The Repair Shop (2017–…): Season 7, Episode 1 - Episode #7.1 - full transcript

Welcome to The Repair Shop, where
precious but faded treasures...

This is bad!

I don't think I've ever seen a chair
quite so broken as this.

..are restored to their former
glory. That's lovely. Isn't it?

That's lovely, isn't it?
Furniture restorer Jay Blades...

Bringing history back to life

is what makes The Repair Shop
so special.

..and a dream team of expert
craftspeople... Amazing!

It's a bit like brain surgery!

..come together to work
their magic... Yahoo!

When you look at something that
looks so hopeless like this,



it makes me even more determined
to get it back. That's teamwork!

..employing heritage craft skills
passed down the generations...

It is a privilege to be able to do
something for somebody that

means so much to them. ..preserving
irreplaceable heirlooms.

To bring those pieces back to life
is just the most wonderful

thing and I'd like to do it forever.
The team will restore the items...

Whoa! ..the memories...

I'm so happy to see it!

..and unlock the stories
that they hold.

That's made it all worthwhile.

In The Repair Shop today,
Dom and Sonnaz are in the hot seat,

restoring a vintage sewing chair...

I'm really not happy with
the thickness of this.

It's far too wide, so I'm going to
have to try and make my own.



I've actually never done
that before.

..while Kirsten strives
to faithfully preserve

the character of a dog-eared
piece of musical memorabilia.

Putting the features back are always
a little bit tricky.

It's almost like an intuition.

But, first to the barn,

Lesley Stockford from South Wales

with a precious labour of love

needing the woodwork expertise
of Will Kirk.

Hello. Hello. How are you doing?
Nice to meet you both.

And you are? Lesley, I am.
All right, Lesley?

What's in the bubble wrap?

A ship that's made out
of matchsticks. That's like... Wow!

That looks amazing! I cannot believe
that's made out of matchsticks!

Who made this? My dad made it,
around 1974, I believe. OK.

What was your dad's name?
Gerald, my father was. Gerald. Yes.

And why did he make this?
Did he sell them, or what?

No, my father was actually
a car mechanic

and worked in lots of car
garages around my valley.

He was good at fixing things
and making things.

Do you remember your dad building
this, then? Well, I was only two,

so I only know what my mother
and my brother have said.

Brother remembers collecting
the matchsticks.

When they were out walking
on the roads,

they collected matchsticks
off the floor.

My mother remembers my father having
a picture that he copied it by.

Do you know the model
that he made it from? No.

We've looked at ships around, like,
the 1930s, images of them,

and they are kind of the same
sort of shape.

So, he obviously knew what he was
doing. Yes.

He was very good at...
He was very clever.

Sounds like a brilliant dad.
He was a lovely man.

My dad died when I was seven
and he was only 35 himself.

He'd had a heart condition that he
had lived with all his life.

The day before, he was fine,
there was no signs that he was ill.

Right. Um...

And then I woke up that morning
and I could hear my mother

shouting, my father had passed
away that morning.

I remember putting
the blanket over my head

and not wanting to hear what
was going on.

We haven't got much left. We've got
a couple of photos and this boat.

But, unfortunately, it's
deteriorated

and got brittle with time.

Looks like it's got quite
a lot of dust on it.

Yeah, my brother kept the ship in
his workshop.

Is there quite a lot of damage
underneath?

There's a lot of damage underneath.
Is there?

Oh! Ah... As you can see...
It's painful to see.

..the bottom has completely gone.
It looks like it's hit an iceberg!

And then just sunk to the bottom
of the ocean. And died, yeah.

And the handrails have gone.
And there was a mast. Yeah.

I think it was coming from here

and there was like a rope that
went down it, just a simple rope.

There's a little bench on the end.

And I believe there was a couple
dotted on the decks.

Will? Shall I clear your bench,
cos you've got...?

Clear my schedule for the next
three months, please! Yes!

I really get so much joy

out of working on something
unique and a one-off

because he made that with his hands,
almost a bit of his signature

and his fingerprint on there,
so I can't wait to get stuck in.

Thank you. And we'll see you soon.

