The Repair Shop (2017–…): Season 7, Episode 18 - Episode #7.18 - 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. It is, isn't it?

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.

Go on!

..come together to work their magic.

Yoo-hoo!

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...

..it's hello, Dolly,
for the bear ladies and Steve

as they revamp
a rare '60s toy... Right.

..who's lost her voice.

GARBLED VOICE

HE CHUCKLES

Back to the drawing board.
That hasn't worked at all.

And master hatter Jayesh lifts
the lid on some trade secrets...

So, the hat stretcher is,
it's a hatter's best friend.

..as he rescues a wartime relic
that's seen better days.

That's done the job.

But the barn's first arrival
is Janice Turton,

accompanied by daughter Niamh,

with an heirloom she's loved
since childhood.

She's hoping silversmith
Brenton West can restore its charm.

Hello. Hello.

All right? Good, thank you.

So, what have we got in the box?

A musical salt and pepper pot.

Now, that is gorgeous.
Please, tell us about it.

OK, so this comes from Hong Kong.

Back in 1955, my dad was posted
to Hong Kong with the army. Yeah.

And my mother decided
to go with him.

What's your dad's name? Jack.

Jack. And then Mum's name?

Dorothy, but we all called her
Dolly.

They were there for 15 months,
just about.

It was a massive decision for them.

Yeah. It was probably more
the emotional thing that was hard

for Mum, the leaving her mum
behind and her own siblings.

Couldn't fly. You had to go on the
boat that took about three weeks.

Oh...

But the thought of being apart
for almost two years was too much.

She'd never been abroad before,
so it was,

it was a big decision
for them to make.

But that's what love does for you.

That's what love does, innit? Yeah.

And this was a present that she sent
back for my nan, so her mother.

Her mum, wow.

And I can always remember
this being on the sideboard

in my nan's house.

And I've got images of myself
lying on the floor,

playing with this as a toy.

Right.

And it was something I always loved,
and it was always there,

and she never said,
"No, you can't play with it."

So, when my nan died in 1979...

..I was allowed to keep this.

Niamh, have you played
with this, then?

Yeah, it's been on Mum's windowsill
as long as I can remember.

Yeah. I think you let me play
with it because of the memories

you had playing with it.

I have no memories of Dolly
at all.

She passed away before I was born,

so it is upsetting that I didn't
get to know her at all.

So, this is very special to me
in that sense,

cos I get to know her through this.

Yeah.

It's going to start you off,
isn't it? Yeah!

Oh, bless.

What I don't get, though, is this
salt and pepper -

why do they have a little man there?

That's how you wind it up.

Ah! You twist the man. You wind...

MUSIC TINKLES

There you go. OK.

You wind him up. It's a wind-up.

Very good, isn't it?
That is proper smart.

So, what did it look like, then?
Was it, was it shiny?

Yeah.
There was handles on both sides.

On both sides? Yeah.

I played with it so much,
and dropped it so many times,

it's broken off there on that side.

And it was straight.

They stood up straight. Yeah.

And the little man
had a little face on it.

Well, it's certainly been
well loved.

Yeah. And there's a lot of work
to do to it.

I think it's going to come
up a real treat. Hopefully.

Fingers crossed.

THEY LAUGH

Thank you for bringing it in.
Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thanks. Take care. Bye.
Bye-bye.

It means so much to my family
because it represents so much.

It's really important,
really important.

It's great for me to be able
to feel part of something

that I wasn't necessarily there for.

But now, with this music box,
I can be a part of it.

Janice certainly has given me
a task here.

The salt and pepper cellars
are made of pewter,

are very fragile, very soft,

and to straighten this is going to
be a very risky thing to do,

and this could easily break off.

I also have to make some handles
for them which match the two handles

we've got, which I've then got to
solder onto here.

Janice said there was a little face
on here.

I'm going to do some research
and see if I can find out

what that face is meant
to look like.

The first thing I do is,
I like to polish something

just to see what I've got.

And this is no exception.

I know it's going to come
up absolutely beautifully,

but I've got an awful lot to do
before the whole thing

is lovely and shiny.

