The Repair Shop

Original version

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

Factual: Antiques

Shining a light on the wonderful treasures to be found in homes across the country.

Enter a workshop filled with expert craftspeople, bringing loved pieces of family history and the memories they hold back to life. A heartwarming antidote to throwaway culture.

Series 12

BBC One Channel Islands

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

BBC One Nightlight

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One Channel Islands HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West HD

BBC One North West HD

BBC One West

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One Yorkshire HD

BBC One South West HD

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One London

London

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East HD

BBC One East Midlands HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One South HD

BBC One East

BBC One South East

BBC One North West

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC One Wales

Wales

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

Jay Blades

Bill Paterson

David Burville

Dominic Chinea

Dean Westmoreland

Kirsten Ramsay

William Kirk

Richard Talman

Emma Walsh

Hannah Lamb

Paula Fasht

Claire Egerton-Jones

Tanveer Bari

Rachael Pagett

Kim Boursnell

Ben Borland

Ricochet Ltd

The Repair Shop: Series 12: Episode 5

Episode 5

BBC One - The Repair Shop, Series 12, Episode 5

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage brings a harmonium bearing memories of his late father.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage brings his treasured harmonium, holding memories of his late father, to be revived. And an early sculpture by an eminent Czech artist is restored.

The barn welcomes the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, who’s hoping organ restorer David Burville can revive his treasured harmonium, the subject of one of his poems. For Simon, the instrument holds precious memories of his late father Peter, a creative man who encouraged Simon’s own artistic journey. The harmonium was originally in their local church in West Yorkshire where both father and son were choristers. Now Simon wants the harmonium restored to not only rekindle memories of his dad but also strike a more contemporary note. David sets to work so that when Simon returns to the barn with his band, the experts are treated to a nostalgic but modern performance.

Next to arrive is Valerie from Pontefract with a pair of child’s leather clogs to test the craftsmanship of fellow Yorkshireman, cobbler Dean Westmoreland. The clogs belonged to Valerie’s sister Iris who, in 1946, was born at least six weeks premature. With her chances of survival slim, she was fed with a little dropper. Although she continued to have problems with her health and mobility, against all the odds Iris survived. When she was around four years old, their mother bought the little clogs to help Iris with her balance, but the little girl hated them so much that she threw them in the fire. Burned and no longer usable, the shoes sat on the mantelpiece for the next 40 years. After their mother died, Iris kept them on her own mantelpiece, having never got over the guilt of upsetting their mum. The tiny shoes carry so much weight that Dean has his work cut out bringing them back to life for Valerie.

Next, seeking the sculptural skills of Kirsten Ramsay is Martin with a precious memento that chronicles an extraordinary life. As a 27-year-old ceramics and sculpture student in Czechoslovakia, Martin’s mother Vera befriended a fellow student sculptor called Milos Axman. The broken sculpture that Martin has brought to the barn was made by Axman in 1947 and depicts his mother as a young woman. Before her studies, at the beginning of the Second World War when the Germans took over Czechoslovakia, Vera had been sent to work in an ammunitions factory in Berlin. She had planned an escape with two male friends, but when caught crossing the border, her companions had been shot dead. Vera was tried in Nuremberg and given a life sentence but was freed from prison in 1945. The sculpture is an important repair for ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay, aided by woodwork whizz Will Kirk, who turns his own artistic hand to sculpting a new oak base.

The final visitor is Kirsty with some precious metal for jeweller Richard Talman. Kirsty has brought along a silver charm bracelet that’s sadly lost most of its charm. The bracelet was gifted to her mum Linda by her dad in the early 1960s, and Kirsty has fun memories of playing dress up with her mum’s heels and make-up and the jangly bracelet. Having lost her mum recently, Kirsty is now keen for this sentimental piece to be restored to its glittering best so that her own daughter can remember her ‘Nana’.

The Repair Shop: Series 12

BBC One

Damaged treasures are brought back to life by some of the country's best craftspeople.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Repair Shop

Series 12

Episode 5

Contributors

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC One East Midlands

About BBC One