The Repair Shop (2017–…): Season 12, Episode 8 - NHS Special - full transcript

The team celebrates 75 years of the NHS by reviving items that include a hospital food trolley and a patient diary belonging to writer Michael Rosen.

Welcome to the Repair Shop...
Oh, my goodness.

..where precious but faded
keepsakes... That's proper crushed.

..are restored
to their former glory.

Zhuzhing. Zhuzhing!

Could I get finished now, please?
Yes.

A dream team of
expert craftspeople...

I'm absolutely chuffed to bits.

Fantastic! Brilliant!

Yes. Look at that!

..using traditional techniques
passed down the generations...

Perfecto. It's almost magic.



Nothing better than a plan
that works.

..restore irreplaceable treasures...

Oh, my God, look at that!

It's perfect.

..and unlock the stories they hold.

DING!

Happy tears.

It feels more magical.

I just want to hug everybody!

Today, The Repair Shop is
celebrating a national treasure.

NHS, it's been 75 years
they've been going. Absolutely.

Our whole lives, yeah. And I mean,
I'm guilty of needing them.

You're guilty? More than once.

Yeah.



So what we're going to do,
going to celebrate them. Absolutely.

Do something. Now's our turn to
pay them back. Too right.

It's going to be a good day.

The National Health Service

was founded under Health Secretary
Aneurin Bevan in 1948,

providing free health care for all.

And in recognition
of this stellar institution,

the first of four fixes
dedicated to staff and patients

past, present and future
has arrived.

I mean, what is it?
This is a catering trolley.

Is it? Yeah. It's bigger
than I thought. Much bigger.

Children's ward Senior Sister
Katie Wilson

and her colleague Catherine Reid

are just two of the 1.5 million
people who work for the NHS.

Hello. Hello.

So this beautiful big trolley
is yours, yeah? Yep.

You use it on the children's ward,
is that right?

On the children's ward, yeah.
We use it every day. Every day.

For breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Wow. Yeah.

And what hospital is this?
Frimley Park.

And whereabouts in the country
is that? In Farnborough. OK.

Do you both work in
the children's ward, then?

We do, yeah. We both work up there.

And you guys have been working
for the NHS for how long?

Oh, Catherine's much longer than me.
Too long.

No, I started in Frimley
31 years ago, on the same ward,

doing the same thing.
On the same ward? Same ward. Yeah.

And he's been with me
the whole journey,

and he probably arrived
just before that.

But I don't know exactly when.
Not 100% sure.

I've thoroughly enjoyed
every minute of it.

It's a positive place to be able
to turn people round

from that really fearful place
where they walk in

to then actually give them some hope

that they're going to get better
and go out the door again.

We've got lots of children that have
got long-term, chronic problems,

but all the time you're actually
able to do something

to make them feel
a little bit better.

See, now, this is why I love nurses,

because you guys just make
the day brighter.

Yes. Unbelievable.

What do the children make of this?

Because it is just a sight to...
It's like a real train.

It's awesome. To a child,

it's like exactly the right scale
to be a life-sized train.

Right. And, yeah, I mean, they
absolutely love him. Yeah. Yeah.

Right. Must be nice having
things like this on the ward,

because I'm assuming that kids,
the hospital is the last place

they want to be. Absolutely.
For them to see something familiar

is really useful
because they're feeling really down,

they're scared, you know, they don't
know what's going to happen next.

And then they see something familiar

and they sort of almost
snap out of that

and go, "Oh, great! There he is.
I know who that is."

So what's actually wrong with him?

There's so much wrong with him.

So... Wow. You ready? OK.
I'll get a chair, shall I?

So, as you can see there,
there's some handles missing. OK.

Nicely taped over. And then
there's a couple of doors here.

One of these doors
is for a hot section

and the other is for a cold section.

The doors used to be blue
and it used to have a number 1

on the middle one. OK.

One of these serving hatches
is missing. From this side.

Is it that side? Yeah. Yeah. Here.

So the serving hatch bit
missing there. OK.

And then he's just a bit battered.

He's got lots of damage and he's
been scuffed over the years.

His face is a bit faded,
his wheels are a bit misaligned.

Quite hard to push around.
Oh, I know what you mean.

Like a dodgy supermarket trolley.
Yeah, absolutely. The wobbly wheel.

Yeah. That must be a pain.

When was the last time he was used
on the ward?

Monday... Monday breakfast.

Oh, so you're still using him

in this kind of condition?
Yeah, yeah. Oh, yes, yes.

There's a certain amount
of urgency with this then,

because the nurses on the ward now
are missing him whilst he's here.

Oh, yes. I think the children
on the ward are missing him.

The children are missing him
as much, yeah.

Why are you getting this
restored now?

I'm coming up to retirement,
probably in a month's time.

In a month's time?
So this is brilliant because

it's something that Thomas can carry
on afterwards after I've moved on.

Aww. Aww. Yeah. Bless you.

You know what you've got to do,
in't you?

Well, that list is long. Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

Thank you for bringing this in.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Bye.
Bye-bye. Bye.