The barn's next visitor
is Julie Vaughn from Windsor.

She hopes mechanical expert
Steve Fletcher can help resurrect

a very special childhood friend.

Hello. Hello.
It looks like you brought us lunch.

Yes.

THEY LAUGH

What's in the bag?

It is a doll.

Oh, it used to be a doll.

I did love her.

Oh, my word.

When and how did you get
this doll, then?

It was Christmas 1968.

I saw the advert on television

and really wanted her.

THEY LAUGH

One of those magical Christmases.

Yes. I think it probably
was my best present.

I don't think I could believe
my eyes.

She was a talking Barbie.

I couldn't wait to hear
her speak.

A talking doll? Yes.

Which was very, very, very unusual
in those days.

She must mean a lot to you,
cos you kept her for 50 years.

Yeah, my mother did say
she was very expensive and special,

and she was to me, and I made
clothes for her at the time.

You made clothes for her?
On my mum's sewing machine, yes.

And she helped me. Right.

We didn't have the original clothes.

That's... I don't know
what happened to them.

What was she wearing
which came out of the box, then?

I think she was wearing shorts and
a little top. OK.

Erm, and really sort of high shoes.

You say she's a talking doll.
What did she used to say?

Things like,
"I've got a date tonight,"

"Which new dress shall I wear?"

And "Let's go shopping," I think.

Let's go shopping? Yes.

I do like the sound of that. Yeah.

When did she break, then?

I think it must've been about
a year later,

so I was probably
about ten years old.

A year later? Yeah.

I was pulling her cord out
and the end fell off. OK.

Cos I used to constantly
just play.

So, it's been broken quite
a long time? A long time, yeah.

Right.

How come she's in so many pieces?

My dad's a retired toolmaker,
so he opened her up and realised

there was a little
record player inside,

and he couldn't put it
back together again.

A record player inside the doll?

Yeah. These are the parts.

I can't believe there's a little
record player inside there.

I know. I think that's what threw
my father, actually.

I think when he saw this stylus,

erm, that was what made him realise

it was more difficult
than he could probably cope with.

Wow. Right.

Since then, I've just loved
this type of doll,

so I have collected some since then.

And my daughters have many
of them - about 40.

That's a lot of dolls, isn't it?
That is a lot.

Even nowadays, I still give them
at Christmas.

OK. I've kept the tradition going.

What's the future plans
for this doll, then?

Well, it certainly is to listen
to her speak again.

And I'd love my daughters
- and my dad, actually -

to hear her, her dulcet tones.

Yeah. Yes.

I can't wait to pull the cord out
and hear her again.

Steve, it's you, mate.

I've never done anything
like this before...ever.

So, I don't know.

Well, leave it with us, OK?
Thank you very much. Thank you.

All right. You take care now.
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

The doll was a present for me when I
was nine years old.

I'd love to have her talking again

so I can go back to
when I was a child

and enjoy her now, as an over-60.

SHE LAUGHS

First manufactured in 1959,

these famously leggy toys
mimic the glamorous film stars

and fashion elite of the day.

This doll may be an example
of the first talking version,

but she's not spoken a word
in decades.

What do you reckon to that, then,
Steve?

I think you're going to have
your hands full with that.

I hope it's all there.

You know what I'm a bit amazed by?

All of that in the back
of this doll. I know!

I don't know how they got that in.

I've mended lots of dolls
because I've got four daughters.

Yeah, yeah.

So I'm used to doing that,
but none of them have spoken.

I'm worried about what sort
of voice she'll have.

If I get it wrong...

DEEP VOICE:
She might speak like this.

THEY LAUGH

No!

So, I'm going to see if
Julie and Amanda will help me

protect this lady's modesty.
That's a good idea.

And make her some clothes. Yeah.

So, are you going to be all right
with that, yeah?

I've not a clue until I start
putting it back together again

and working it all out.

Yeah. No idea whether
it's going to work or not.

OK. That's yours.

This actually works like a mini
record player.

I'm just wondering whether Julie's
dad put this hairband in there,

because it needs a drive
belt to drive it.

And I've just got to make
sure that I get it back

in the right order.
Otherwise, it won't play.

