Repair team breathes new life into heirlooms

For many of us, these are dark times. Thankfully the BBC has a programme that never fails to bring a little light to our lives.

The Repair Shop made its debut on our screens in an inauspicious fashion and without fanfare on BBC Two on March 27, 2017.

It quickly built a cult following; viewers were wowed not only by the amazing efforts of a group of dedicated craftspeople to breathe new life into dilapidated family heirlooms, but also by the stories behind the items and the people who owned them.

After three increasingly successful series, it was decided the show deserved a slot on BBC One where it’s been ever since, airing in both a daytime and primetime slot to great acclaim.

Filmed at the Weald and Downland Living Museum in West Sussex, the heirlooms are found mostly via social media and the owners are not charged for the restoration work carried out on them.

The show has made a star of some of its experts: host and ‘foreman’ Jay Blades also fronts episodes of upcycling show Money for Nothing and has made appearances on the likes of Would I Lie to You?, Celebrity MasterChef and Richard Osman’s House of Games, while furniture restorer Will Kirk recently landed a regular gig on BBC One’s Morning Live.

But most viewers would probably tell you that as talented as all the show’s experts are, there’s one who stands head and shoulders above the rest – Steve Fletcher. A horologist by trade (he learnt his skills alongside his father and grandfather, who were both clockmakers), he can seemingly turn his hand to anything mechanical – and even impressed viewers by showing off his skills as a saxophonist in the famous Repair Shop barn after one arrived for renovation.

But repairing timepieces wasn’t Fletcher’s original vocation: “I was always into nature and after watching All Creatures Great and Small on TV decided I would be a vet, so I took all the subjects at school to enable me to do this.

“My teachers should have told me that I wasn’t intellectual enough to be able to do the studying, so after not knowing what I would do decided that I would go into the family trade.”

He adds: “I now run a clock and watch repair business in Witney where we have seven clockmakers including my son, two watchmakers and three admin assistants, including one of my daughters who is also leaning about the mechanics of watches.

“My whole life as far back as I can remember I have pulled apart mechanical things to repair them and to see how they work so when I get something come into the Repair Shop that I haven’t seen before I am in my element!”

Steve’s sister, leather-worker Suzie, is also part of the team, so between them they have produced many memorable – and often tear-jerking – moments, which they and the rest of the experts hope to continuing doing for years to come.

“We all get on so well and have such fun working with each other,” smiles Fletcher. “The best part of being on the Repair Shop is the reaction of people when they see their transformed item, from excitement to true deep emotion.”

Make sure you have hankies at the ready for the latest edition – it’s bound to inspire a tear or two.

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