I know it's going to be a lot
of work, but I can just picture

the kids' faces
when this is finished,

looking all nice and shiny
like he should. Yeah.

All right. Yeah.
Let's get this to your office.

Absolutely. Jump on.
I'll give you a push. Right.

JAY TOOTS

Where are you going?!

Out the door! Whoa!

Jay, you're all over the place.
Come on.

Careful! There we go.

Children's health
has been transformed

through 75 years of the NHS.

Pre-1948, poverty and a lack
of health care

meant one in 17 babies
died before the age of one.

Part of the push to rebuild Britain
after two world wars

meant care from the cradle
to the grave.

To say thanks,
Dom's contribution will be

to get this trolley back on track.

There's two sort of sides
to this repair.

First being a practical side -
this needs to work.

Luckily, the electronics are all OK,
which I'm relieved about.

The door handles are missing
on here.

There's lots of bits
that I need to fix mechanically

to get it working as it should.

But the other side of this repair
is the cosmetics.

This is the highlight of the day
for the kids in the ward

and it needs to look fun and cheery.

At the moment,
he's not looking his best.

Something else that
Katie and Catherine said

they really missed
was this missing shelf.

Luckily, I've got one, which is
really good as a reference,

but the other side
is completely gone.

So I think we're going to be making
a new tray.

So really, I just need to start
dismantling, taking pieces off,

and I'm going to start with his face

so I don't have to look him in
the eye when I'm taking him apart.

HE LAUGHS

Oh, here it comes.

Brilliant.

But before he gets too caught up
in dismantling,

Dom is needed inside the barn,

where bookbinder Chris Shaw is
awaiting a very special arrival.

This is an exciting one, is it not?

Michael Rosen is coming in.

Well, I've listened to him
for over 20 years. Yeah.

What do you mean, listened to him?
On the radio. Of course.

I've got his books -
We're Going On A Bear Hunt,

Mustard In Your Custard, all of
them. Goodness me. Yeah. Love them.

Also the former Children's Laureate.

Yeah, I'm so excited.

You're like a kid at Christmas.
I can't believe it.

The NHS sees more than 1.5 million
patients a day,

and someone who's experienced
that care first-hand

is children's author
and Covid survivor Michael Rosen,

accompanied by his daughter, Elsie.

Hi there. Hi.
It's so nice to see you.

Well, nice to see you too.
Thank you for coming in.

What have you brought in for us?
OK, well, let's get them out.

So this is my patient diary,

or as I call it,
my very patient diary.

So this was written by nurses

when I was in an induced coma
for about 40 days.

In intensive care for about 48 days.

My goodness.

This was in March 2020.

So this is very early days of Covid.
Oh, yes. I'm a pioneer. Yes.

And I felt very groggy,
a sort of flu-ey thing,

and then I started getting
worse and worse.

Then Emma started getting worried -
that's my wife.

She expressed it later as saying

it looked as if the shadow of death
had crossed my face.

And then Emma drove me to
the hospital with Elsie in the back.

I can see that now,
the sort of lights flashing by

in the night, it was.

As soon as we took him to hospital
and, like, had to leave him,

then it kind of hit, like,
"OK, this is a lot more serious

"than just a flu that he has."
It was pretty scary.

And the last conversation
I remember was,

"Will you sign this piece of paper
to allow us to put you to sleep?"

And I said, "Will I wake up?"

And they said, "Well, you've got
a 50-50 chance."

And I said, "Right.
And if I don't sign?"

They said, "Zero."

HE GASPS

So I signed... A 50-50 chance.

There I was, for, I now know,

for 40 days, approx.

And one of the worst things
was thinking of him alone

in hospital, which obviously
he wasn't, he was being cared for.

This is handwritten
by all the nurses in the diary.

They're watching me every day
and telling me what's going on.

I can't be more thankful
because without them, I mean,

he wouldn't be here. Yeah.

Each day they wrote an entry.

That's the bit that gets me upset,
actually,

is just thinking about them

and thinking about them
looking after me, saying,

"Today I held your hand,"

and they sing to me and tell me
things every day like that.

Would you mind reading us one?

Yeah. Do you mind? Absolutely.
Let's... Let's do it.

This comes from Wincey.

"You celebrated your birthday
with us.

"I wished for your speedy recovery.
I cannot wait for the day

"you'll go home and be reunited
with your family.

"You take good care, Michael,

"and it's been a privilege
to have looked after you."

"May you continue to touch
and inspire every human being

"you will encounter.
God bless, your nurse, Wincey."

I just... Every time I read that,
it's...

It's amazing.

This moment in time, they've been
pulled in from different wards,

they're risking their lives. Yes.
Nobody really knew about this...

Yes. ..this virus going around.
Some of them died.

We have to remember that. Some of
those nurses and helpers died,

particularly in the early stages.

These people saved my life
many times.

What's wrong with it?
Why have you brought it in? Right.

Because it's falling apart,
and this entry here

has actually come out.

So I'm very much hoping
that you guys can make it

so that it'll last forever and ever
and ever and ever.

You do that sort of thing.
You do magic, don't you? Well...

Yeah. I guess it's preserving it
for the future.

