New: The Repair Shop

The Repair Shop

Editorial

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

BBC One East

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 13

BBC One London

London

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

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

BBC One West

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

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

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

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Yorkshire HD

BBC One South West HD

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

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

BBC One South HD

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One North West

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One South East HD

BBC One South

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands HD

BBC One Channel Islands HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

BBC One East HD

BBC One North West HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One West 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

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

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

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

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC One Wales

Wales

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

BBC One Wales HD

Jay Blades

Bill Paterson

Lucia Scalisi

Tim Gunn

William Kirk

Rebecca Bissonnet

Steven Fletcher

Emma Walsh

Glenn Swift

Matt Baker

Ingo Nyakairu 

undefined Ricochet

The Repair Shop: Series 13: Episode 6

Episode 6

BBC One - The Repair Shop, Series 13, Episode 6

A sparkling of glamour hits the barn as a Danny LaRue frock sashays through the doors.

It is sequins galore for Jay and Rebecca as they welcome a dress from one of Britain’s most famous drag icons that’s in need of a nip and tuck. And a 1990s BMX rides again!

The team repair a BMX bike and a famous frock. Elsewhere, there’s a restoration on a piece of manufacturing equipment that helped the British army in the First World War. 

First up at the Barn, Tim Gunn has an appointment with Sharon from Swindon, who is entrusting him with a very special BMX that belongs to her husband, Dave. Sharon gifted the bike to Dave for Christmas in 1997, encouraging him to reconnect with his childhood passion of freestyle BMX, pulling stunts and soaring high above ramps! In his thirties when he received the bike, Dave passionately embraced his hobby once more despite having been diagnosed with Chiari malformation - a structural defect in the cerebellum that controls balance. Dave continued to ride for as long as he could whilst having treatment, but eventually the muscle weakness, headaches and fatigue forced him to quit riding altogether. 

The BMX is in a sorry state with a rusty chrome frame and buckled wheels. Tim has his work cut out as he attempts to bring the dull and dented frame back to the gleaming mirrored finish that Dave remembers from the late 90s, and it all starts with the careful dismantling of the iconic bicycle.

Next to arrive are Barbara and Stefan from Holloway Fire Station, who are hoping that art restorer Lucia Scalisi can rejuvenate the painting that adorns the wall of their mental well-being garden. The painting, which depicts a fire in the background with three bold, yellow-helmeted firefighters in the foreground, was painted by a now retired firefighter called Colin Jones. The painting is the focal point of the garden, where the team come to decompress after tough days on the job. But the painting, which has always hung outdoors, is now weather-worn and seriously mouldy.

Lucia’s plan begins with removing the black mould, which obscures the yellow helmets before tackling the substantial tear in the canvas. So it’s out into the sun, where the UV light will stop the mould before Lucia can vacuum the remnants away. Removing the milky old varnish from the painting is the penultimate step in this restoration as Lucia prepares to reunite the painting with Barbara and Stefan once more.

The Barn’s next guest is Ceri from Cardiff, who has a special challenge for textile conservator Rebecca Bissonet. He’s brought with him an authentic gown that belonged to none other than Danny LaRue, the legendary entertainer and female impersonator. The flamboyant dress dates back to 1969 and was worn by Danny on stage. Ceri recalls seeing Danny for the first time on TV when he was just ten years old, and was partly inspired to go into theatre himself as a result. When Ceri was working as a drag artist in Soho in the mid-80s, he had the good fortune to meet Danny, and the pair became friends, with Danny bequeathing the gown to Ceri when he passed away in 2009.

Rebecca has the job of repairing the dress’s frayed train and reinforcing the stitching where the diamantes threaten to break away entirely! Her incredible work means that Ceri can proudly display the gown once again and continue to tell the story of this pioneering entertainer.

Last to arrive are brothers Nick and Chris from Suffolk, who’ve brought with them a unique piece of machinery dating back to the early 1900s. The dynamometer has been in Nick and Chris’s family for generations and was a key piece of equipment in the family business: a sack manufacturer. The job of the dynamometer was to measure the strength of the twine used to make coal bags and sandbags produced by the company, which dates to the 1700s. In the early part of the 20th century, the business was responsible for making hundreds of thousands of sandbags for the British army used in the trenches of the First World War. But the Dynamometer is in no condition to measure twine strength anymore, and the dial which indicates the robustness has seized up entirely.

The repair immediately appeals to horologist Steve Fletcher, who wastes no time in coming up with a diagnosis to get it working. As Steve works on the mechanism’s dial, wood restorer Will Kirk takes on the timber elements. With the dynamometer finally fixed, Nick and Chris are excited to finally test the instrument they last used as 18-year-olds on the factory floor.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Repair Shop

Series 13

Episode 6

Contributors

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC One East

About BBC One