Catch up TV

Series 14: Episode 25

First into the barn is Alistair Waite, with a fragile cake topper from his parents’ wedding cake, which holds memories of a childhood spent growing up in the circus. The centrepiece of the miniature circus scene is a faithful reproduction of the big top, of which Alistair’s father was the tent manager and where his mother performed each night. Paper restorer Angelina Bakalarou takes on the delicate task of restoring this precious memento, preserving a unique piece of circus heritage and family love.\n\nNext in comes former children’s TV presenter Jenny Hanley, who brings along a cherished toy of great historical and personal significance: a stuffed monkey named Alphonse. This cheeky primate helped Jenny’s grandmother, Lisa Sheridan, take a series of relaxed and intimate portraits of the royal family, most notably of the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. It was Alphonse’s job to attract the subject’s attention to the camera, but now, threadbare and worn, he’s in no condition to turn heads, royal or otherwise. It’s down to Bear Ladies Julie and Amanda to weave their magic, and bring him back to peak condition.\n\nLondoner Abdul and his daughter Hannah are next through the barn doors, with a challenging proposal for horologist Steve Fletcher and woodworker Will Kirk. Their beautiful but very broken regulator clock was the dearest possession of Abdul’s father, who had been gifted it by a much-loved friend. Passed down to Abdul on his father’s death, the clock sadly didn’t survive the passage from India, and it is now in a pitiful state, leaving Abdul racked with guilt. It takes all of Will and Steve’s skills – and the help of a new face in the barn, screen printer Alasdair MacKay – to get this precious heirloom back to its very best.\n\nFinally, Maureen Armstrong from Bristol presents a battered helmet from the Second World War era for the close attention of Lucia Scalisi. The helmet belonged to Maureen’s much-missed grandmother Dot, who served as a volunteer nurse during the Blitz and wore the helmet on duty as she tended to the wounded during bombing raids on Portsmouth. Now flaking and rust-spattered, Lucia sets to work to ensure that its history – and Dot’s name – are preserved for future generations.

Source: BBC 2