Catch up TV

Series 15: Episode 4

First into the barn, Gwyneth from Powys entrusts painting conservator Lucia with a remarkable but badly bruised portrait of her heroic ancestor Captain William Marshall, who risked his life to rescue over 100 shipwrecked Irish emigrants left stranded on an iceberg. The portrait was the precious possession of her late son Paul, who bore an extraordinary resemblance to his six-times great-grandfather, but the ravages of time have left it bent and buckled, with key elements, including the captain’s handsome features, obscured beneath yellowing varnish. After hours of painstaking repair work, Lucia welcomes Gwyneth back to the barn, on what would have been Paul’s birthday, to reveal the extraordinary results of her restoration.\n\nNext, woodworker Will, bookbinder Chris and textiles conservator Rebecca join forces to rescue a well-travelled Jamaican trunk, otherwise known as a grip, that has seen far better days. Brought into the barn by Raphaelia Finlayson, the grip accompanied her father Aubrey, a singer, songwriter and record producer, all over the world as he travelled between Jamaica, London and the USA in pursuit of his musical dreams. Towards the end of Aubrey’s life, the battered wooden case held the vinyl records, sheet music and memorabilia of a lifetime spent in music, but now, damaged by decades of travel and storage, its wood is warped, its fabric is torn, and its paper lining has disintegrated. Will, Chris and Rebecca are determined to return the grip to its former glory, allowing Raphaelia to preserve her father’s mini museum and the legacy of his creative journey.\n\nFrom Perth in Scotland, Andy brings a shattered plaster bust that for 20 years held pride of place in the family home he shared with his late wife, Diane. The bust originally caught the couple’s eye at a car boot sale because Andy felt it looked just like Diane, and it had sat proudly in their hallway ever since. However, an unfortunate accident saw it smashed to pieces, and ceramics restorer Kirsten Ramsay now faces the ultimate 3D jigsaw. Can she reassemble hundreds of fragments of plaster and bring the features so reminiscent of Diane back to life?\n\nFinally, silversmith Brenton West takes on the intricate repair of a 1950s boxing trophy, brought in by Amanda from County Durham and awarded to her late father, Tommy Dixon, at the Royal Albert Hall, to commemorate the first time he fought for his country. Years of childhood play at the hands of Amanda and her brothers have left the tiny silver boxing ring bent, broken and tarnished. It takes all of Brenton’s considerable skills to get it back to its best as he fabricates new rope holders, retwists brass wire into perfect miniature ropes and silver-plates every surface.

Source: BBC 2