The Repair Shop’s most challenging fixes ranked by BBC stars – from priceless royal artefacts to heartbreaking mementos
THE Repair Shop is the programme that focuses on a workshop where people from across the UK bring their broken or damaged heirlooms.
Jay Blades MBE leads the pack of experts on the BBC as the contributors hope for a miracle restoration or a second life for the objects.
Throughout the years, audiences have been on a journey as a range of items have been miraculously mended.
We take a look at some of the most popular BBC One experts and some of their most challenging tasks.
Steve Fletcher
Steve is a third-generation clock maker who was originally drafted onto the programme by producers after they came across a YouTube video he made.
The horologist learnt his craft in the industry after studying at a college in Hackney.
Just days after he was first discovered, the producers brought him onto the team.
Throughout his time on the show, he admitted that the hardest item for him to work on was a clock that belonged to King Charles when he was The Prince Of Wales.
He explained: “It had been in the hands of so many clock makers and I had to work a way round of getting it going, which was really difficult and huge pressure.”
Sonnaz Nooranvary
Sonnaz started her own business after she undertook an apprenticeship in Upholstery.
The production team of the show gave her an unexpected phone call where they invited her to join the expert lineup of the show.
She has regularly appeared since 2018, but one of her most challenging items to work on was the restoration of a chair which the late US President John F. Kennedy once sat on.
Her mind was conflicted whether to properly repair or simply conserve the piece of furniture.
Sonnaz explained: “I didn’t know how far to go with it, whether to repair it or conserve it and so due to its historic relevance I conducted a conservation approach.
“I found that knowing where that line was between making it stable and conserving it was a really challenging part of that fix.”
Kirsten Ramsay
Kirsten originally trained up as a visual merchandiser before she had the opportunity to cross over into ceramics.
This came after a recommendation from a tutor from the British Museum on a restoration course that she undertook.
The professional ceramics conservator encouraged the star to retrain properly and so she attended a course at West Dean College in West Sussex.
But the star admitted that despite her experience, she had a particularly challenging time working on a heavily damaged alabaster lampshade.
She said: “It was a tricky fix because it was hoped that it could be used once again as a light, it needed to retain its translucency once bonded and filled.
“It was in so many pieces that had been left out in the garden in the snow and the rain sustaining further damage from the elements.
“I had to somehow get those pieces back together and make a repair that was safe and not going to fall apart onto someone’s head but also function as a lampshade again.”
Brenton West
Brenton specialises in the restoration of old cameras after he gained a place at a prestigious silversmithing college, which was swiftly followed by a photography degree.
The star joined the show after he completed a camera repair and another metalwork job for the resident wood expert William Kirk.
After Kirk requested the segment be filmed for the show, Brenton has since been a regular on the programme.
The star admitted that he was caught out by a garden bee ornament which belonged to a man that sadly died.
Reflecting on his time on the show, he said: “Very recently I repaired a little garden bee ornament which belonged to a young man who has now sadly passed away.
“He had given his grandfather this bee, so it was a very emotional fix. It was also challenging, knowing how important the item was, so that really sticks in my mind.”
Suzie Fletcher
The personality was completing a move back from the US in 2017 when the debut episode of The Repair Shop aired on the BBC.
Her sibling Steve was already a part of the show and her persuaded her to apply to join the cast of the show.
But she revealed that it was the restoration of a small shoe that made her loose sleep.
She said: “I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to be able to get it in shape again, because it could so easily go wrong and I had lots of sleepless nights over that.
“[Fellow presenter Will Kirk] actually made a little wooden form to hold the shoe on which helped me do this wonderful repair very carefully and ended up even surprising myself.”
Angelina Bakalarou
Angelina travelled all the way to Athens where studied the conservation of ancient Antiquities and Works of Art at the prestigious Technological Educational Institute of Athens.
The star later moved to London after she graduated with a Master’s degree in Conservation of Art on Paper.
After receiving an email from a member of the production staff on the show, she joined the cast of experts in 2023.
So far, she says that her hardest object to restore was a 3D helmet, because she admits she has not previously worked on a 3D item.
The star recalled: “That was like a massive thing where I had to think outside the box and think of different approaches of how to fix something that fits on someone’s head. So that was quite challenging.”
Dominic Chinea
Dominic initially specialised in fixing cars in his role as a metal expert.
At the beginning, he had a behind the scenes role as a prop maker and set designer who helped to create the iconic workshop sign.
But after some of the crew found rusty objects that desperately needed metalwork, he was offered a place as to be the resident metalwork expert.
He struggled to think of one particular item that was especially challenging as he admits that 99 per cent of the objects he comes across are challenging, due to the amount of time they have been damaged.
Dominic explained: ‘A lot of the things that we work on are particularly bad. And the memories that the family have got with the item and the emotional significance makes it even more difficult.
‘It’s so important to tread carefully with each repair, for example, the flakes of paint that are left and the scratches become so precious.’