Yes. I think, you see, every time
I open it and look at it, I...

I destroy it.

And it's very sad
that it might fall apart.

So I've got to ask about

these beautiful illustrations
and drawings.

These are letters that children
sent to me.

Not that I know about it,
because I was in the coma,

but these are saying things like,
"Get well soon,"

which is quite appropriate, really.

And there is a picture of somebody
with bananas in their ears.

That's obviously to encourage me
to also get better.

THEY LAUGH

"Get well soon."
I've got a rainbow there.

That's lovely, isn't it?

It's amazing that you've got
this pile of

these beautiful illustrations
and "get well soon" notes.

But what are you hoping
Chris can do with them?

Maybe if you could
bind them together in some way

so that they're kind of displayed
within the binding.

So I kind of open it and look at it

and I can just...live with it.

Well, I'll have fun with that.
I'm looking forward to that.

Thank you so much
for bringing these in

and trusting Chris with
these precious pieces of paper.

Well, thank you. Thank you.
Goodbye. Bye. Bye.

He's a bit of a hero, isn't he?
Yeah. Unbelievable.

Thanks, Dom. Thanks, Chris.

If there were ever

an example of how brilliant
our NHS is,

this would be up there.

The compassion, the devotion,
the love shown

all summed up and represented in
this really, really humble book.

But the main problem is
it's a perforated page,

and that is why they're all
hanging on by a thread.

You can see, like,
that group there

is all coming apart.

So what I'm going to do
on the back of the page

is I'm going to put a strip of
Japanese tissue along here

and it'll seal the page.
He'll be able to turn it.

It'll just make it as strong
as it should be.

So Michael brought in
along with this diary

all these lovely cards that children
sent to him to get well.

So I'm going to make
a rainbow scrapbook,

a symbol of support
to the NHS during the pandemic.

But let's sort the diary first.

So I'm going to use a heat-sensitive
Japanese tissue which I can iron on.

I've got a lot of strips to cut.

I know the measurement.
I just have to get on,

cut them all, and then I can
stick them on.

While Chris gets busy
with his scalpel,

Dom's preparing to heal some steel.

This catering trolley
will be absolutely useless

if the compartments that hold
the all-important dinner

doesn't have a handle
to actually be able to open it.

Over time,
they've just worn through.

You can see there's all these
fractures and stress cracks

running through. The material
has just... It's just given up.

I'm going to start by welding up
all of these cracks.

Catherine and Katie have been
using this catering trolley....

..for years without
one of these trays.

Something simple like this tray

can actually make the nurses' lives
so much easier on the ward

whilst they're trying to serve
the food three times a day

to all of the kids there. So I'm
going to make a completely new one.

I've got a sheet of stainless steel,
the same thickness as the original,

and all I need to do now
is a bit of metal origami.

This is my folding machine,

which allows me to fold
each section individually.

And then I've got a lever
at the bottom

that pulls it up and bends it round.

OK. That's the first fold done.

Once all the edges are folded,
I'll weld up the corners,

and we'll have a replica
of the original tray.

It's going to look good.

Next, an antique accessory
in need of resuscitation.

Dr Adrian Hayter and his daughter,
a trainee dentist, Lydia,

have brought an item for
the scalpels and stitches

of leather expert Suzie Fletcher.

Hello. Hello. Hello.

How are you doing?
Good, thank you.

So tell us about this bag.

So this is my dad's bag.

It's a GP bag which he used
throughout his life,

working as a GP in Leigh-on-Sea
in Essex. Whoa!

And what's Dad's name?
Dad's name is Noel.

He went to medical school
in Rangoon.

He qualified as a doctor at quite
a young age and then came from Burma

in the 1960s to pursue a career
in the NHS.

So how come you've got the bag?

When he retired from general
practice, I became a GP...

Oh, really? Did you?
..so he handed the bag over to me.

So being a GP compared to your dad's
time, is it a lot different?

Yeah. General practice in those days
was a 24 hour a day,

seven day a week,
365 day a year job.

It's hard to imagine
that you're on call 24/7,

and no matter how tired you are,
you've still got to go out.

Yeah, I remember as a kid him
going out at all times in the night

and he was delivering babies
and things... Really?

..in people's homes. Yeah.

And he'd take the bag, you know,
the bag was the thing

with all his stuff in it. Yeah,
yeah. Taking it to those houses.

And for him
it was very much a vocation

and being part of the community.

He got to know people
and their families,

and it was something that
he was devoted to

and it was great for him
to be part of the community.

And how long was he a GP for?

Oh, he was a GP probably
for about...nearly 40 years.

40? 40 years? Yeah.

In those days a lot of doctors came
from overseas to work in the NHS.

And the legacy is not only
what they've done,

but their children following that.

And you know, we need people
to work in the NHS. Yeah. Yeah.

And it's great that we've got
such a diversity of people

who do work in the NHS. Wow.

Where's your dad now?

So, yeah, he passed away
in November time.

Oh. Yeah, unfortunately.

What was he like as a grandad, then?

Yeah, he was amazing.

