Catch up TV

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 revolving zoetrope is a candlelit, animation device that laid the foundations for the development of moving film.\n\nCamilla’s great-great-great-grandfather made the device back in the 1850s. A chief draftsman of the Darlington Railway, he often did technical drawings of trains, and his eye for detail can be seen in the construction of her zoetrope. Passed down to her grandma, Camilla recalls playing with it as a child, and now that it is in her care, she’d love to see it restored to working order.\n\nAngelina Bakalarou has clocked up nearly 20 years of paper conservation experience, which she can use to restore the picture scrolls, whilst expert Dominic Chinea takes on the missing metal prongs that hold the scrolls in place. Will Kirk uses traditional techniques to make a stand. Their combined hard work leaves Camilla completely animated over her now fully usable zoetrope.\n\nThe barn’s next project is a pair of furniture designer classics. The forlorn pair of chairs belong to Roger, who inherited them from his twin brother Chris when he immigrated to Florida in the 1990s. Unbeknownst to Roger, upholstery expert Sonnaz Nooranvary reveals that his brother Chris had very good taste, as the chairs are vintage ercol. Not realising how important they would become after the loss of his brother, Roger kept the chairs stored in a damp storage space for many years and is now ashamed they’ve ended up in such a sorry state. Sonnaz sets to work revamping the upholstery, whilst carpenter Will Kirk tackles the water-damaged wood. Their combined efforts pay off as Roger takes a seat on his beautifully restored keepsakes.\n\nNext, hoping for the healing hands of ceramics conservator Kirsten Ramsay, Janaki enters the barn with a precious link to her Sri Lankan heritage. Her ceramic statue of the Buddha has been in her family for over 70 years and was passed down by her mum. Back in Sri Lanka, her mother left the family home and started work as a nanny for a wealthy family, which was unusual for the times. After a few years, the family decided to immigrate to the UK and asked Janaki’s mum if she’d like to go with them. Quite the adventurer, she jumped at the chance. Once settled in London, she married and had children of her own. Times were tight, but she remained a devout Buddhist, and Janaki remembers that the statue was always the centrepiece of her mother’s shrine at home. But time has not been kind to the little statue. With damage to the all-important gesture of the Buddha and a broken base, Kirsten must undertake some delicate repairs to restore this beautiful, dainty piece.\n\nFinally, Fiona brings in a pair of her dad’s boots from the 1960s. She explains that these are no ordinary Chelsea boots but traditional step-dancing boots. Her father, a Norfolk fisherman and lifeboat worker, used this freestyle form of tap dancing to relax at the end of a hard day’s work. Keen to continue the tradition, Fiona returns to the barn accompanied by a musician in the hope of dancing in her father’s step-boots once again.

Source: BBC 2