But not too soon because there's
a lot of work to be done there!

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

This year in June was
the 40th anniversary of my father

passing away, so the ship
is really important to us.

My father would be delighted to
think that we've put it back

to its original state and know that
we have cared for it

and want it to continue on
for another 40 years.

Have you ever built something
from matchsticks before? No.

Usually, Jay, you ask me
if I need any materials. Yeah.

For this, I'm going
to need loads of matchsticks.

OK. There's so much work
involved in fixing this, Jay.

The bottom's broken and...
It's falling apart.

..to rebuild that is going
to be really hard.

You're looking forward to this one,
aren't you? I can't wait to see

what's underneath that dust.

Fingers crossed. Plain sailing!
All right.

I am in awe of the craftsmanship
that's gone into making this.

It's really hard to see exactly
how much work there is here,

with there being
so much dust on the top.

I'm going to use
a sort of unorthodox approach,

by using a vacuum cleaner.

If I put a tiny bit of cloth
over the hole,

it will actually suck off all
the dust and any smaller

bits of matchsticks that might break
away will be collected in there.

Right, let's see if my cloth
has done the trick. Urgh!

Look at that. But nothing loose.
It's all been hoovered off.

No more dust.

I'm going to give this another
clean now with some warm water

and a cotton bud.

Next to arrive at the barn is
Tara Lawes from Norfolk with

a vintage item that connects her
to a past generation of her family.

Hi. Hi.
She's hoping Sonnaz Nooranvary

and Dominic Chinea can
pool their talents to restore it.

This poor thing.
I can see it used to be a chair!

Yeah, it was my grandma
Daphne's machinist chair.

She used to use it to sit at her
sewing machine and sew. Oh, OK.

Lovely. Yeah.
So, was Grandma a seamstress, then?

What did she do for a job? She
was just like a stay-at-home mum.

She was really creative.
My auntie and my mum told me

she used to make them
their, like, school dresses.

Did your grandmother teach you
how to sew?

I never met my grandma. She died
the same year I was born. Oh!

So, I was the only grandchild
that never met her. Oh, bless!

But my auntie gave me the chair
because she saw, like, my connection

with my grandma cos I sew, myself.
Oh, good! Ah! Yeah.

It's nice because I feel like
we have the same interests, so...

I spy a very nice top that you're
wearing there. Thank you!

It doesn't look like it's from
a high street shop, or anything.

I made it out of recycled jeans.
No, you didn't! Yeah.

I sewed it on my grandma's old
sewing machine as well. Oh! Aw!

Were you sitting on this chair
by any chance? Yes, I was! Really!

Were you! I sat on it to sew and the
whole thing just fell off, so...

Oh, no! Yeah, it was a bit
of a near miss. Oh!

My grandma, she did come from,
like, humble beginnings,

so, any sort of
new furniture she got,

she really sort of looked after
and cherished... Yeah.

..so I feel like it's my sort of
duty to bring it back to life again.

Yeah. Absolutely.
It must be lovely for your parents

and the rest of your family
to still see it in the family,

being used, as it should be. Yeah.

I think because they've grown up
with, like, my grandma sewing

so much, they're just, like, quite
supportive of me also doing it now.

Do you mind
if I have a look at the seat? Yeah.

I'm itching to see how... Ooh!

That's crazy. Yeah, the metal's just
completely sheared off. Yeah.

I love the red and white. It's
really cool. It's classic, isn't it?

It stands out
and it is quite classic of the time.

Is this going to go back into your
sewing room? Yes. I hope so!

Yeah. Leave it with us. We'll do
everything we can.

Absolutely! Thank you. Good. It's
lovely to meet you. Oh, you too.

Thank you so much. Bye. Bye-bye.

The chair has just been used
throughout our family history.

I do feel like I owe it to them
to sort of keep the chair going

and using it for what it was
originally used for.

So, what are your thoughts?

I figure there's quite a clear
split here with the nuts

and bolts of the metalwork and the
two upholstered pieces. Yeah.

I can take everything that
I need to take to upholster

and then we can meet in the middle.

