literally, of the last restoration is Kirsten Ramsay, who welcomes mother-and-daughter duo Mal and Jo McKenna. They bring a cherished but smashed Murano lamp to the barn. The story starts in the 1920s, when Mal's grandmother acquired it as a souvenir from Italy. Mal recounts how her grandmother initially broke the lamp, prompting repairs by her mother, and now, with the adhesive deteriorating, they fear further damage. Tasking Mark Stuckey with making the antiquated electrics safe, Kirsten sets about meticulously dismantling the lamp, cleaning away the old adhesive before delicately reassembling it, ensuring that every piece aligns perfectly. Thanks to the team's expertise, the Murano lamp, once on the brink of irreparable damage, is given a new lease of life.

First into the barn is Hannah Smart, with a moss-covered garden gate which is essentially just a pile of sticks. It comes from the cottage Hannah has just bought which is the former home of Roald Dahl's mother. When Dahl returned from fighting in the Second World War, he lived at the cottage with his mother, and the gate is even referenced in his autobiography when he describes the moment he came home from the war. Years of neglect had seen the gate disappear beneath the hedge until Hannah unwittingly unearthed it. 

As an important landmark in the village with a connection to Dahl fans the world over, wood specialist Will Kirk is tasked with the restoration. The gate is in a very bad state having had all its joints rot away, so the challenge for Will is to work out how to maintain as much of the original structure as possible. 

Next, David Burville has an appointment with Glaswegian Jon Keogh, who has a homemade model of a prawn trawler made by his dad, John. The model is a replica of a real boat owned by his father, who took up fishing after his career building boats in the Clyde shipyards came to an end. Having always yearned to make a living from the sea when Glasgow's shipbuilding industry declined, it was the perfect opportunity to make his dreams come true. Sadly, the fishing industry also declined, and John ended up selling his trawler, something that was hard to cope with at the time. To help him manage, he decided to build an exact replica of the boat he loved from memory. 

The model is in a bad way with broken lights, a deteriorating hull and snapped-off rigging. As David gets to work, he finds more problems than anticipated when he discovers the batteries have leaked. 

Next to arrive is Mayassa Reip with a piece of history, for the attention of silversmith Brenton West, that's played a part in generations of family weddings. It's an ornately decorated silver-framed mirror from Iraq dating back to the early 20th century which belonged to her grandmother who had an arranged marriage. On the day of the wedding, she sat in front of the mirror when her husband-to-be walked into the room – the first time they saw each other was through the reflection in the mirror, and once they met in this way the marriage could go ahead. The mirror has been passed down the female line ever since, and although they no longer have arranged marriages, it has been present at all the subsequent family weddings. 

Mayassa now wants to have it repaired so it can be enjoyed by future generations, including when her son gets married next year. The edges of the frame are sharp and coming away and it is heavily tarnished, but it also has major splits running through the silver decoration. 

Arriving last into the barn are mother and daughter Mona Roddy and Dearbhla Lennon from Dundalk in Ireland. The have a miniature Irish dancing dress that Dearbhla wore when she was two years old. It has the traditional lace collar and cuffs which had originally been made for mum Mona when she was a child learning to dance in the 1950s. 

It's tradition that the lace collar and cuffs are unpicked and re-sewn onto all the dancing costumes, and Mona wore them until she finished competitive dancing in her early 20s. When Dearbhla was learning as a child, the lace was added to her costume, and since then has been worn by Dearbhla's own children. Having had an internationally successful dance career in shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, Dearbhla and Mona have a close connection to the lace and the little dress where it all began. 

The dress is stained, but the 70-year-old lace is looking very tattered and is becoming undone. It is the job of textile conservator Rebecca Bissonnet to carefully bring the lace, and the dress, back to their former glory.