Work out if there are
any parts missing,

and repair all the places that have
been prised apart and broken.

Right,
that's in place on the bottom end.

HE CHUCKLES

Quite, quite literally.

Just going to pop that
through...the back there.

Right.

INDISTINCT BUZZING SPEECH

HE LAUGHS

I don't believe that.
It's actually making some sound.

INDISTINCT WARBLING SPEECH

Hm.

I can't make out
exactly what she's saying.

There's obviously a problem
with the actual regulation

of the mechanism.

It's supposed to run quite quickly,

but not too quick, to make
exactly the right speaking sound.

So, more investigation work.

On his workbench, Brenton's ready
to start his restoration

of the musical salt and pepper set,

a cherished souvenir
of 1950s Hong Kong.

One of his tasks will be to get
both wonky pots

to stand upright again.

I'm a little bit perplexed by
how I'm going to straighten these.

Although it's bent quite easily when
it was dropped,

I'm not sure it's going to go back
into shape so easily

when I try and straighten it out.

It's not a matter of just grabbing
them and doing this,

cos, if I did that,
this would just bend.

Will?

Hey, Brenton.
I've got to straighten this out.

I need to put something
into this and then pull it.

So, could you do a little
turning job for me, please?

OK. How small?

This fits inside it. Right.

So, if you can make me a piece of
wood that's that shape

but about that long.

Oh, I see. So, that cut, it's
slightly twisted. It is.

You need to straighten it out.
It's not slightly twisted -

it's very twisted.

Oh, gosh. I can do that.

Thank you very much. No worries.

I have to make two handles
for these salt and pepper pots,

and I'm going to cast them
in pewter.

I'm going to use a high-temperature
silicon mould,

and I'm going to put the good handle
into the silicon rubber.

When it's set,
I'm going to cut it out.

Hopefully, I can pour
some pewter in there

and I'll have a copy of that handle.

So, I'm going to balance
this in the pot

and then pour...the silicon in.

You would have thought,
if you poured molten metal

into something
which is a synthetic rubber,

that there would be smoke
and flames and all sorts of mess,

but it seems to work.

So, now all I've got to do
is let this set,

then I can start casting.

That's come out quite nicely.

The only way I know if it's worked
properly is if I pour some pewter

into it and see if I get
a handle from it.

Casting pewter can be quite tricky,

and it's really, really easy
to get air bubbles.

A little tip -
put some graphite in the mould.

The graphite helps the pewter
flow through the mould,

and you don't get air bubbles.

So, pewter is a mixture of tin
and zinc,

and it's liquid already.

So, I'm just going to pour some
of this into the hole.

And there it is.

So, I've just got to let this
cool down,

which'll take a couple of seconds,

and then I can see
if it's worked or not.

That looks like it's OK,
so I'm going to give this a go.

It's still hot,
so I've got to be careful.

There we go.

That's one handle made.
I've just got one more to do now.

Right.

That has turned out pretty well.

Lovely.
Let's see if Brenton approves.

So, Brenton... Hi.

..one stake for you. Excellent.

I'm going to see if it fits.

Excellent. Yeah? Now, I can try to
straighten that without breaking it.

I wish you the best of luck
with that. I need it.

This is the most daunting part
of the job for me.

And I'm a bit worried
that I might just snap the top off.

So, I need to be really,
really gentle.

It needs a lot of,
a lot of pressure...

..to bend it straight.

That looks really good.

Now I'm going to do
the difficult one.

And this one is the one
that will probably snap on me.

This is straightening
terrifyingly easily.

I think...

I think that's straight now.

Now salt and pepper
are standing tall,

Brenton can prepare
for the next fiddly job -

soldering on the handles.

Here goes, then.

So, what I'm trying to do
is just try to get the whole thing

to 100 degrees centigrade
and no more,

so if I get it any more,
the whole thing will just melt.

I can see the solder
just trying to melt there.

I just want it to draw
into the joint.

There it goes. There it goes.

That wasn't meant to happen. Erm...

I can try balancing it again
and giving that another go.

The solder's still on there,
I think.

That's one done.

