The Repair Shop: Episode 29 (S2022EP29 BBC One Wed 15 June 2022)

Jay Blades and his team bring four priceless family heirlooms back to life, along with the memories they hold.

Heather McPherson and her 12-year-old grandson Jacob are the first to arrive at the barn. They’ve brought in their kitchen table, which is on its last legs, in the hopes that Will Kirk, a wood restorer, can save it.

The pine table with a folding top and gate legs, which originally belonged to Heather’s great-grandmother, is extremely valuable to them both. Generations of their family have gathered around it for meals; it has been witness to many a debate and has remained constant through good and bad times. Jacob, who lost his father unexpectedly when he was six years old, has fond memories of playing at the table with his father and eating family roast dinners together. Even now, when he sits at it, he has the impression that his father is still present.

However, the table top is so warped and split that it’s really no longer fit for purpose. Will goes to great lengths to mend the original pieces of pine, rather than find replacements, and deliver the table back to Jacob and Heather ready to host many more roast chicken family dinners.

There’ a first for master cobbler Dean Westmoreland, when Grant Harvey and his mum Tracey deliver a pair of enormous clown shoes! They were once the possession of Grant’s great-uncle, Bert, who worked in a car factory by day and by night toured the working men’s clubs and children’s parties as a clown. He delighted in making people laugh in his red nose and very big shoes, and did it for most of his adult life. Both Grant and Tracey loved him dearly and feel the flattened, faded and scuffed leather shoes should be restored to preserve this funny man’s memory.

Expert David Burville is excited to take receipt of a Victorian diorama, carefully transported by its proud owners, Sue and John Cox. The three-dimensional model of a horse racing scene, complete with hundreds of little spectators and animals, is made entirely of cardboard and wood and encased in a display box. Although never confirmed, John believes it was made by his grandfather in the early 1900s, and it was his father George’s pride and joy. It resided in the flat above the family’s butcher shop in Isleworth.

Unfortunately, it was damaged over 50 years ago – the culprit was a nine-year-old John, doing a bit of target practice with metal turkey skewers! Many of the delicate structures were impaled and detached, and the diorama has continued to crumble over the decades. A repentant John would be very grateful if David would rescue it, but can he carry out the painstaking task to repair each figure and fully restore the diorama?

Finally, Tom Rollason comes to see the bear ladies with a lifelong friend. Blue Bear was given to Tom when he was a newborn baby by his mum. Tom was born prematurely and spent many weeks in an incubator with Blue Bear to keep him company. The bear represents the close bond that Tom and his mum still have, but he is looking a little worn, his nose is gone, as is one eye, and he could really do with some rejuvenating TLC from Amanda and Julie.

Airdate: Wed 15 June 2022 at 20:00 on BBC One

Season 2022 Episode 29

The Repair Shop is a workshop of dreams, where broken or damaged cherished family heirlooms are brought back to life.

Furniture restorers, horologists, metal workers, ceramicists, upholsterers and all manner of skilled craftsmen and women have been brought together to work in one extraordinary space, restoring much-loved possessions to their former glory.

Many of these items have incredible stories behind them and a unique place in history: from an accordion played in the Blitz by a woman who is now in her 90s, to a beautifully crafted clock made by a father who was completely blind; a Pinball machine that is currently being used as a kitchen counter, and a Davenport desk with its trademark fake drawers which fooled burglars – and their crowbar.

The Repair Shop is an antidote to our throwaway culture and shines a light on the wonderful treasures to be found in homes across the country.