Yeah, he would really encourage
us all to work hard in school

and in our studies. Yeah.
But he was also very caring.

I think that was a big quality
that he had during

both his role as a grandfather
and his role as a GP. Yeah.

It's nice to have the bag
in memory of him now.

SUZIE: And do you remember him
using this case?

I remember his desk,
it would be sat there

with, like, a skull on top of it
and, like, all these things. Wow.

And then I always remember the bag

would be sat there
in the same place.

Should I show it to you?
Yes, please.

Wow! This is the case. Look at that!

So you can see here that the seams
are coming apart here. Oh, yeah.

So it's really kind of those edges

and the corners are kind of...
Stressed?

..stressed and bowed out.

It has lots of compartments,
but also the sides are moving apart.

I think it's absolutely gorgeous.

So this is all the stuff
your dad would have used?

Yeah, this is...
Is that a syringe?

So, yeah. Oh! It's a special kind
of syringe, though. OK.

I don't like to know
where that goes!

What would you use that for?

It's an ear syringe.
Oh, that's not so bad.

THEY LAUGH

But it's kind of seized up

a little bit. Might have a bit of
wax in there, you never know.

Probably has, yeah.
So what would you like Suzie to do?

Strengthening it so that
it maintains its integrity.

But whatever you can do
to make it strong again.

It would be nice to see how it was
when he was using it at the time.

It really kind of tells the story
of general practice

through, you know, a significant
period of the last 75 years.

And so I'd like to use that
to hopefully inspire other people

to kind of do the same,

because the NHS is only
the people who work in it

and we need more people to come
and join us for the future.

What are you going to do with it?

We're planning to do a celebration
of the 75th year

by going into schools, and I'd love
to take that into the school

and hopefully inspire a few people
to think about

joining this fantastic profession.

Yeah. We can help with that,
can't we? I think we can.

Absolutely. OK. Yeah.
You're on a mission... Great.

..so we'll have to go on a mission.
Thank you both for bringing this in.

Yeah, no, it's going to be
an absolute privilege to do this

for your family, and I can't wait
to get started.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Bye. Bye-bye. Bye.

Adrian's father Noel
was one of thousands of workers

recruited from overseas

to help staff the Government's
vision for the NHS.

Many dedicated their lives
to the service.

In tribute, Suzie's determined
to get this symbol

of one doctor's story
back to its beautiful best.

This is such an interesting bag.

But what I am seeing is
everything's got warped

and it's got moisture in it.

It's busted out the stitching
as well.

And there's a fair amount
of metalwork here.

And I'm just wondering if Brenton

could not only clean up
the metalwork a bit,

possibly look at getting
that syringe working again.

I think the first thing I need to do

is start removing
these metal corners

and then I can really get into
strengthening up these seams

that have broken out.

There you go. Perfect.

Poetry in motion as Chris
continues his paper caper.

I thought I would just start
at the page

that had actually fallen out,
that Michael pulled out,

and this is where it goes.

So this is the heat-sensitive
Japanese tissue.

Just get it into position.

This is a heated spatula
and the heat from the spatula

is activating the glue on the back
of the Japanese tissue.

And I just need to rub along there.

And it'll then...

..join on.

I almost feel like I'm a surgeon
with a very precise tool.

Well, that's the first one.

And the result...
I'm really pleased.

I've got a long way to go,
but it's a good start.

Over the years, the features
of the trolley had just worn off

from cleaning and just
wear and tear, basically.

His bright, cheery, happy,
smiley face was wearing away

and he was looking a bit sad.

And I'm just now painting back in
the details.

This is a critical time.

One wrong move with this paintbrush

and he'll end up having
googly cross eyes

and scaring away the kids
on the ward,

which is the last thing we want.

When I was a newborn baby,

I was actually in intensive care
for a good week or two.

I had quite a serious problem with

one of the pipes
coming from my stomach.

It sort of closed itself up
and I couldn't keep down any food.

It was honestly a terrifying time
for my mum.

Without the NHS and children's wards
like this one,

I literally wouldn't be here now.

So it's a real honour
and I'm really, really proud

to actually be able to
give something back.

OK. That is it for the white,
I think.

Oh, look at him.

He's making me smile.
So I can only imagine

what he's going to do with the
kids on the ward. It's brilliant.

I've popped the diary to one side
so I can think about

and concentrate on
the rainbow scrapbook,

with rainbow-coloured card.

And then I'm thinking

I'm going to put a little rainbow
on the outside.

So I'm going to sew it together.

This is one of the aspects
of bookbinding which I do find

sort of exceptionally mindful.

To get a bunch of paper, thread,

and be able to create something
just from a pile of that,

I do find immensely satisfying.

Looking at the cards does remind me,

you know, how important
Michael Rosen is to children.

He was Children's Laureate.

So important to encourage
children to read.

This does feel very childlike,
making a rainbow scrapbook.

Now, all I've got to do really
is finish the sewing

and then I can move on,
shape the book,

and then the excitement
of creating the outside cover.

So I'm progressing really well
with the scrapbook for Michael.

And I've chosen NHS blue

and then this lovely paste paper
I'm using is the sky.

