The Repair Shop Catch up, Series 15: Episode 3 on BBC 2

The Repair Shop

Series 15: Episode 3

First into the barn is Gary from Hastings, bringing his father Jimmy’s old butcher’s bike. Built for heavy loads, it was used to carry boxes of meat through Hastings in the 1950s before becoming part of Jimmy’s wider life on the seafront, where he worked as a fisherman and later as a 'boy ashore', helping boats land their catch. Tragedy struck in the infamous storm of 1987, when Jimmy perished while trying to save fishing boats from the violent seas. Soon after, his friends created the Crown Lane bike race in his honour, with Jimmy’s old delivery bike at the centre of the event. For nearly four decades, thousands of competitors have pedalled the heavy machine uphill for charity, but years of wear have left it unsafe to ride. Bike restorer Tim Gunn sets about strengthening its frame, fixing brakes and cranks, and ensuring it is safe for the future, while Dom Chinea adds a new hand-painted advertising board to honour Jimmy’s memory.\n\nNext, father and son Paddy and Gary travel from Belfast with a prized pair of motorcycle racing goggles belonging to Paddy’s father, George Brockerton. George was an extraordinary competitor who began his motorbike journey as a teenage dispatch rider in the First World War before becoming a celebrated racer. He competed in the Ulster Grand Prix, the Isle of Man TT, and in 1935 became the only known Irishman to win a coveted Brooklands Gold Star after breaking the 100mph barrier – a feat almost unheard of at the time. His goggles, once a symbol of daring speed and personal pride, have deteriorated, their brittle latex eyepieces crumbling with age. Shoemaker Dean Westmoreland and plastics expert Charlotte Abbott join forces to carefully recreate the missing parts, preserving the distinctive shape and colour so that Paddy and Gary can once again celebrate George’s achievements.\n\nFrom Mid Wales, Amanda arrives with a mysterious painting known as The Last Gathering, found in the attic of her family’s farmhouse near Mynydd Epynt. The artwork captures a rural ritual, where farmers would bring livestock down from the mountains for shearing and selling - a practice that ended abruptly when the community was evicted during the Second World War to make way for a Ministry of Defence training ground. For Amanda, whose family has farmed in the area for generations, the painting represents not just history but a lost way of life. Paintings conservator Lucia Scalisi begins by surface-cleaning but soon discovers areas of overpainting that conceal hidden details, including a key element obscured for decades. Through careful restoration, she uncovers the lost figure and revives the painting’s original balance, reconnecting Amanda and her sons to a story their community still treasures.\n\nFinally, sisters Lyndsay and Karen bring in a very personal piece of childhood history – Puffin, a miniature toy boat built for them in the early 1980s by their late father. Crafted during his lunch breaks at the bus repair works using scrap materials from buses and workshops, the boat was the centre of the sisters’ childhood play. Decades later, it became a source of joy for their own children, but years of play and weather have left it broken and unsafe. Woodworker Will takes on the task of rebuilding the rotten bow, dashboard and seating, while upholsterer Sonnaz contributes a playful finishing touch. Together, they ensure Puffin can be cherished not only as a family keepsake but as a tangible link between grandchildren and the grandfather they never met.

Source: BBC 2

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