The Repair Shop


The Repair Shop is a British television series made by production company Ricochet that aired on BBC Two for series 1 to 3 and BBC One for series 4, in which family heirlooms are restored for their owners by experts. Furniture restorer Jay Blades acts as the foreman.

Theme

Each episode follows craftspeople who restore family heirlooms that have sentimental value for their owners. The craftspeople are professionals from around the country. Heirlooms are found mostly through social media, and their owners are not charged for the restorations.

Transmissions

Notable artists

Episode 4 of series 1 featured a painted ceramic jug made by Picasso contemporary Jean Lurçat.
Episode 12 of series 1 features a painting by British landscape artist Frederick Appleyard. Brought in by Appleyard's descendant —his great-grand-nephew— the heavily damaged painting was restored by Lucia Scalisi.
Episode 8 of series 4 featured a painting by Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu, owned by a friend of the artist, which was restored by Lucia Scalisi.
In episode 16 of the same series, she restored an oil portrait by C.J. Frost, at the request of its owner, the sitter's son.
In series 4, episode 22, a miniature by Sarah Biffen was restored, by Scalisi and paper conservator Louise Drover.

Filming

The Repair Shop is filmed at Weald and Downland Living Museum in Singleton, West Sussex. The Court Barn is the principal setting, though some repairs are carried out in the Victorian smithy and nearby wagon shed.

Experts

Regular

Home media

On 25 June 2018 a DVD release of The Complete Series 1 and 2017 Christmas Special was released on a 2 disc DVD set under licence by Spirit Entertainment Limited.
A DVD release of Series Two was released on 7 October 2019 under licence by Dazzler Media. A DVD of Series 3 was announced for release on 2 March 2020. This would leave three of the total five series available on home media release.

Books

On 25 July 2019, a Do it yourself hardback book was released, entitled The Repair Shop: A Make Do and Mend Handbook, published by BBC Books.

Reception

In 2019, The Repair Shop received a nomination for a Rose d'Or in the Reality and Factual Entertainment category. After moving to prime time for Series 6 in March 2020, it was watched by 6.7 million people.