In this episode of The Repair Shop, the team takes on a variety of unique and cherished items, each with its own special story. Sebastian from Edinburgh presents a tabletop dictaphone that once belonged to his godfather, author William Gerhardie, in the 1930s. Audio expert Mark Stuckey is tasked with getting the dictaphone working again, as Sebastian still has wax cylinders with recordings that haven’t been heard for over 80 years.
Mother and daughter Lesley and Nicola from Belfast seek the help of soft toy restorers Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell for Jess, a stuffed cat with special significance. Jess belongs to Lesley’s foster son, Colin, who has Pierre Robin sequence, a rare birth defect. Jess has been a constant companion to Colin through hospital stays and operations, and the restoration experts aim to repair Jess while preserving the unique finger holes that are so important to Colin.
Jannette from Northampton brings a challenge for blade and scissor expert Jonathan Reid. She has her father Geoffrey’s cut-throat razor and scissors, which he used as a traditional barber. Jannette learned the trade from her father and wants Jonathan to restore the barber set to its former glory.
Lastly, sisters Christine and Sian from Newport, Wales, visit ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay. They bring a broken fruit bowl that Christine purchased with her late husband, Itsvan, during their first trip to his home country of Hungary in 1985. Itsvan fled Hungary as a teenager after the Hungarian uprising and eventually settled in the UK, where he met Christine. The bowl was accidentally broken by Sian while cleaning, and the sisters hope Kirsten can repair it.
The Repair Shop airs Wednesday, 21 August 2024, at 8:00 pm on BBC One.