That's it. There's the first
piece for you. Lovely.

So, just having a quick
glance at this...

Strip it right back to wood, take
everything completely off... OK.

..including the padding on here.
Yeah.

So, you're going to completely...
New fabric. Yeah, completely.

It's going to be nice. I look
forward to it all coming together.

It's going to look lovely, once
it's done. We'd better get started.

Absolutely. See you in a bit.

Okie-doke.

It's really actually inspiring,
hearing someone

so young interested
in these old crafts

and interested in following
the footsteps of her grandma.

If I can do anything to help her
continue doing that, I'm in.

This really...
I just need to fill up the gap,

fill the hole back in, so I'll get
a new, nice, solid piece of steel,

cut it to just the right shape,
so it fits in there nicely,

and then weld that in, so that will
be a smooth piece of metal,

as it was when it was new. You won't
even know that I've been there.

On his workbench,
Will's ready to embark on his hidden

repairs to the wrecked model ship,
made from matchsticks,

the most time-consuming
of which will be the major

damage to the hull.
My plan, I think,

is to glue this part back on and
then I'll be able to work out

exactly how many pieces are missing
and then, somehow,

almost like a pyramid, layer
the missing pieces back on top.

I can't believe this is made out
of so many matchsticks

and each one of them must have been
picked up off the roadside.

This is really fragile.

I'm really worried about breaking
any other bits of matchstick.

That's a really nice fit.

I'm just going to give the superglue
a little helping hand

with an activator.

Cures the glue instantly and because
I have so many pieces

here to replace, I will need
all the time that I can save.

Lovely. That has now dried.

And, already, the structure
feels so much more secure.

Thankfully, I don't have to start
looking around the barn

for used matchsticks.

I'm going to start patching up
the holes with some new matchsticks.

It's almost like doing microsurgery
with these tweezers

and with a scalpel.

I don't know how many matches
I'm going to need to fix this,

but, on the inside,
I can see lots of wood glue.

To glue this together just with wood
glue would have taken absolutely

ages and this kind of structure,
it would have to be done in stages.

I've now finished all the repair
work to the hull.

I'd like to now start
working on the mast.

However, it's pretty tricky

because I'm now no longer
working with a flat base.

This would have originally had
a stand, so in order for me to be

able to do any of that top work, I'm
going to have to make another one.

I've got this really handy
profile gauge here.

Pop that on the end like that.

Push all the bits of metal
downwards.

You end up with a perfect
profile shape.

I can now take that, draw round
the outside and that will give me

an exact replica of that profile.

Now that's all drawn out, I'm going
to cut it out on the band saw.

That fits like an absolute dream. It
almost looks like it's floating now.

It's time to start
working above board.

I'm missing lots of small
bits of detailing here.

I think, like, a barrier that
goes round the outside.

I've got a good
idea of what's missing.

It's quite a repetitive process, but
it's necessary to replace it all,

to make it look like it once did.

That's all the railings
finished now.

It's nice to see the ship slowly
coming together.

I can start work on the mast.

I've done quite a lot of research
into 1930s ships and I've found

something that looks quite similar
to what might have been there.

Having a look in the area where
the original mast would have been,

it's giving a really good reference
to how wide the mast would

have been and I'm going to start
glueing some matchsticks together.

The idea is to stick
the matchsticks together,

almost in a staggered formation.

That will
give it a lot more strength.

That's one new mast glued together.

However, many of these 1930s
ships would have had two masts.

So, once I've glued
that first one on,

I can get that second one
on the back.

Right, I hope these fit.

Lovely!

Now, that looks like a ship!

Right, now,
I'm missing quite a few chairs.

Outside are the barn's next
arrivals.

Steve and Jo Castle
from Buckinghamshire have

brought along a faithful and famous
friend, who's seen better days.

Hello. Tasked with reviving his
bow-wow factor is ceramics restorer

Kirsten Ramsay.
Hello. Hi. Hi, Kirsten. Welcome.

So, this... I recognise this little
dog. Who is he?

Well, this is Nipper and he was
the symbol of His Master's Voice,

used by HMV and EMI... Yeah.

