THE REPAIR SHOP RETURNS FOR NEW SERIES

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.

First is a poignant story of a very precious keepsake. Rose Werner and her sister Linda have travelled from Essex in the hope that Suzie Fletcher can turn her expertise to a decorative leather box that they hold dear. It belonged to Rose’s late husband Jim. He arrived in the UK as a teenage refugee just before the Second World War, thanks to the Kindertransport scheme. Sadly he never saw his family again, and this treasured box was his only link to his German Jewish heritage. Now it is showing its age, and it would mean the world to Rose to have it safely preserved.

Peter Coxon is next to arrive, hoping the teamwork of Steve Fletcher and Dominic Chinea can provide a speedy recovery for a favourite childhood toy. The wind-up tin boat is a model of the record-breaking Bluebird speedboat from the 1950s, and it sparked a lifelong love of the water for young Peter. Dom and Steve can hardly contain their excitement at the thought of getting this vintage toy back on the water again. Steve replaces the rust-ridden engine and propeller, Dom reinstates the signature blue, and when Peter returns, the whole gang head down to lake to test it out!

Upholsterer Hannah Weston-Smith takes receipt of an old Italian dressing-table chair that is ripped and worn but holds sweet memories for owner Chantal Taylor. Sadly Chantal lost both her parents recently, and this chair represents her happy childhood. She can still see her glamorous Italian mother sitting in it as she did her make-up, and Chantal would love to use it just as her mother did.

Finally, Danielle Woods and her daughter Niamh come to see whether toy restorers Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch can save a much-loved companion before it’s too late. The tortoise pouffe was Danielle’s first Christmas present, over 40 years ago, and has been a permanent fixture in her home ever since, but the years of being sat on and hugged have taken their toll. His head is falling off and his fluffy fabric is dirty and dull. The ladies waste no time in getting him dismantled and in the bath. He is given new stuffing, new lining and good scrub until he looks as handsome as he did on that Christmas morning.

The Repair Shop airs Wednesdays at 8pm on BBC One.