That's really, really nerve-racking,

and it's making me sweat a bit.

As Brenton soldiers on
with soldering,

outside, a new arrival.

Barbara Clark and her son, Lee,
have brought along

a Second World War military memento

for the attention of master hatter
Jayesh Vaghela,

who makes and maintains headwear
from the world's oldest hat shop.

Hello. Hello.

Hi, I'm Jay. You are?

Hello, I'm Barbara.

Barbara... Lee.

Lee. I'm Jayesh.
Hi, Jayesh. Hello.

So, we've got something in the bag.

We have. Let's see what is.

Oh, wow.

Now, that hat looks like it's seen

a lot.

It has seen a lot.

It belonged to my dad, Ted Smith...
OK.

..who was a Japanese
prisoner of war,

and he was captured.

He was captured,
but he was a soldier.

Yeah. Singapore fell to the Japanese
in 1942.

Right. And from that point on,

any British soldier
was held in Changi Prison.

And then, from there,
from about early 1943,

they were shipped north
to work on the,

on the railway
from Burma to Thailand,

the so-called Death Railway.

It carved through the jungle.

The Japanese wanted the railway
to support their troops

that were for the war
that was going on in Burma.

So, they decided to build
this, this railway...

..that, erm... And use the prisoners
as labour, is what they did? Yes.

The conditions were appalling.

They used to starve them.
In fact, they used to put rice...

If they found rice, they put
it in their shoes

so they could eat it later.

When they were all shipped home,

Dad had gone through such
a rough time, a terrible time,

unrecognisable when he came home
to his brother.

He had a twitch
and he had a limp.

And he was so, so thin,

through, erm, terrible circumstances
in the prisoner of war camp.

Yeah, did he ever speak about his
experience then or...?

No, he would never, ever
speak about it.

And, unfortunately,
my dad died at 59

and it wasn't until after that
we realised

what he'd been through

because he just would no way speak
about it.

Did you ever meet him?

So he passed away when I was five.

Right.

Grandad used to take him
in the shed.

He had an old pram and he made him
a go-kart out of it

and he idolised Lee.

It was a dream come true
to have a grandson.

Yeah.

Jayesh, have you ever seen
a hat like this before?

No, nothing like this before.

It's going to be quite an honour
to...to work on this hat.

What would you like us, or Jayesh,
to do to this?

When we're handling it, it feels
very frail,

so we don't want it absolutely.
brand-new in any way.

OK, right.

But we just want it in a state that
we can handle it, talk about it,

pass it on without fear
of making it, you know, any worse.

OK.

For me it represents
the man that wore it.

Yeah. Courage,

determination

and character.

To get home

and see his family.

That's what it means to me.

Thank you both for bringing this in.

It's, er, powerful.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

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

My grandad, to me was...

..a hero.

I honestly...

It means
so much to me, to be honest,

it's very difficult to put
into words

and having it restored

is a fantastic way
of paying tribute, I think.

How do you go about repairing
something like this?

Because to me, it looks quite
messed up.

What I'm going to do initially
is to have a listing made.

That would refresh the felt. Right.

Next step will be to re-block
the crown.

Right. And then it re-block the
brim.

And then introduce a sweatband.

And that will give the hat
a structure.

What's blocking?

Blocking is the reshaping of both
the crown and the brim.

And then what about the holes?
Would you stitch them up?

So what I'm going to do is introduce
the felt inside of the crown.

Yeah. And do blind stitch.

That will bring the split together.

OK, well, if you need any help, just
let me know. I'm your man.

Thank you. No problem.

So, looking closely at the patches,

the colours here indicate

that this fabric must have been part
of his uniform,

which obviously him being
resourceful,

made use of the fabric
which was available

to him at hand.

There's a lot of work
to be done on this hat,

so my first starting point
will be my faithful steamer.

So I'll get that going.

By steaming it, it will sort
of refresh the felt,

which also helps me shape the crown
as well as the brim.

So it doesn't really matter
as to how you brush the felt.

So literally can brush it...

..down, brush it up,
brush it in a buffer style.

It doesn't really matter
because it won't affect the
appearance of the felt.

