Mike Stevens is the first to arrive at the barn with a sporting souvenir in need of restoration. He’s eager to recruit metalwork maestro Dominic Chinea and woodwork expert Will Kirk to bring a battered, old wooden skateboard back to life.\n\nMike was arguably one of Liverpool’s first skateboarders, and the board that he bought for four pounds and ten shillings in 1967 is his most treasured teenage possession. As they go about the fix, avid skateboarder Will needs to patch the damaged areas of wood before regluing the five pieces that make up the board. Meanwhile, fellow boarding enthusiast Dom must mend the fractured, metal wheel fixings and stick them back together to get the wheels spinning once again.\n\nRiding aficionado Elana Beavis steps into the barn holding an equestrian heirloom with rodeo roots that she hopes Suzie Fletcher, who spent 22 years immersed in ranch life as a saddler in Colorado, can save from going out to pasture. The saddle dates back to the 1920s and belonged to her great-grandfather, who moved to Canada with his family and started a real-life rodeo. After a few years, the family returned from abroad, and the 100-year-old saddle made it back as well, though with ad hoc alterations and significant wear and tear to its leather. Suzie sets out to reverse the modifications made to the saddle and carefully restore the ageing leather, aiming to return this equine family treasure in an immaculate state.\n\nThe next heirloom of a sporting life belongs to Victoria Wise, who enters the barn armed with a speedway bib that once belonged to her grandfather. He wore it back in 1947 when he raced for the Bristol Bulldogs. Speedway was a motorbike sport, but with no brakes! As such, the riders were considered to be among the bravest and Victoria remembers her father calling his own father, whom he adored, a real hero.\n\nAs a boy, he lovingly painted a number one on the back of his father’s bib, because in his eyes, he was always number one. Having recently lost her dad, Victoria is desperate to have her treasured memorabilia repaired in his honour. It’s an unusual assignment for painting conservator Lucia Scalisi, who must ensure that the existing paint doesn’t lift off the bib and retouch some of the losses without making it look brand new after hundreds of circuits around the track. It’s a labour of love that leaves Victoria in tears.\n\nThe last item is a challenging restoration for master hatter Jayesh Vaghela. He meets Steve Langhorn, who is keen to preserve the memory of his great-grandfather’s prowess on the pitch with his old rugby league cap. Presented to him after playing for his country in 1904, the vintage velvet cap is a symbol of success that carries precious memories passed down through four generations of a sporting family. But when it was found in a plastic bag at the back of a wardrobe by Steve’s ageing father, it was in a sorry state.\n\nKeen to resurrect this piece of history, Jayesh must carefully clean the 120-year-old tarnished bullion tassel and braiding, as well as cleverly fix the bald patches of dark crimson velvet using - of all things - beetroot juice as a natural dye. Jayesh knocks it out of the park with an exquisite reconditioning job, and Steve can’t wait to present it to his dad so that he can pass it down to his rugby-playing grandchildren as a treasured sporting heirloom.
Source: BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 11
First into the barn is Zelda, with her most precious possession, a ring bought by her father on a day out together when she was a teenager. But the ring looks nothing like it or ...
31-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 10
First through the workshop doors is Ben, with an unusual item needing a joint crusade to get it back on its feet. Silversmith Brenton West, woodworker Will Kirk and leather expe ...
24-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 9
It's the return of smoke and mirrors from times past as Camilla arrives with a groundbreaking form of Victorian entertainment she’d like to see back in action. Her revolvi ...
17-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 8
First through the workshop doors is Bev, bringing a local landmark that has lost its way. The dilapidated village sign from Broome in Norfolk was designed for the millennium by ...
10-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 7
Setting bear ladies Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch the first task – with strings attached – Jill Purves and her daughter Vickie, from Biggar in Scotland. Bulb ...
03-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 6
The early birds at the barn are sisters Lottie and Amy, with a unique record of their childhood, a book given to Lottie as a Christmas present in 1976 when she was three years o ...
17-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 5
First through the workshop doors is Ben, bringing a torn and tattered lace dress that played a big part in his late sister Lizzie’s life. The dress became artist Lizzie&rs ...
10-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 4
First through the barn doors are Lloyd Richards and his wife Karen, with his father’s professional Welsh rugby shirt from his playing days back in the 1960s. When Lloyd's ...
03-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 3
Arriving first at the barn is Ian with some footwear that has proven essential to his life. He bought what he calls his ‘soldier boots’ 19 years ago and wears them a ...
27-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 2
Taking on the barn’s first fix are leather worker Suzie Fletcher and textile conservator Rebecca Bissonnet. They are tasked with rescuing a dog’s jacket worn by a fo ...
20-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 11
First into the barn is Zelda, with her most precious possession, a ring bought by her father on a day out together when she was a teenager. But the ring looks nothing like it or ...
31-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 5: Episode 5
Master saddler Suzie Fletcher rescues a pair of tired and torn boxing gloves that once belonged to the owner Andy’s uncle, who died tragically as a young man. Andy is keen ...
04-12-2020
BBC 2
Favourite Fixes: Episode 7
Arriving at the barn with a painting in need of restoration is Gaspare Frazzitta. He’s excited about enlisting the help of the barn’s art conservator, Lucia Scalisi, ...
30-12-2024
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 10
First through the workshop doors is Ben, with an unusual item needing a joint crusade to get it back on its feet. Silversmith Brenton West, woodworker Will Kirk and leather expe ...
24-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 3: Episode 4
Today in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.\n\nUpholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary takes on a r ...
16-08-2018
BBC 2
Series 5: Episode 23
Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.\n\nFurniture restorer Will Kirk is tasked with repairing a writing bure ...
07-10-2020
BBC 2
Series 14: Episode 4
First through the barn doors are Lloyd Richards and his wife Karen, with his father’s professional Welsh rugby shirt from his playing days back in the 1960s. When Lloyd's ...
03-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 9: Episode 12
Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.\n\nFirst through the barn doors today is Claus the Bear, accompanied by ...
14-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 9: Episode 39
Jay Blades and the team work their magic on three cherished possessions, returning them to delighted owners.\n\nThe first visitor of the day is Vicky Oakes. She’s brought ...
22-11-2023
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 1
Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.\n\nResident clockmaker Steven Fletcher rescues a very special skeleton ...
01-04-2019
BBC 2