The Repair Shop expert gasps ‘I can’t watch’ as co-star transforms oldest item to ever grace show
DURING last night’s episode of The Repair Shop, expert Kirsten Ramsay was tasked with repairing the oldest item to ever grace the show.
But one moment during the tricky repair, which she undertook with colleague Steve Fletcher, had her on the edge as she gasped, “I can’t watch,” while Steve tended to the statue.
During a repeat episode of The Repair Show, which aired on BBC One last night, expert Kirsten was thrilled to tend to a historic antique that was brought in by guest Melanie.
When she arrived in the barn, Melanie showed off a broken statue, which was a family heirloom that dated back to the Han dynasty, making it over 2,000 years old.
After finding out its age, show host Jay Blades exclaimed, “it’s the oldest we’ve ever had in the barn,” to which Kirsten replied, “most definitely.”
The owner, Melanie, explained the history of the statue, saying it “would typically be placed outside of tombs or graves to protect the spirit of the person who has passed.”
The statue, which is now in pieces, once belonged to her grandmother, who was a passionate collector of Chinese antiques.
Melanie said it has personal significance to her, too. “I have always loved it even when I was young and to me it was just kind of a way of holding on to my culture and that led me to learning about Ancient China and learning about where I was from.”
“It made me quite proud to be half-Chinese,” she added.
Melanie and her family would love to have the antique statue displayed in their home, but sadly it broke during cargo transit when they moved from Connecticut to England in 2016, which she said was devastating.
However, Kirsten was excited to get stuck into repairing the statue, but admitted it would be “quite tricky.” Eventually she roped in colleague Steve Fletcher to help her.
The repair went smoothly until the final moments, and all eyes were on Steve in the repair shop as he added an important piece to the statue.
“Just got to put this last bit…this bit stops it from rocking forward and back,” Steve explained to Kirsten.
She looked incredibly nervous as she put her hand to her chest and turned away from her co-star.
“I can’t watch,” she gasped.
However, Steve added the piece successfully and then all that was left was for Kirsten to add the head.
“I reckon that is ok,” Steve reassured before adding: “Go on.”
Kirsten laughed before placing the head on the statue as she said: “I love your confidence.
“I hardly dare let go,” she said nervously before gazing happily at the result. “Amazing, doesn’t he look lovely? Just seeing him upright for the first time, I am blown away.
“Thank you so much, Steve. I can’t wait to see Melanie’s face. Seeing him probably for the first time in years.”
Melanie was overcome with joy at the final result, after admitting she was pretty “nervous” while the team were carrying out the repair.
The Repair Shop airs on Wednesdays at 8pm on BBC One.