..over many years of selling records
and gramophones.

So, how come you've got Nipper?
How did you get him?

I used to work for a division
of EMI, called EMI Tape,

selling reel-to-reel and a brand-new
product called cassettes.

You may remember them.
I do remember!

I've got cassettes at home!

That's right. I visited
a dealership in Herne Bay... Right.

..and the couple that ran that
dealership were retiring

and they had been given him

originally as a display piece

for their window, so they offered to

give me the dog because I'd admired
it over several visits to them.

Lucky for you! Yeah! And he's been
part of our family ever since.

Gosh! So you've had Nipper
since '72. Yes.

And then where has he lived, then?

When we got married, the first house
we were in was quite small... Right.

..and I'm saying,
"There's no room for him."

And he's saying,
"He's not going anywhere." Right.

So it ended up at the front door.
OK.

It was sat there
and it did frighten a lot of people,

until they realised obviously...

..that he doesn't bite.
He doesn't bite. No.

So, what would you like us
to do to Nipper, then?

He's generally looking very sad

and you can see the paint
is flaking away.

Somewhere along the line,
we've managed to get

a hole in his forehead and God
knows how we've done that. Yes.

And if you could do something
about his ears as well. Yes.

Dog-eared is of course
the expression you're looking for!

But he's always had this leather ear
here, since I first acquired him.

Yeah. And if it would be possible
to get him

back to his original
papier mache ears...

Right. ..so he was looking
as original as he could. OK.

But what is important, I think,
is to maintain his inquisitive

look, cos he has that
look about him, doesn't he? Yeah.

He's listening. Yes, absolutely.

Yes, don't worry, I won't change
the character of him... No.

..but he obviously does need
a little bit of TLC.

He's been with us all that time
and, you know, it would be nice

to see him
back in his former glory. Yeah.

So, thank you for leaving
Nipper with us

and we'll make sure we take extra
special care of him, won't we?

We will. Absolutely. Part of our
family now. He'll be safe with me.

Pleasure. You take care now.
All right, bye-bye. Thank you. Bye.

Nipper really represents
the many number of years

I worked within the music industry
and I travelled an enormous

amount and, of course, he's always
been there to welcome us home.

Nipper's just been loved
by all the family

and I think he definitely
needs some TLC.

What an absolutely lovely
little dog.

When I turn him over, I can see
that he's completely hollow

and incredibly light.
Really surprisingly light.

It was really nice that Steve was
very clear that he actually

wanted this old leather repair
removing and what we've got is

this other existing ear that
I can actually use to try

and help me make up this ear here.

My first process with Nipper is to
actually remove this flappy ear.

Yeah.

So that's just the old restoration.
It's come away quite easily.

I will get back to the ear,
but I think, for now,

I really want to concentrate on
just stabilising the body

and then I can go back to giving him
his character back.

This area is really flaking
and very fragile.

The plan is to use a consolidant,
which I've got here.

And that's an adhesive
that's in a solvent

and, as the solvent evaporates,
you're left with the adhesive

and that sticks the flakes in place.

It shouldn't actually
go on to the surface of the paint.

It's literally just going underneath
and re-sticking it onto the base.

So this is going to be quite
time consuming.

I've got quite a big area here
to consolidate with a very small

brush, so this is going
to be quite a task.

In the outdoor workshop,
Dom is preparing

the vintage sewing chair's
worn out metal seat base

for its patch repair,

while Sonnaz concentrates
on ensuring the family heirloom

can comfortably go back into use.

Sometimes,
it's really easy to think that

when you're reupholstering something
that you should replace everything.

But there's actually nothing wrong
with this felt and I think it would

be a really nice touch to keep
as much of this padding as possible.

There's one area on this side here
where it's actually thinner

than what it should be and, so,
I want to even that lump out.

I'm going to add another layer of
padding on top of this and I've got

exactly the same material here,
which is a black felt,

except this is a lot thicker,
so when I pull that vinyl round,

it's going to give me this lovely,
soft, dome look.

That feels pretty good.

I'm going to get straight on
with attaching it

in the same way that it was before.