Because what I'm going to do
is recreate a rainbow,

which was the symbol of support
for the NHS throughout the pandemic.

And I've got some beautiful papers

which is the rainbow colours,
as close as I could get.

I do have a lot of
decorative papers.

It's been quite difficult to get
the exact match of, say,

violet or indigo.

This is a beautiful violet one

which is actually
printer's waste from 1870s.

This green one I made
when I was at college,

so 40-odd, over 40 years ago,

but never actually used it since.

And now I've found
the perfect project.

I think they're all done now.

That's the rainbow.

Now I've got the fun and games
of sort of glueing and sticking on.

Outside, Dom's tussling
with his own colourful commission.

OK.

Getting this catering trolley
back together

has not been straightforward.

It's quite nice now to be bolting on
the last few pieces.

It's the end of a very long road.

Or track, I should say.

O-hoi! Oh, here he is, Jay.
How's it going?

Oh, well done, you.

So the face, then,
that's the last thing to go on?

You know what, he's here, look.

Oh, bless him.
He's got his eyebrows now.

THEY LAUGH

Do you mind giving me a hand
putting it on? No problem.

Is he definitely facing
the right way?

All right. We'll get this
to the hospital in no time.

How are we getting there?
Train.

Hungry to get the food trolley
back into service,

Dom and Jay
have personally delivered it

to Frimley Park Hospital.

We've got to get him covered up.

They're going to be here
in a minute. OK, OK.

The catering trolley
had been serving three meals a day

for over 30 years
under the watchful eye of Catherine,

and latterly her colleague Katie.

Hello. Hello.

How you both been? Good?
Really well, yeah.

Yeah. It's really strange.
It's my last day here.

It's your last day? My last day
on the children's ward today.

Oh! Yep. Been here 31 years
and today I say goodbye. Yep.

But this is something
you wanted to leave

and make sure that he's...
Absolutely.

That he was still here
to carry on afterwards.

So...he's been with me
the whole journey.

It's time for him to carry on.

Has anyone missed
the catering trolley?

We've all missed
this catering trolley, yes.

The patients, the visitors,
the parents and the catering staff.

Aww. He's just one of our team.

So you guys ready to see him?
Yeah. Yeah. Really ready.

Yeah? Come on, Jay, let's do it.

Wow!

He's got his door! He's got
his door back! Brilliant!

Look at that, colours on there.

Oh, my goodness. Wow.
Thank you both!

The handles are all on!

Oh, wow. Perfect.

That's amazing.

Oh, look at his face.

So can we see him in action?
Yeah. Absolutely, yeah.

We've got some party food.
Oh, cool. Yeah. Time for dinner.

Let's get him out in the ward.

Come on, Jay, this way. All right.

CHEERING

Wow!

JAY LAUGHS

It's just nice to have him back
looking perfect

and making everyone smile.

Big hug, Thomas.

Hi, Thomas!

What we've got on today's menu
is pizza, chips and peas.

Who wants some of that?
This young man. Absolutely.

Course he does.
Come on, get in there.

All right, here we are.

It's almost like
I'm getting off at this station

and he's carrying on down the line.

He can carry on
for another 30 years.

Back at the Repair Shop,

a furniture fix
for a whole family of NHS heroes.

Bill McDonald, his wife Kate
and daughter Fiona have travelled

all the way from Glasgow to see
furniture restorer Will Kirk.

After you.

Hello. Hello.

How are we doing? Very good, thanks.
Yes, pretty good.

Hello. The whole family.

THEY LAUGH

This must be your lovely desk.

Yes. That's it.

It's been with us a long time.

Been in the family since 1986.

So how did you get the desk?

I was a student nurse at the time
in a psychiatric hospital in Glasgow

and the school of nursing within
the hospital was closing down,

so they sent out to staff,
students, anyone,

saying, "There's a load of desks
that are going to end up in a skip

"so anybody that wants one,
please come and take one."

Right in the corner there was
this beautiful desk sitting

and that's the one that
I immediately fell in love with.

And when I was studying for
my finals, for my nursing exams,

that's where I studied. Right.

And then as the family grew,
the kids, Fiona,

and we've got a son, Lewis,
they used it for homework.

And then Kate was doing
some studying,

and it's always just been
the base for...

You sound like a studying family!
I know! All right.

So have you been in the mental
health side of the NHS, then? Yeah.

For me, mental health nursing is
about connecting with people. Yeah.

It's about trying to understand
what's important to that individual

and then trying to empower them
and enable them to be the best

that they can be and to manage
their condition as much as they can.

So is this something
that goes through the family?

So are you in the NHS?

I am, I'm an administrator,
just retired.

Don't tell me you've gone into the
NHS as well. Yes, I'm NHS as well.

Wow. Can't escape it.
It's all in the family.

So I'm an occupational therapist,

currently working in
a community mental health team.

Enjoy my job.

It's so rewarding to be able
to help people as well

and be part of the NHS system
as a whole.

What does the NHS mean to you guys?

For me, it's just something that's
always been there for our family

whenever we've needed it.

