Popular BBC programme The Repair Shop which sees items of importance to families, repaired and returned to their once ‘as near as new’ glory, is looking for viewers with cherished items that may have been hidden away or forgotten.
The Repair Shop features a team of skilled craftspeople who restore items that their owners fear may be beyond saving.
The barn’s resident Horologist Steve Fletcher and leather expert Suzie Fletcher think this may be the time of year to prompt conversations with family about other items for the 2024 Christmas special.
Suzie said:
“It comes around very quickly, so we need all of your wonderful items. I’m sure during Christmas you’ve been exchanging lots of stories as your family is together, maybe it’s jogged a few memories.
The Repair Shop is produced by Ricochet and first aired on BBC Two early evening in March 2017, eventually moving across to BBC One for Daytime. Since March 2020 it has also aired in BBC One’s Peak schedule at 8pm, with a number of specials including: Comic Relief, Christmas, Windrush and 75 Years of NHS. The Christmas Special on Christmas Eve 2023 was watched by 3.9 million viewers. The multi award-winning series continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday, 10th January at 8pm
Steve added:
“We’re looking for all sorts of things – it could be a toy, it could be a book, it could be anything at all that is just associated with Christmas and has an amazing story or amazing memory. If you’ve got anything like that that you think would make a really good item on the show, please apply.”
The Repair Shop is filmed at the Weald and Downland Living Museum in Singleton, West Sussex. The Court Barn is the principal setting, though some repairs are carried out in the Victorian smithy and nearby wagon shed
The Repair Shop’s presenter, Jay Blades, said:
“We’re always performing magic at the Repair Shop barn but there is something that’s always a bit more special at Christmas – and we would love to hear from people with objects of historical or social interest in need of repair with a festive feel to them.
“We are looking for items that make us remember Christmas’s of yester-year. It can be absolutely anything, the items don’t have to be antique, but it must mean something to you and have a sentimental value which a repair would make a difference. The team here are incredible, and we have experts in pretty much every craft so hopefully we have the solution for any fix!”
The Repair Shop team is reaching out to a wide range of communities for the Christmas Episode. Please email applications@ricochet.co.uk or log on to www.bbc.co.uk/takepart for more information.
The experts will be filming the new series early this year, rescuing and restoring items their owners’ thought were beyond saving, transforming priceless pieces of family history and bringing loved, but broken treasures back to life.