Just securing this onto
the wood, that is

what's going to keep everything
sandwiched together.

And I'm loving this new red as well.

It's going to really pop,
once it's against the white.

The challenge when you're working
with a shape like this is

that you can still see the staples

and that's why I need to use Hidem,
and that basically hides them

staples and it goes
on the edge here.

As Sonnaz continues to cover up
the seat's staples,

Dom's crafting his own
hidden repair,

a bespoke piece of steel to fill
the hole in the seat.

Oh, now... Perfect!
Look at that.

It's always a really good sign

when the new repair panel fits
straight in.

That's going to weld up
really nicely.

Now that I've come round
to my finish point on this back,

I'm really not happy with
the thickness of this Hidem.

It's far too wide
for the width of this back,

so I'm going to have to try
and make my own.

I've actually never done
that before.

For the flawless Hidem, Sonnaz
needs to create an even double-fold

in the vinyl with stitch-perfect
machine sewing,

while Dom has his own
exacting task.

Now I've got the broken piece
repaired in the seat base,

I'm pretty much ready to weld
the threaded rod,

which is also cleaned up
nice and pristine,

clean, shiny metal everywhere,
which is very important.

This weld is so critical. I have
to get it very, very hot basically.

That's going to ensure that
it's a really nice, strong weld

and it's penetrated deep
into the metal and the bolt.

OK, welding complete. And, actually,
it's gone really well.

All the metal is nice and clean,

everything is prepped,
nicely lined up.

It made for a really nice,
neat, strong weld.

But, yeah, look, that's really
strong. That's not going anywhere.

Whenever I hear that sewing machine,
I know you're up to some good stuff.

Yeah. What have you been up to?

So, I've made my own Hidem.

Wow. Raised the bar, haven't you?!
That's quite a big deal.

That's going to make all
the difference to Tara's chair.

Good on you. I'm a happy bunny.
I'm more than happy.

As happy as a bumblebee
in the summer, so well done.

Lovely. Thank you.

Now, I'm actually working
on the seat base.

The main difference between how
I'm going to make this cover

and how the original cover
was made for the base

is I'm actually sewing
everything together.

The previous base,

all the layers are actually
tacked onto the side of the wood.

This way that I'm doing it,

I'll be able to get a really nice,
consistent finish and border.

Wood restorer Will's
meticulous work

making the matchstick ship
seaworthy again is almost complete.

As a final touch, I want to put
some rigging on the top here.

I really hope that Lesley
is happy with this work

and I hope that I've done
Gerald's work justice.

This intricate model ship,

which had deteriorated
over the decades,

was painstakingly built
by Lesley's father,

who died suddenly
when she was a child.

Lesley's returned, hoping
that Will's managed to salvage

one of her only belongings
from her talented dad.

I've been thinking about
the ship all the time.

With my brother and my mother,

it's brought back loads of memories
talking to them

about that time when my father
was alive.

Excited and nervous
and butterflies in my stomach.

I feel very emotional
before I've even seen it, yes.

Hello. Hello. How are you doing?
I'm good, thank you.

Nice to see you again.
Nice to be back.

I'm excited.

How have you found it, Will?
A pleasure to be working on.

Yeah. Very tricky. Really?

And I have so much respect
for your dad. Thank you very much.

We all can't wait to see
how you've done it

and what you've done with it, yeah.

Do you want to show her?
Shall we have a look? Yes, please.

That's beautiful. Thank you.

Oh, you couldn't have done a better
job. It's absolutely beautiful.

Can I pick it up?

There's no hole!

Oh, that is lovely.
You've done such a lovely job, Will.

And the mast is beautiful.

And all the handrails and the bench.

The little ones on the top as well.

It's absolutely perfect.

But it looks exactly
the way my father had left it.

It looks exactly the same.

Even though that was a painful time,
hopefully this ship will bring back

those kind of happy memories
of the family being together.

Yeah. Yeah, it has.

And the stories that have come out
since have been, you know,

really emotional and happy times,
things that, as the years go on,

you don't really talk about
any more, as lives move on.