And as someone who worked
in the NHS,

having the opportunity
to support people

when they were at
their most vulnerable

has really just been
the biggest privilege of my life.

It's something to be proud of.
Yeah, definitely.

The best, the best career ever.

So what exactly is wrong
with the desk?

Er, apart from there's
a few stains on the top,

there's lots of kind of scratches.
The drawers are a bit sticky,

particularly that bottom one,

and it's rubbed
all the varnish off there.

It's just had a great life.

Yeah. But like us all,
showing a wee bit of time.

Yeah. Who's going to have this desk
when it's restored?

It will come back to my house

to help me working from home
as well. Yeah. Yeah.

Just I need that kind of
dedicated space for work.

And this is the desk. Yes.
That's going to do that.

This is where I focus on work
and then like have a different space

to sort of switch off from work
and sort of live life as well.

Yeah. I'm with you. Well, guys,
thank you for bringing this in.

And you've brought it to our family
now. Yeah. From your family to ours.

We're going to take care of it.
Fantastic. Thank you very much.

We'll see you soon. OK. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

Now, this is a great desk.

You can see all the lovely figure
in the wood.

I'm not too sure what the top
has been polished with.

I think it's like
a synthetic sort of varnish

because in areas, you can see
it's become quite brittle.

It doesn't actually take a lot

to scratch the surface.
I can demonstrate there...

Look at that. That is really...

I mean, I've nearly

scraped back the top.
That's incredibly brittle.

Now, one other thing
that Bill mentioned,

the drawers were sticking,

so I could sand this back
and get some wax in there.

From this angle, you can really see
the difference in colour

from the front of the drawers
to the top.

The top is really bleached out.
So the first thing I need to do

is to remove the varnish
from the top surface,

then I can stain it
to match the front.

I'm applying a really thick coat
of paint stripper

onto the surface now,

and this should start lifting
that old varnish off.

I'm going to scrape off the old
varnish and rinse and repeat,

basically, until it's down to
the bare wood.

A difficult task for Suzie,

as she attempts to reverse
the ravages of time

that have left a GP's bag
in desperate need of treatment.

I've been able to get
all the metal corners off

and I can reinforce
with some leather

and sew these seams back together.

I've gone ahead
and cut a new strip of leather

that I'm now going to insert

in between the surfaces of
the old leather and the card,

and just feed it in
between the two surfaces.

I lived in America
for a couple of decades,

and coming back to the UK,
believe me,

I have been just so impressed

with how valuable
the National Health Service is.

And while I'm not somebody that goes
to the doctor on a regular basis,

the times that I have,
the treatment is second to none.

And I'm so, so grateful that
we have the National Health Service.

Right.
So that's coming together nicely.

Once everything is glued into place,

then I can start
putting the stitching back in,

and this will be
a very, very strong repair.

On instrument duty,
metal expert Brenton West.

Suzie's given me the contents
of Noel's bag

that Adrian and Lydia
brought to her.

There is the typical
doctor's stethoscope

and this has actually
got Noel's name on it,

so that looks in good condition.

Suzie also said that
the ear syringe was jammed up,

so I'm going to have a look at that
first.

This is indeed very, very tight.

I suspect that this is a rubber bung

and that the rubber has perished

and seized up in the tube.

POP!

It's not a rubber bung.

It's just a tight fit,

and it's just dirty, I think.

So give this a polish first and see
if we can get this working.

That is lovely and shiny now.

I'm going to put a little bit of wax
in there to stop it seizing again,

and hopefully it should glide
really nicely.

I've finished stitching
all of the seams together,

and already the case is feeling
so much stronger.

And I'm in the final process
of refitting

the original metal corner caps
using these split pins.

So I've just made sure
that we've got a clear hole

to pop that pin into.

And now I can follow up
with this piece of metal

that has a flat edge.

I'm going to put it on the back
of those pins, and again,

I'm going to tap into it,
and that will drive everything home.

It's so fiddly, and this is
one of the easiest corners.

So I'm going to be here
for quite a while.

While Suzie's mettle
is being tested,

the future's bright
for Chris's handmade scrapbook.

So I've completed the rainbow

and I've got the rainbow-coloured
pages all in.

It's all finished.
And now a bit of excitement -

I can start sticking the cards in.

And I thought, the first drawing
I'm putting in

is a drawing inspired by
Michael's book Bananas In My Ears.

The idea of hinging it, because
they're sort of double-sided,

it also sort of secures them in.
It makes it a very usable album.

First one. Quite a lot to go.

It's going to take me quite some
time, but I am going to enjoy it.

I do hope Michael,
when he studies it,

gets as much enjoyment over
the scrapbook when it's finished

as I have making it.

As one of the nation's best-loved
children's authors,

Michael Rosen has been making kids
smile for nearly 50 years,

so preserving this enduring record
of his battle with Covid

has been a proud service for Chris.

Wow. You've done a brilliant job.
Thank you, Jay. It's been fun.

For Michael and daughter Elsie,

the diary chronicles his time spent
in the life-saving care of the NHS.

Hello. Hi. How you doing?
Good, thanks. How are you?

I'm very good. Can't complain.
Hello, hello.

