The Repair Shop is a family who come together to help people
Jay Blades is back with a new series of The Repair Shop. Richard Jones finds out more about this popular feel-good show
IS there a more likeable, nicer show on the telly than The Repair Shop?
Now in its 10th series, the “Antiques Roadshow with bonus blubbing” has lost none of its magic.
Not only does it continue to warm the nation’s hearts and prove time and again that there is no such thing as an ordinary item, it has also made a star out of its presenter, ace furniture restorer Jay Blades.
“We’re a family who come together to help people,” he says when asked about its success.
“It’s about kindness, and that’s a very good thing. I feel love from the public that really makes me happy. It seems to have a universal appeal.”
In the first epsiode of the new run, master cobbler Dean Westmoreland is put through his paces when Neil Scott and his granddaughter Saadia arrive with a custom-made pair of running shoes, complete with metal spikes.
Neil wore these spikes to compete and win in countless running events throughout his life.
He began running in the 1940s and won gold at the Amateur Athletics Association 100 yards event twice.
He’s just celebrated his 90th birthday and would like to have the shoes preserved to stand testament to his impressive achievements.
It certainly is a marathon restoration – the shoes are so dry that the leather is disintegrating and a tear close to the sole requires an ingenious fix from Dean.
Next up, Nigel and Karen Garry are here to see ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay.
They are holding an unusual side table that raises a smile or two in the barn.
The two-foot-tall bulldog is made of textured resin and stands obediently wearing a suit and monocle holding a drinks tray.
Nigel is registered blind and likes to surround himself with tactile objects like this comical creation.
The bulldog barman has become part of their family. However, an unfortunate turn of events, when the couple were moving house, left the bulldog with a missing ear and a major crack down his back.
Nigel now has nowhere to place his gin and tonic and hopes Kirsten can repair his cherished chum.
Art conservator Lucia Scalisi is the next to have her skills put to the test when Sophy Bellis and her son Harry, deliver a portrait of Sophy when she was a little girl.
Sophy grew up on the same street as the artist Roger
Hampson in the 1960s and Sophy’s mum requested her daughter sit for him.
The resulting oil
painting brought Sophy’s mum’s much joy and hung in her living room for all to admire.
Over the years the paint has become dried and is now flaking off the canvas.
Sophy always intended to have it restored for her mum but sadly time ran out which she feels bad about.
Now is her chance to have the beautiful piece of work revitalised.
The final item in the workshop really strikes a chord with organ restorer David Burville.
Norman Kench and his daughter Sarah bring the town of Henley in Arden’s barrel organ which is in dire need of David’s expertise.
The organ has played a major role in community celebrations and fund raising events for decades but is now scuffed, shabby and terribly tuneless.
This project is a huge undertaking for David but he rolls up his sleeves and cannot wait to start work.
The Repair Shop returns Wednesday, on BBC1, 8pm