Using the steamer,

it serves a double purpose
and not only steaming the hat,

making the hat look good,

at the same time
I'm getting a facial.

Still in pieces on Steve's bench,

the talking doll
who's stuck for words,

but the miniature record
player that powers her voice

is about to get a new lease of life.

I've managed to get hold of a
drive belt

from a cassette player

which fits nicely into this.

That's the drive belt round.

WHIRRING

WHIRRING

HE SIGHS

Back to the drawing board,
that hasn't worked at all.

There's something else
that I'm missing here,

so I've got to take it apart again

and, um...

..have another look.

While Steve has a rethink,

the task of recreating the doll's
original '60s outfit

has fallen to experts
in miniature seamstressing

Julie and Amanda.

Perhaps you could do her
little shorts...

Yes. ..slash pants.

And I'll do her top. Yeah.

When I was doing the research,
the picture that I saw

has that ribbed effect
but goes this way.

Yeah. Are you going to put the
ruffle round the bottom? I will try

to get her as close

to what she would have been when she
came out the box.

Perfect.

Did you have a Barbie?

I did, yeah, yeah.

Though my Barbie was usually
dressed and sat on the shelf

looking glamorous, but not really
played with that much.

Did she have of lots of clothes?

I remember a pair of knee-length
boots.

Kinky boots.
Kinky boots, that's it, yes.

Come on, we've got to get on. OK.

I've been really struggling
with the mechanism,

and I found that there is a part
missing,

a missing cam,

and it's quite an important part.

The little record player
inside this mechanism

has the little disc,

and this cam will determine

which groove the stylus will hit

and will determine then
what she's going to say

out of the six different phrases
that she says.

This cam is six-sided.

I've made a rough drawing of it.

I'm going to have a go at making it.

And it's a bit of a stab
in the dark,

but I hope it's going to work.

On my lathe I've got this
dividing plate

so that I can turn the actual piece

of work at different angles

and I'll file a new side on it.

So basically...

..that goes there.

I'm hoping and praying
that this is going to be right

and this is going to work.

I think if it doesn't work
this time,

I might just go for a long walk.

This really is the moment of truth.

DOLL SPEAKS

Oh, thank goodness!

That is such, it's actually
working.

Let's do some shopping.

Let's do some shopping.

She's actually talking.
This is amazing. Fantastic.

Brenton's work in metallic miniature

is almost done.

The pewter salt and pepper pots
now restored,

he's got one last tiny but not
insignificant task.

I've got a reference picture
I'm going to use for painting

the gentleman who is on top
of the salt and pepper music box.

So I'm going to try and get a little
bit of character into the face.

I think I'm going to be able
to make something that Janice
will recognise.

When she sees this, I want
her to go,

"That's my little fellow
who winds up the music box."

I don't want to throw her arms
up in despair and go,

"What have you done to it?"

A gift from Janice's mum
to her grandmother

after a spell in Hong Kong,

this charming novelty became
out of shape,

broken and forlorn.

Janice and Niamh have returned
to reclaim the heirloom

they've both loved since childhood.

I'm sure Brenton's done
a fantastic job.

This is something that's
very precious to me.

So I'm just... I just can't wait
to see it.

How are you doing?

Good, thank you.

Sure? You look a bit nervous.
Really a bit nervous.

Excited.

Yeah. It's a very special thing.

It means a great deal to me.

Yeah. From my dad to my mum
to my nan.

Lots of things.

Three generations so far,

and going on to the fourth.

You want it back then, don't you?
Yes, please.

Brenton. OK.

Oh, my God!

Look at his little face.

Oh, my God, that is amazing.

Thank you so much.
Look how shiny it is.

That's incredible.

Can I pick it up? Yeah, of course.

TINKLY CHINESE TUNE

It's amazing, it's absolutely
amazing.

Is it how you remembered it?

It is, yeah, very much so.

Is it taking you back? It does.

I can't thank you enough, it is...

It's amazing how much
an object like that

can evoke such feeling.

It is exactly as I remember it.

Thank you so much.

I know what it means to you

and I wanted it to remind
you of how it was.