How are you doing? You all right?
Oh, yes, yes.

Oh, it's all under the blue.

It is. Right.

How are you feeling, sir?
Very, very jumpy.

Yes, yes, yes.
It's a very special book for me

and so I'm wondering
what you've done with it. Yes.

So you guys ready to see it?
Yes. Yes.

Chris? Yeah. Let's show 'em.

Oh, my goodness. Wow.

Oh, dear.

Hmm.

Oh, look, that's mounted!

That's almost like a school prize,
that is.

Yes.

And this...
All the colours! Beautiful.

See what Chris has done.

Here we go.

How have you done that?!

THEY LAUGH

It was all cut!

And where's the page
that was falling out? It's...

I can't tell. You can't tell!

Yeah, that is amazing.

It's identical, but not identical.
Yeah.

How'd you do that?

How's it feel
seeing it like that now?

Oh, it's just wonderful.

It feels good. Yeah?

All of the work the doctors
and nurses did

won't go to waste
and won't just get lost.

So thank you.

Yeah.

Oh, that's really special.

Wow.

"I've been in hospital
for five months fighting cancer

"and the terrible side-effects
of the chemo and radiotherapy.

"I hope you're feeling better
after your battle with Covid.

"I also tested positive to Covid,
but luckily I had no symptoms.

"Stay safe, from Millie."

Wow.

Now, you see, some of the details
of these things,

when they're in a pile, you don't
read every detail. No, absolutely.

But when it's in a book
like this, you do. Yeah.

Well, Michael, it was on the fact
that I don't want these to get lost,

so I've made you...

A chain, maybe? A padlock? Oh, look!

Oh!

My Very Patient Diary,
which I call it.

Yeah. And then that can go...

Oh, my goodness.

That's lovely, isn't it?

It feels very warm to see that,
because it is my silly joke.

So all what the nurses have done
whilst you've been in the coma

has been, like, to save your life.

If it wasn't for them,
you probably wouldn't be here.

Yeah, I mean, the way I see it is,

the NHS was wonderful
when it came into existence.

I'm born before it. Yeah.
I was born in '46.

My mother had lost a child
during the war

and one of the reasons
why she lost a child

was because they didn't have
the care and the medicines around.

So they had a very emotional
attachment to this thing

that they'd always wanted.
It was a dream,

the idea that you could have
free health care

from the cradle to the grave.

It just seemed like
a sort of wonderful idea.

Yeah. It was to say, we can all
look after each other.

These people work for all of us.
They combine, work together.

People from all over the world
come and work for the NHS.

That's what's powerful about it.
Yeah, very powerful.

That it's for everybody. Yeah.
You can't beat it, can you?

It's the best in the world. Mmm.
Yeah.

I'll tell you what. Yes.

I'm going to take this
to Whittington Hospital... Yes.

..and I will show them. Aww.
Definitely. Amazing.

That's...that's a promise.
Thank you.

Oh! Thank you, Michael. Nice one.
Thank you.

Thank you. You both take care.
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

I'm overwhelmed to see something
so beautifully made,

complete and tidy and there for me
whenever I want to look at it,

which will be quite often,
believe you me.

It's amazing because
the patient diary was made

with a lot of love and now Chris put
a lot of love into it

and it's a whole new thing as well,
which is really, really special.

It's like an act of love
to work away saving people's lives,

and doing it with this wonderful
spirit of teamwork, cooperation.

And it's in the book, it's in
the box, and I've got it forever.

With expert care, Will's managed
to take the top of the desk

back to its bare bones.

I've lightly removed
any minor scratches

so the top almost looks brand-new.

The base has a nice uniform
dark chocolaty colour to it,

so I need to try to replicate
that with some stains

so they both end up
matching perfectly.

If you tend to just go with
the grain, it doesn't always fill up

all those little pockets
in the grain of the wood.

So you kind of want
to go in circular motions

to really work it into all those
little nooks and crannies.

And then once you've done your
circles, go back out into long lines

following the grain of the wood,
and that helps to even it out.

But that looks really good.
Oh, my gosh.

I've actually surprised myself.

I'm going to carry on
the same technique

to the rest of the desktop now.

Bill and Kate mentioned the fact
that the drawers were sticking,

and they're not wrong.

One of the causes could be
too much weight in the drawers.

Over time, it can start to
wear down the wood,

and where the runners are, all that
sawdust and other bits and bobs

start to almost grind together.

It doesn't come out very smoothly.

So I'm going to have to run some
sandpaper along the inside there,

and it should run a lot smoother.

Once I've finished
sanding these back,

I'm going to add some wax in there,

and that should really help
all of these drawers run perfectly.

The bag that accompanied
a Burmese GP

through 40 years of NHS service

is structurally fighting fit again,
thanks to Suzie.

Now I've got all the metalwork
back on the case,

doing the job of giving it
all the strength back,

I'm going to turn my attention
to the obvious damage

that we've got on the outside.

Just those edges over time
have been worn

and it's taken the surface
of the leather off.

And I have a wonderful
reconditioning cream

that also has colour in it.