Yeah. It's lovely to be part
of the story of the ship

and see and appreciate
your dad's work.

Thank you very much.
It was an absolute pleasure.

Difficult. A lot of time, a lot
of glue, a lot of matchsticks.

I'm sure you want to get this home.
Yeah. Well, it's yours.

Thank you very much. I'll get
the door for you. Thank you.

It's amazing.

It's so perfect, like as if my
father had just left it like that.

It's all in one piece.
It's beautiful. I'm so pleased.

While one treasured item
is safely homeward bound,

inside the barn Kirsten's
pet project, Nipper,

the record shop dog,
is still a work in progress.

Nipper is once again quite stable.

And I'm going to make a start
on filling any of the areas of loss.

He's got quite a deep dent
in his forehead here.

Because this is the
deepest section,

I'm going to fill that first
and let that cure.

This is really just the start
of the filling of Nipper.

He's absolutely full of holes
all over,

so the plan is to work my way
over his whole body with the filler

and then just smooth it back,
get a lovely flat, smooth surface.

Made really good progress
with the body,

so I think I'm going to concentrate
on trying to get an ear

that's going to blend in much better
than this old leather piece here.

So I'm going to give it a go.

To reconstruct Nipper's
trademark droopy left ear,

Kirsten will use papier-mache,
which, despite its French name,

originated in China around 200 BC

when it was used to make
helmets and masks.

I did have a bit of a papier-mache
disaster a few years ago

when my son was little.

I thought it would be quite fun
to make a pinata

for one of his birthday parties.

I spent quite a number of days
actually creating this thing

and filling it with sweets.

Sadly at the party,

it was so hard that the kids
could not break into it!

They were smashing it with sticks,
desperate to get the sweets.

We just couldn't get into it.

Right. That's probably fine.

I'm going to use a piece
of modelling wax

and actually drape
the papier-mache over that

to try and recreate
that drooping ear.

So in some ways it's quite handy
because I've actually got...

Although it's a rather
tattered edge to the original ear,

it does actually give me the
dimensions of what was there before,

so I can use that to work from.

And that looks about
the right shape.

If you try and put on too much,

it's just going to take
forever to dry.

So I'm just going to do a couple
of layers, let that dry

and then build up from there.

Quite nice using different materials
from the ones that I normally use.

It just makes a nice change.

As Kirsten presses on,
in Sonnaz's corner of the barn,

her bespoke work on the vinyl seat
of the machinist chair

is starting to come together.

Now I've got the seat base
all sewn up,

as per the back I'm keeping
the original padding

and I'm adding to it.

I'm really pleased with the way
that that's fitting.

So now I need to start
stapling it off

and I'll work all the way
around and then it's finished.

Tom, I've got a surprise for you.
Sonnaz, hey.

Ta-dah. That looks fantastic.

Shall we put it together now?
All right.

OK, that's looking good.
What do you think?

It looks really, really nice
together. I'm loving those colours.

Last piece. Shall we go?
Go for it.

Brilliant. Well, that's it.
Let's get it back inside. Well done.

Even though she never met
her late grandmother,

Tara shares her keen passion
for dressmaking

and she's returned today eager
to get back to sewing in comfort.

I am really looking forward

to seeing what they've done
to the chair.

Sewing on my sewing machine,

I have thought a lot more
about Grandma Daphne.

Not having the chair is like
it's a little piece missing.

It will be quite nice
to have it back.

Hello. Hi, Tara. Hello again.

How are you?
I'm good, thank you.

How are you feeling?
I'm quite nervous. Are you?

But I'm also looking forward
to seeing what it looks like.

I mean, it already looks
like it's in one piece again.

It's standing. That's a good start.
We've given it away
a little bit, yeah.

Do you want to see it?
I do, yes. Go on, Sonnaz.

Ready?

Oh, wow.

Oh, my goodness.

It's so much more vibrant
than it was before. Oh, good.

Oh, my God.

Wow.

It's amazing.

I can't thank you enough.

It's a bit more comfortable now as
well. You've got a bit more padding.

Yeah. Oh, my goodness. It is.

Oh, it's so good.
Would you like to sit on it?

