The Repair Shop hosted a very special live session at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday to mark five years of the popular series. Two famous faces had enlisted the help of the skilled restorers from the BBC One programme to bring their treasured items back to life - and the results were unveiled live on stage at the festival.
Acting legend Dame Judi Dench and Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood both had sentimental items in need of repair and had made a visit to popular workshop ahead of their trip to Edinburgh. They joined the show's host and furniture restorer Jay Blades and expert craftspeople Amanda Middlemitch, Julie Tachell and Steve Fletcher on stage at the annual TV festival today (August 24).
Before 87-year-old Dame Judi made her appearance, a clip showed her presenting The Repair Shop team with her late husband’s, pocket watch. She explained how in 1972 – one year after they married - she had gifted her husband, actor Michael Williams, the watch while they were starring in a play together and that he had used it during the production.
She said he had “treasured it” before he died from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 65 and she wanted to be able to hear it working again. The festival's audience then saw horologist Steve Fletcher dismantling the watch so he could thoroughly clean it and repair its mechanisms.
When the actress, was presented with the restored pocket watch live at the TV festival, she was said to appear emotional and described the work as “sublime”. The team pointed out that they had also engraved her late husband’s initials on the back of the watch, to which she replied: “Oh my word, that is more than I could possibly hope for. Thank you so much." adding that she was “full of admiration” for their work.
Strictly Come Dancing judge, 57-year-old Craig Revel Horwood had asked for the team's help to fix a life-like chimp from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Sunset Boulevard, which was given to him as an opening-night present. Furniture restorer Will Kirk along with Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell, who specialise in stuffed toys, were seen painstakingly repairing the chimp.
They created new hands using liquid rubber and repaired its thinning fur using hair plugs. When presented with the completed restoration live on the Edinburgh TV Festival stage, Craig said the transformation was “amazing” adding: "That is actually 100 times better than what it would have looked like in 1992".
After being asked by The Repair Shop team if he would give them a 10 for their work, he said it was “better than a 10”. The session will be available via the Edinburgh TV Festival's YouTube channel.
