Catch up TV

Series 11: Episode 7

The expert restoration team bring three treasured family heirlooms back from the brink.\n\nThe day’s first arrival is Yatish from Leicester, who has brought along his father’s 80-year-old camera, originally used by the family when they lived in Uganda. Yatish’s father and uncle set up a photography business as young lads, but in the early 1970s, dictator Idi Amin expelled Asian citizens from the country, forcing the family to flee. Along with many others, Yatish’s family fled to the UK. They arrived with very few possessions, but this trusty camera allowed them to set up a photography company in the UK. Yatish now runs the family business, and his dream is to use this beloved camera once again. It provides a link to his heritage and symbolises his family’s triumph over adversity. Brenton West gives the scuffed, malfunctioning camera a total overhaul so that Yatish can start snapping.\n\nNext is Juliet, daughter of the popular children’s author Dick King-Smith. She is the custodian of her late father’s childhood stuffed toy rabbit, Wilfred. The toy was gifted to him when he was an infant and is now nearly a century old. Wilfred sat in Dick’s study for decades, looking on as he wrote over 100 children’s books, most of which featured animals. One of these was The Sheep Pig, which was later adapted into the film Babe. Teddy bear ladies Julie and Amanda tackle the holes, bald patches and missing features and pull out all the stops to bring back Wilfred’s bounce. \n\nFinally, leather specialist Suzie Fletcher welcomes Arwel from Anglesey. Tucked under his arm is the draughts board that entertained his close-knit family in rural Wales back in the 1950s. They had no electricity, and Arwel tells of endless evenings of family tournaments lit by gaslight. Now, he would love to share the same experience with his grandchildren, using this original draughts board. Suzie tackles the leather-bound chequerboard, while David Burville creates replica wooden players to replace those that are missing.

Source: BBC 2