Blades cuts the mustard

TELL you what, how about we pay another visit to THE REPAIR SHOP (BBC1, 8pm)? May as well, right? I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an awful lot else planned.

I must say I’m increasingly coming to appreciate this show. I suppose it appeals to me in much the same way that Antiques Roadshow does, only in this case we have members of the public turning up with precious family heirlooms they’d dearly love to have restored, rather than members of the public turning up with precious family heirlooms they’d dearly love to have valued at an astronomical sum, so that they can go: “Ooh, yes, but I’d never actually sell it,” then rush back home and bung it on eBay.

The Repair Shop’s answer to Antiques Roadshow’s host Fiona Bruce is, of course, the charismatic Jay Blades.

Fiona is still more fun to watch in some respects (MrsWard and I like to compete to see which of us is the first to cry: “Good Lord, what on earth is she wearing THIS week?!”) but Jay is a truly engaging, empathetic character.

Which is important, as pretty much every item that arrives on this show is of huge sentimental value, with a deeply touching story behind it.

So the programme needs someone precisely like Jay, who can gently encourage each owner to open up and put those sentiments into words.

What it wouldn’t want is some crabby old geezer who just goes:

“What’s that you’ve dragged in, mate? An old armchair? OK, shove it in the corner there and we’ll get back to you in a week or two…”

As it happens, an armchair is indeed among the items brought in for this week’s episode.

It’s a leather affair, once the property of the current owner Alan Reed’s grandparents, and it’s literally been through the wars. Or at least one of the wars.

Alan’s grandparents lived in occupied France, and you should hear the lengths to which they went to stop the Nazi’s commandeering this precious piece of furniture.

Elsewhere tonight, at 9pm on

BBC4, there’s another chance to see the remarkable documentary BEST about the life of Manchester United legend George Best (yes, sorry, I know it’s a repeat but it’s too good not to highlight).

As it reminds us all too clearly, the story of the Belfast-born football legend, who passed away 15 years ago at the age of 59, is more than just another tale of unfulfilled potential.

When Best wasn’t pushing that self-destruct button, he’d use his God-given flair to light up a pitch like few before or since.

New interviews and classic clips remind us of both a tortured soul and a unique sporting talent.