The Repair Shop viewers have applauded a "brilliant" guest who had them in tears within minutes after sharing his family's experiences during the Holocaust. Gary Fischer brought in a Jewish prayer book to the shop experts, telling them, "it's falling apart."
He hoped book-binder Christopher Shaw could help secure it and restore what could be restored. The prayer book belonged to his Jewish grandparents, who lived in Vienna at the outbreak of the Second World War.
Mr Fischer told Shaw and presenter Jay Blades that his father Harry was sent to the UK on a Kindertransport in 1938 - the evacuation routes designed to save children from persecution by the Nazis, but the children had to leave their whole family behind.
In 1942, Mr Fischer's grandparents and other members of his family were taken to a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia - Theresienstadt. He explained Theresienstadt was a "show" camp, often shown to outsiders as proof of fair treatment towards Jewish people. Because of this, his grandparents were allowed to keep the prayer book with them rather than having it confiscated, as would have happened at other concentration camps.
But just a mile up the road was a gas chamber, as there was at many other Nazi death camps. Mr Fischer was clearly very emotional and his eyes welled up when describing how his great-grandparents, his grandfather's sister and a 10-year-old nephew were all murdered in the gas chamber. "My grandparents were very lucky," he added.
Mr Fischer said he hoped the prayer book offered his grandparents some comfort in the camp, and showed viewers a page of signatures which his grandfather obtained from fellow camp inmates on the day of liberation. Around 50 names are handwritten on the page, including a German phrase from one prisoner: " So it's finally over."
During his time in the camp Mr Fischer's grandfather wrote a poem and drew a picture of the Jewish star hidden behind a drawing of the camp. He read out the poem to The Repair Shop experts, stopping halfway through as the emotion got to him.
He told Shaw: "It’s so fragile – I think it needs to go somewhere where it can be seen by others." Shaw was clearly moved, and told the viewers: "This book serves as a reminder of one of the darkest moments of humanity. I am more worried about this than I have been about most books, it's just so epic."
But Shaw set to work on repairing the book, and when the final reveal was made there was not a dry eye in the house. Mr Fischer said, before the unveiling: "I feel like my grandparents are here with me." Once the renewed, beautiful cover was revealed, Mr Fischer broke down in tears. "Welcome back," he said, adding: "That’s unbelievable - it's just a complete work of art."
Viewers were similarly emotional throughout tonight's show. Twitter users were reporting being in tears within minutes of the show opening with the amazing story, and at the final reveal they were left as emotional as the cast and crew. Even celebrities took to social media to share their thoughts on tonight's episode, which aired on the BBC at 8pm.
One viewer described it as "the best show ever", and another said: "The repair shop tonight is playing havoc with my hay fever." Other viewers said the story had "done me in" and "got me".
Meanwhile, one viewer with German heritage tweeted: "Watching the Repair Shop with a massive lump in my throat at the fella with the Jewish Prayer Book. My German side of the family aren’t Jewish but it still weighs heavy on my heart."
And for anyone who didn't catch the show, don't worry - the book looked like perfection and a testament to the great work performed by repair shop man Shaw.
The programme is available on the BBC iplayer.
The poem written in the prayer book
Here is an extract of the poem read by Mr Fischer that his grandfather wrote in his treasured prayer book, translated into English:
" Do you know we were also there,
We stood together through summer and winter,
Bind our arms and legs together and ease the pain of sleepless hours,
And soon a new day will come when we will part from one another,
But you will be prepared for when we see each other again,
And on that day we will all be free from tyranny."
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