Oh, I just love it.

Oh, my goodness. That is
actually so much more comfy.

I was hoping you'd say that.

I feel like the cushion,
as I sit down on it,

whereas before
it wasn't very nice,

but now this is amazing.

You look right at home on it.
Yeah. You do.

I can't believe how cool
it looks now.

It is a cool chair.
It's a good looking chair.

A lovely thing to have, particularly
as it's been passed down to you

from Grandma Daphne as well.

It's a nice little connection.

So that's going to go back in front
of the sewing machine
where it belongs. Yes.

It's all yours. You can take
it away. Thank you so much.

Thank you for bringing it in.

Take care, won't you. Enjoy it.
Thank you.

See you later. Bye. Bye.
Oh, bless her.

It feels amazing to sit
on this chair again.

I think Grandma Daphne
would be really proud

the I've taken the extra step
to get it restored.

The whole experience of this
will make me think a lot more

about looking after my stuff
and not being so quick

to sort of chuck things out
and try and fix them more.

After hours of painstaking work
on the record shop display dog,

Kirsten's been camouflaging
her repairs

by restoring his glossy coat.

Putting the features back
are always a little bit tricky.

You've got to get it
absolutely right.

You have to sort of almost
warm up and get a feel for it.

So that's his nose
going back on now,

which is really going to sort of
pull all those features
back together.

The final finishing touch -
attaching his replacement ear.

Here goes.

I'm happy with the shape.

I think he retains his
slightly cheeky character.

So there are sort of points
along the journey normally

when you're actually
working on a piece

where you're thinking,
"Oh, is this right? Can I do it?"

Even though I've done this
for 30 odd years.

However, when you get to this stage,

all that work and all that worry
just drops away

and it's just a real pleasure.

Nipper was a fixture
at the family home

of owners Steve and Jo
for decades,

but years of sitting faithfully by
the front door had taken their toll.

I think Nipper has come more
to the fore in our thoughts,

and he is going to be, I think,
a family heirloom going forward

and perhaps our great great
grandchildren will look on him

as being a real curiosity.

Hello. Hi. Hello. Hi.
Jo, Steve, welcome.

Hi, Kirsten. Have you missed Nipper?

We have, yes.

All of a sudden, there's nothing
welcoming you at the door.

It's really odd. We've not
missed his barking though!

He's been very well behaved
while he's been with me, actually.

So are you ready to see him?

Absolutely. Yes.

Oh, wow. Wow. That looks amazing.

He still looks old, doesn't he?
Yes. If you know what I mean.

Yes. We were a bit worried he
was going to look too sparkly.

Yes. But you've managed
to retain that look about him.

You know, he is hearing
his master's voice

and he's got that puzzled look
on his face.

Also of course, now the surface
is not flaking away,

so that's marvellous.

The ears are just amazing.

He's got perfect matching ears now.

It was quite an interesting
journey working on Nipper.

And I don't know, there seems to
have been some sort of restoration

that's taken place at some point.

That ear, I think
that's a replacement.

Right, well, last night I was
talking to my daughter about Nipper,

and she told me that
she and her sister

did a bit of a repair job
on this ear.

This is going back some years now.

They'd damaged it.

I had no idea until last night
that that had happened.

How funny.

So what do you think happened?

Were they partying or... Who knows?

The ear that we thought
was original wasn't either.

So there you go.

Yeah, well, he's all yours.

I don't know if you would
like to take this as a memento?

As a souven-ear!

Ha-ha! Boom, boom! I'm sorry.
Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. It's
marvellous. It's a great pleasure.

Really lovely. Yeah. It's great.

And thanks so much
for all your work.

It's a pleasure. Bye, Nipper. Bye.
Thank you. Bye, Kirsten. Thank you.

Nipper looks brilliant.

He's retained all his
character and age,

and yet he's now in
perfect condition

to be able to face up
to future generations of ours

that hopefully will love him
as much as we have.

Join us next time as our
barn full of experts...

I've come up with a bit of a plan.

..revive more keepsakes
and treasured memories...

I can't speak.

..in The Repair Shop.