It's amazing for me cos I've never
seen it like this,

to be able to see it kind of as it
probably was when it was bought,

with then the hope that I can show
it to my kids one day is brilliant.

Well, let's get this packed
up. OK. No problem.

Thank you, Brenton,

and thank you so much.

Look after it. I will.

We will, it's something to treasure.
Definitely, yeah.

Take care. And you.

Bye-bye. Take care now. Bye-bye.

I mean, it just transported me back,

memories of my nan and my mum.

In my mind's eye that's exactly how
it looked all those years ago.

And to have somebody
to pass that to,

it means a massive amount.

It's stopped being mine now,
I think,

and it is now ours. Yeah.

Master hatter Jayesh is using
a traditional technique

to reshape the crushed and crumpled
soldier's hat

that survived the rigours of the
Burma railway

during World War II.

He uses steam to make the felt
pliable,

and reshapes the hat

around a wooden block.

What I use
here, it's a hat structure.

The hat structure is a hatter's
best friend.

It's been around since
hatting began.

I have a feel in terms of how much

twist I need to get,

the stretch I require for the hat.

That's done the job, um...

So to steam the hat and then

placing it on the stretcher

has given the crown the shape that
it requires.

And subsequently what I'm going
to do is

start working on this right here.

I'm going to introduce a single
piece of felt inside the crown,

which will act as a support
to the actual body of the hat.

And then I'm going to introduce
a blind stitching

which will hold the split together.

The split in the felt is quite
extended,

so a starting point is quite tricky,

so I have to get this right,
and once I've introduced

a few stitches into the repair,
it gets easier.

So...

..perseverance is very, very
important.

I come across this sort of problem
all the time, and I've done

quite a few of these kind of repairs

and it is very, very time-consuming,

but it is very important

that I get this consistent.

Coming up to my last stitch...

..and that completes the mend,

and the next step would be to start
working on the brim.

And for that I will need
a brim block.

So, to flatten the creases
which are present in the brim,

I'm going to use a wet towel

and my handy iron,

which are a hatter's trade secret.

And the whole process is literally
like ironing your clothes.

And I'm getting the shape
of the brim, as you can see.

And I'm doing that very gradually...

..purely because of the age
of the hat.

The felt has become slightly
stubborn,

so by the time I finished
blocking the brim,

the hat should almost look

like its original shape.

On Julie and Amanda's bench

with a tailor-made, retro outfit
nearly finished,

the talking doll is about to look
her fashionable self again.

It's making me smile because I'm not
sure I've ever done this before.

I think if you said to me,
"What colours

"would she have been wearing
in the '60s?"

I think I would have gone
with this...this pink

and maybe a bright orange.

And I know that keeps Amanda
happy anyway.

Amanda?

Yes.

I finished her clothes.

Yes. Like that.

And then put the little sort
of bottom frill on the skirt.

OK, thank you.

Because she is still quite frail

and we're quite nervous
and Steve's quite nervous

we're going to do her some damage,

so we will make
sure that she's stitched in

rather than forcing
her into her clothes.

I actually really enjoyed
myself here.

There's a bit of a pink
theme, I think, at the moment

going on with Barbie and myself.

I really hope after all this,
Steve's actually going to let us

hear her speak.

Just one little sentence
would be lovely.

Once the favourite Christmas
present of 1968,

this faded fashionista
was due a makeover.

Julie, along with daughters
Daisy and Scarlett,

are all eager to hear her signature
phrases once again.

It's wonderful to have the girls
with me today to experience this

because they have been wanting
to see her

as a complete doll,
so I'm so excited.

How are you doing, Julie?
Hello, Julie.

So these are your daughters?

Yes, Daisy and Scarlett.

And from what I understand,

you're fans of this type
of doll as well?

Big fans when we were growing up,
used to play all the time.

So how many have you got?
Have you got loads?

Maybe 100?

100? Yeah.

Oh, my word.

Very lucky girls.

You must have spent your lives
just dressing them and playing
with them all the time.

Yeah. We kept all the shoes. OK.

And the outfits. Unlike Mum.

Yeah, no clothes.

