Catch up TV

Series 10: Episode 9

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.\n\nMei-Mei Heryet is the first to arrive at the barn, with an ornately carved Victorian table in need of attention from antique furniture restorer Will Kirk. Mei-Mei grew up in the west of Ireland, where her father ran a fishing lodge. The table was used to tie fish flies, and Mei-Mei’s earliest memories are of sitting at the table helping her father. Fishing became a much-loved hobby that she and her dad shared together. Sadly, Mei-Mei’s father died when she was just 17, and now the table is an important connection to those precious memories. To restore the table, Will has his work cut out – the tabletop is badly split, it's missing some of the decorative wood carvings, and parts of the table have become infested with woodworm.\n\nArcade games aficionado Geoff Harvey is the next expert to be called upon when Tim McCann arrives with his prized ‘one-armed bandit’ fruit machine. The machine was given to Tim by his grandpa, Cornelius McCann, who was well known by the local community for his Peaky Blinders-style hat and larger-than-life character. The machine gave Tim years of pleasure when he was a child and was also played with by his children. Unfortunately, the machine got broken, and now Tim would like it fixed so his grandchildren can enjoy it too. To get the machine working again, Geoff has years of grime and a very seized-up mechanism to work through before he’s on a winning streak.\n\nThe next visitor is Sue Gent, who arrives with an unusual mechanical toy dog. Restoring him will take the combined efforts of Steve Fletcher and the bear ladies, Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell. The dog was given to Sue by her mum and dad as a Christmas present, and Sue has fond memories of laughing and giggling at the toy with her younger brother Andrew. Sue’s father now suffers from Alzheimer’s, and Sue is hoping that the restored toy will trigger some happy memories for him and all the family. Steve tries to get the dog’s mechanical parts moving again, while Julie and Amanda make a new set of clothes and replace his threadbare fur face.\n\nA large swivel ball chair is the final item to arrive at the barn. It’s a job for upholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary and metal worker Dominic Chinea. The stylish chair was bought by current owner Nina Tillet’s aunt and uncle, Janice and Tim, in the 1970s. The chair became a firm family favourite, and Nina remembers spending many fun-filled hours whizzing around in the chair with her cousins. Nina was given the chair when her uncle died and her aunt moved house. The memories the chair holds makes Nina smile, but it’s far from the design classic it once was. The foam cushions have deteriorated, the fabric needs replacing, and the exterior needs a revamp. The chair's complex curves present Sonnaz with an incredibly tough assignment, but with Dom's help, the chair is given a new lease of life.

Source: BBC 2