BBC The Repair Shop experts Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell called in to see Steph McGovern on Steph's Packed Lunch on Thursday (March 23). And they soon started giving a masterclass on teddy bear repair, the Express reports.
Channel 4 host Steph had asked members of the audience to bring their beloved teddy bears into the studio. One audience member had a large bear which looked a little worse for wear. As Amanda explained the best way to repair the bear, she was left horrified when the guest owned up to making a big mistake with the precious object.
Amanda gave the teddy bear what she called a "squidge test" in order to work out what the toy was made of. She noticed the bear was stuffed with faux rubber and could see some of it poking out which is why it was heavy.
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"Over the years, it was such an amazing material, it was like the best thing ever and you could wash the bears with everything in them," Amanda shared. "But, it deteriorates and it breaks down – with this one, I can feel it's going hard in places."
The bear's owner, who was in the audience, admitted to the experts he had put the bear in the washing machine several times. Amanda looked horrified and when the guest asked if that was a mistake, she replied: "I'm not going to even go there."
Covering the bear's ears and remarked: "I can't believe you just said that. He needs this stuffing taken out of him otherwise he will deteriorate and the stuffing will cause him damage.
"Luckily, if you are happy to have a go it is relatively simple as this has started to open on the back of his neck." Amanda proceeded to show the guest how to take the stuffing out of the vintage bear.
She said: "Get it all out and then wash him once he is empty, then you can put some nice, fresh stuffing in him." The guest was relieved the teddy was repairable and Amanda assured him the toy would last "many more years".
Amanda and Julie enjoy a very important niche in The Repair Shop market. They are known as the Teddy Bear Ladies, having crafted themselves a business out of repairing stuffed toys.
When they aren't appearing on The Repair Shop, the pair run their own workshop called Bear it in Mind which has been open since 2006.
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