No boots, no clothes, no nothing.

My gosh.

Right, OK, would you like to have a
look and see what we've been able to
do. I'd love to have a look.

Oh, gosh!

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, she looks amazing.

Oh, she's absolutely beautiful.

It's the perfect pink.

The outfit is due to our teddy bear
ladies just there.

Thank you so much.

Pick her up. I'm a bit nervous.

I'm a bit nervous doing this.

Let's do some shopping.

Oh, oh, oh. Let's do some shopping.

INAUDIBLE

Oh, my gosh, it's so weird
hearing her again.

How does that feel, Julie,
pulling that?

It's absolutely taking me straight
back to when I was a little girl.
Yeah.

And I'm so glad you can see it
as well.

It's really amazing.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for bringing her in
and setting a challenge to Steve.

I love seeing him sweat.

Thank you so much.
You take care now, all three of you.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

As soon as I heard her voice,
it was amazing,

it just...it just took me straight
back to Christmas morning

when I opened the box.

Really happy memories.

It was really amazing.

I really can't believe it.

I'm so lucky.

Master hatter Jayesh

has been tested by the nearly
80-year-old soldier's hat.

Reshaped and repaired,

he must now give it lasting
structure.

My next step would be to prepare
a sweatband.

What I'm going to use is canvas,
which is a sturdy fabric.

Once it's all made up and stitched
inside the crown,

that will give the support
this hat needs.

The very thing I enjoy doing
this job,

working with hats,

each and every hat has a character.

Each piece you work on,
you pick up a technique,

the way that particular hat
was made.

It's amazing.

So what I'm going to do now is
just carry on

working...

..all the way to the end

and that will finish the sweatband.

Back to collect the memento, Lee,

whose grandfather wore this hat

to protect against the searing
Far East heat

as he laboured as a prisoner of war

during World War II.

My grandad is always in my thoughts.

He is an inspiration to me,

so I'm hoping
that it can be a tribute to him

rather than something that's
decaying and falling away.

So, yeah, we want to be able
to keep it for a long time.

How are you doing, Lee? Hello.
All right? Jayesh.

Nice to see you.
Nice to see you, too.

How are you feeling?

All kinds of emotions going
on at the moment from nerves,

excitement...

..and everything in between.

Er, it means a lot to me,
this hat does.

So, yeah.

I can see that.

Ready? Yeah, I'm ready.

I'm shaking.

That's amazing.

Thank you.

And I'm holding it, it doesn't feel
as if it's going to fall apart.

It's strong now.

Oh, I absolutely love it.

It's amazing.

How does it feel holding
your grandfather's hat?

Sends a bit of a tingle through me.

Yeah? Yeah. A good tingle,
hopefully.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, electricity running through me
almost. Yeah.

It's a proper tribute
to a great man.

When I started working on the hat,

it became like a journey for me.

And it speaks a lot
about the owner as well.

I assume he was a left-handed
gentleman.

Yes.

A very natural way to handle the hat
would be to pinch the crown here.

Yes. And where the thumb goes
there's a tremendous pressure

and you can see the wear
is very evident on this side

where the repairs has taken place.
Yeah.

It's little nuggets
like that... Yeah.

..that keep coming together for me

to piece together the character

of the man more and more.

So, yeah, that is tremendous
and thank you.

Thank you very much.

And thank you for bringing it in.

I have a small gift for you, Lee.

Oh, wow.
I know it came in a carrier bag.

Yes. But now...

..this hat deserves...

..a better home.

Oh.

Oh, wow, that's very kind.

Thank you.

It's my pleasure.

Thank you. You happy? Yeah.

More than happy.

Thank you very much. You're welcome.
Take care.

Well done, well done. Thank you.

Beautiful.

Now, the hat is restored
it is definitely

a symbol of the man that
used to wear it.

It fully represents
my grandad, Ted.

Now it's a strong hat that matches
the character of the man.

It definitely, definitely makes me
feel a lot closer to him.

Join us again as more bedraggled
but precious items...

I should be in scrubs,
it really is surgery on him.

..undergo stunning restorations...

Yeah, still rings.

..in The Repair Shop.