The Repair Shop

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.

A BBC report published in June 2024 states that the show is to be cancelled after the current series.

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.

The Repair Shop at Christmas
Several Christmas-themed special episodes (with the exception of The Repair Shop at Christmas 2018) have been produced, and since the 2020s have been transmitted on Christmas Eve occurring every two years and on Boxing Day occurring every two years. The earliest transmission date on record was five days before Christmas Eve 2017 and the latest transmission date on record was three days after Boxing Day 2019.

Comic Relief
In 2022, the show's presenters were featured with French and Saunders and Judi Dench in a parody of the series for Comic Relief.

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, Scalisi restored an oil portrait by Cyril James 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 (still the Prince of Wales at the time of filming) 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.

Regular

 * Jay Blades, furniture restorer and foreman
 * Dominic Chinea, metal worker and signs restorer
 * Steven Fletcher, clock restorer
 * Suzie Fletcher, leather worker, saddle maker
 * Will Kirk, carpenter, wood painter 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

Guest and semi-regular experts
(in alphabetical order)


 * Angelina Bakalarou (Regular at Christmas), paper and paintings conservator
 * Stuart Black, firefighting historian
 * George Blackman, antique typewriter restorer
 * Matthew Boultwood, blacksmith
 * David Burville, organ restorer, toy repairer
 * Sara Dennis, embroidery specialist
 * John Dilworth, violin restorer
 * Louise Drover, paper conservator
 * Neil Fairley, vintage electronics repairer
 * Catherine Guilder, butter churn restorer
 * Tim Gunn, bicycle restorer
 * Geoff Harvey, pinball and arcade machine restorer
 * Sarah Hatton, willow artist
 * Stephen Kember, music box specialist
 * David Kennett, luthier, guitar restorer
 * Kouresh Kouchakpour, luthier
 * Blue MacMurchie and John MacMurchie, bagpipes restorers, known as the "MacMurchie Bagpipe Brothers"
 * Graham Mancha, furniture restorer
 * Matthew Nickels, stained-glass worker
 * Guillaume Pons, ceramics restorer
 * Pierro Pozella, camera restorer
 * Laurence Richardson, jukebox restorer
 * Richard Rigby, antique projector specialist
 * Nigel Robinson, electronics engineer
 * Greg Rowland, wheelwright
 * Joujou Saad and Walid Saad, antique typewriter restorers, known as "Mr & Mrs Vintage Typewriters"
 * Christopher Shaw, book-binder
 * Alastair Simms, master cooper
 * Kaviraj Singh, sitar restorer
 * Rachael South, London-based furniture caner
 * Mark Stuckey (Regular at Christmas), electronics, radio and electrical restorer
 * Richard Talman, master goldsmith
 * Roger Thomas, accordion specialist
 * Jayesh Vaghela, hatter
 * Tim Weeks, gramophone specialist
 * Julyan Wallis, luthier
 * Hannah Weston Smith, traditional upholsterer
 * Dean Westmoreland, cobbler, shoe repairer
 * Pete Woods (regular at Christmas), percussion and musical instrument repairer

Home media
DVD releases of the series are released by Dazzler Media under license from Warner Bros.

On 25 June 2018, a DVD release of The Complete Series 1 and 2017 Christmas Special was released on a two-disc DVD set. A DVD release of Series Two was released on 7 October 2019. A DVD of Series 3 was released in March 2020, Series 4 was released as a two-disc set in March 2021, and Series 5 was released as a two-disc set in November 2021.

Books
On 25 July 2019, a do-it-yourself hardback book was released, entitled The Repair Shop: A Make Do and Mend Handbook, published by BBC Books.

The Repair Shop: Tales from the Workshop of Dreams was published by BBC Books on 5 November 2020.

Reception
In 2019, The Repair Shop received a nomination for a Rose d'Or in the Reality and Factual Entertainment category. After moving to prime time for Series 6 in March 2020, it was watched by 6.7 million people.

In 2023, the show won a National Television Award in the daytime programme category.

International versions
An Australian version of the show, The Repair Shop Australia, debuted on Lifestyle on 3 May 2022. It is hosted by Dean Ipaviz, a builder and carpenter, and features six repairers.

A Dutch version of the show, The Repair Shop, debuted on RTL 4 on September 2, 2019. It was hosted by Humberto Tan, a radio and TV presenter, sports journalist, and writer, and lasted one season.

A Dutch version of the show in Belgium, De Repair Shop, debuted on Eén on September 4, 2022. It is hosted by Danira Boukhriss Terkessidis, a newscaster and TV Presenter, and it is currently on its second season.