Catch up TV

Series 16: Episode 2

First to arrive at the barn is Bobby Williams from Surrey, bringing the powered wheelchair that opened up a whole new sporting career. Bobby had always loved sport as a kid, but competing on the football field with his non-disabled friends was tough. When he discovered powerchair football, it was a complete game-changer. Fast, physical and fiercely competitive, the sport gave him independence, confidence and a team of his own. For years, this chair has taken the full force of matches: spins, crashes and heavy impacts have left it battered, scratched and mechanically tired. Now stepping back from playing and moving into coaching, Bobby wants the chair restored so it can be passed on to a new young player, lending someone else the same life-changing opportunity he was given. It will take the expertise of Dom Chinea, with a little mechanical help from David Burville, to strip it back, rebuild its frame and refresh its electrics so that it can be ready once again for the rigours of the court.\n\nNext through the doors are brothers Pete and Eric McCready, carrying a fragile flag with an extraordinary romantic history. In 1951, their parents – just teenagers at the time and both avid speedway fans – attended a race night at White City Stadium in Glasgow, home of the Glasgow Tigers. Amid the roar of the engines and the smell of fuel, they met for the first time – a chance encounter that would shape the rest of their lives. Years later, when the stadium was threatened with demolition to make way for the M8 motorway, their father couldn’t bear to see a piece of that history destroyed. He famously shimmied up the flagpole and rescued the very flag that had flown above the referee’s box on the night he met his future wife. Now stained, torn and peppered with holes, the flag is in urgent need of conservation. Textile expert Rebecca Bissonnet must stabilise and clean the delicate fabric before mounting it for display in order for it to be returned to the Glasgow Tigers as both a tribute to a lost sporting venue and the remarkable love story that began beneath it.\n\nFrom Southend-on-Sea in Essex comes Debbie Lee, with two deeply personal pieces of jewellery: a charm necklace and bracelet handmade by her father from stainless steel cutlery. An engineer with a gift for invention, he painstakingly crafted pairs of miniature charms – including boots, guitars and crosses – in two sizes so that Debbie and her mother could wear matching sets. Over time, sadly, many of the charms have become detached, and some have been lost altogether. Now, master goldsmith Richard Talman faces the demanding task of recreating the missing pieces, not from the precious metal he is used to but in tough, unyielding steel – namely, Debbie’s late mother’s original cutlery. This gruelling task very nearly defeats Richard, and it takes every ounce of his grit and determination for the necklace and bracelet to once again be worn with pride as a testament to Debbie’s father’s ingenuity and skill.\n\nLastly, Sarah Weir from Harrogate arrives with a battered but beloved bagatelle board that has brought her family together for generations. Originally owned by her great-uncle Dick, the game became a centrepiece of family life, particularly at Christmas, when the annual champion’s name would be added to the back. For Sarah’s mother, who was determined her adopted children would always feel they belonged, the ritual was simple: lunch, washing-up, then the bagatelle board. Even now, it continues to unite the family, including Sarah’s autistic grandson, who happily joins in when the game comes out. But decades of enthusiastic play have left the board warped, faded and structurally fragile. It’s a job for the many expert talents of David Burville, who must reinforce the frame, replace the missing pins and restore the playing surface – ensuring this noisy, competitive tradition can continue to echo through family gatherings for many years to come.

Source: BBC 2