It's going to help to revive the
leather and make it healthy again,

but it's also going to reinstall
the black colour that we need.

The cream is feeding the leather
as well,

which is going to help prolong
its life.

And once I get it smoothed down
and polished up,

I expect to see something
really quite spectacular.

Having travelled from Burma
in the 1960s to join the ranks

of overseas workers
devoting their lives to the NHS,

the owner of this bag
inspired the next two generations

of his family, Adrian and Lydia,

to devote their own lives
to health care.

How are you? Good to see you.
Yeah.

Just looking straight at it.

THEY LAUGH

You remember what it looked like
when you brought it in?

Yeah. It was a bit sad.

You ready to see it? Yeah, I am.

Looks amazing. It does.

Oh, that's lovely.

Polished up.
The leather looks really good.

But it's his case.
It's definitely his case.

Oh. That's going to last now.

Oh, wow.

Look at that. Oh, wow.

Straight to the syringe.

THEY LAUGH

So Brenton worked on
all of the tools. Oh, did he?

And if you look at the stethoscope,

when Brenton was cleaning it,
he came across...

It's got Dad's name on. Yeah.

He was very proud
about his stethoscope.

Stethoscopes are a symbol.

Doctors often hang it
round their neck like that.

Having that back in its right place
with his name on there is fantastic.

So how does it feel
seeing it like this now?

It's still got his character.

It looks, like, the same,
but brand-new.

It's like a kind of a connection
to him, you know?

Seeing that there... Yeah.

..I think helps, doesn't it?

It helps us kind of recognise
that he's still around us,

the things that he,
and the legacy that he gave,

the service to the NHS.

For me that's, that's an important
part of his legacy.

That's part of him. Yeah. Yeah.

It's interesting how much
the NHS means to you as a family,

but how much you mean to the NHS
as a family.

It is really a great place to work.

He wouldn't have done
anything else, I think.

It's been absolutely delightful.

Hopefully it'll go on
for many years to come. Thank you.

And go and inspire some new doctors!

All right. Thank you. Thanks.
Bye-bye.

It feels like part of him
has come back to me,

and having just recently lost him,
his bag is a comfort to us

and it just was part of his life
in the NHS

and is something that
we can both treasure, can't we?

The bag symbolises
the last 75 years of the NHS.

We want the NHS to continue
for another 75 years.

The desk that has served
a whole family of NHS workers

through study and beyond
has scrubbed up rather well.

I'm applying the polish
with a pad.

Inside here I've got some wadding

and the idea is that you sort of
load this up with polish

and when you apply it
to the surface

you get an even distribution
of polish,

whereas sometimes brushing it on
with a brush,

you can end up with brush marks.

So this is the right tool
for this job.

Now I know that Fiona
was looking for an area at home

that she can dedicate to her work.

Not only is it a lovely desk to work
on, but it's also a great symbol

for her family's love of the NHS.

The McDonald family have worked
collectively in the NHS

for over 65 years,

and the desk that saw Bill, Kate
and daughter Fiona

through many years
of dedicated study and hard work

is ready for their examination.

Hello. Hello.

Nice to see you all.
Lovely to see you, too.

Hi, there. Hello.

Very excited? Can't wait to see
what's under there. Really? Yeah.

We've really missed it, haven't we?
Have you? Yeah.

Would you like to see what I've
done? Definitely. Yeah. Yeah.

FIONA: Oh, that's gorgeous.

I'm frightened to touch it now!

Oh, wow.

That's gorgeous.

That's incredible.

That looks brand-new.

You're a magician.
Can we open a drawer? Yeah, sure!

Oh, you can open it!

Yes!

Oh, that is so nice.

That's so nice.

That's amazing.
It really is, I know.

Oh, you're beautiful.
You can't see any of...

It looks lovely.
It's really nice.

Are you pleased? So kind.
Thank you.

Thank you so much. I love it.

So what does the future hold
for the desk?

I'm looking forward
to actually having that space

to separate work from home life

and then also to have
the history behind it as well.

It just, it means so much.
It really does.

That's what we wanted for it -
to be able to give it to Fiona

to carry on and keep that NHS
tradition in our family going.

So we're immensely proud
of what Fiona does

as an occupational therapist

and the desk will be there to
witness that journey

the way it's witnessed our journey
through the NHS as well.

So it's just fantastic. Er...

There's one other thing.
That's my nursing badge as well,

which I'm going to pop in there
for Fiona so that she can have that,

so that will live in the desk.
That's the one that I got

when I graduated, so... I didn't
know you were going to bring that!

Thank you. You're welcome.
You don't have to do that.

No, it's yours. Thank you.
That was kind.

That was kind. Not at all.
I'm pleased that you want to

keep this going on
for many more years to come.

Absolutely. Thank you.

I'm going get this shipped up
to you. Lovely. Thank you very much.

Have a safe trip back. Bye.

It's something that's followed me
throughout my NHS career,

so it really means a lot
to our family.

It's a really precious thing,

and to see it restored like this
has just been absolutely wonderful.

If you have a treasured possession
that's seen better days

and you think the team can help,
please get in touch at...

..and join us in the Repair Shop.