Catch up TV

Series 11: Episode 4

The experts are excited to work their magic on three new items.\n\nBookbinder Chris Shaw cannot believe his luck when visitor Tara walks through the barn doors clutching an instantly recognisable big red book. The leather-bound tome, along with an accompanying script, were presented to her famous grandfather by Eamonn Andrews on the TV series This Is Your Life in 1957. Her grandfather, Victor Sylvester, was a world champion ballroom dancer and went on to host the long-running series Television Dancing Club. Not only was Victor a TV personality, but he was also a wonderful grandfather who taught Tara to waltz standing on his feet. The book is a documentation of his life and contains photographs of her family, who were all present at the recording of the show. She would love to proudly show it to friends, but its current state makes that impossible. Chris relishes every minute of this tall task to preserve this important piece of television history.\n\nSarah has travelled from Somerset with an intriguing Victorian gadget to test the mechanical mind of Steve Fletcher. The brass, pocket-sized sewing machine was designed to attach to a tabletop and work as a miniature lock stitch machine. It has been passed down the female line of Sarah’s family for generations, as sewing is most definitely in their blood. Her grandma was a skilled seamstress, and her father designed and made her bridesmaids’ dresses. Sarah has been fascinated by the machine from the moment her grandma showed it to her many years ago, but neither she nor her grandma ever saw it working. It’s a tricky challenge for Steve Fletcher. Can he get this seized-up machine whirring once again?\n\nLastly, Paul comes to call with a defunct piece of 1950s audio technology that created the signature guitar sound of his youth, and he’s hoping electronics expert Mark Stuckey can bring it back into action. Paul lives and breathes music and loves to perform, even now in his eighties. The Copicat works like a tape recorder and, when an electric guitar is connected, it records and plays back the previous sound, like an echo. The technique was made famous by bands like The Shadows, and Paul, with his various bands, would often use it at gigs. He’d now love to entertain his friends and play gigs once again.

Source: BBC 2