The Repair Shop is a British daytime and primetime television show made by production company Ricochet that aired on BBC Two for series 1 to 3 and on BBC One for series 4 onwards, in which family heirlooms are restored for their owners by numerous experts with a broad range of specialisms. Furniture restorer Jay Blades acts as the foreman.
Theme
Each episode follows professional craftspeople from around the country who restore family heirlooms that have sentimental value for their owners. Heirlooms are found mostly through social media, and their owners are not charged for the restorations.
Viewers find out about the emotional family stories and events behind the pieces, before enjoying the sight of the technical skills and progress used to bring the pieces back to looking more cared for and in working order.
Episodes
: An episode billed as "Series 9, Episode 1" aired as a one-off on 29 December 2021. However, Series 9 did not officially start until 14 March 2022 with a different Episode 1, and the previously aired episode is scheduled to repeat in this run as Episodes 6 or 20.
: Series 10 officially started 11 May 2022 half way through Series 9 and had ended 5 October 2022 before 20 more episodes were commissioned for Series 9.
: Series 12 officially started 22 March 2023 half way through Series 11 despite 20 more episodes were commissioned. However "Series 11, Episodes 21 to 30" aired from 21 August to 1 September 2023 before commissioning 10 more episodes running between 9 and 20 October 2023, then "Series 12, Episodes 9 to 11" aired on 13, 20 and 27 September 2023 before commissioning 3 more episodes and Series 12 does not officially end until after series 11 ends.
The Repair Shop at Christmas
Several Christmas-themed special episodes with the exception of The Repair Shop at Christmas 2018 have been produced:
Notable artists
Episode 5 of series 1 featured a painted ceramic jug made by Picasso contemporary Jean Lurçat.
Episode 12 of series 1 featured a painting by British landscape artist Frederick Appleyard. Brought in by Appleyard's descendant —his great-grand-nephew— the heavily damaged painting was restored by Lucia Scalisi.
In episode 16 of the same series, she restored an oil portrait by C. J. Frost, at the request of its owner, the sitter's son.
In series 4, episode 22, a miniature by Sarah Biffen was restored, by Scalisi and paper conservator Louise Drover.
Notable guests
In October 2022, King Charles III (then still the Prince of Wales) starred in an episode in which a piece of pottery made for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and an 18th-century clock were restored by the show's experts. Jay Blades, Steve Fletcher, his son Fred, Kirsten Ramsay and Will Kirk were featured.
Filming
The Repair Shop is filmed at the Weald and Downland Living Museum in Singleton, West Sussex. The Court Barn is the principal setting, though some repairs are carried out in the Victorian smithy and nearby wagon shed.
Experts
Regular
Jay Blades, furniture restorer and foreman
Dominic ('Dom') Chinea, metal worker and signs restorer
Steven ('Steve') Fletcher (brother of Suzie), clock restorer
Suzie Fletcher (sister of Steve), leather worker, saddle maker
Will Kirk, carpenter and cabinet-maker
Sonnaz Nooranvary, upholstery restorer
Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell, soft toy restorers, known as the "Bear Ladies" Kirsten Ramsay, Sussex-based ceramics conservator Lucia Scalisi, painting conservator Brenton West, silversmith and antique photography specialist