The Repair Shop - Season 9 / Year 2025

Confronted with a contraption that has clearly seen better days, a daunted Dominic Chinea is taking on the barn's first assignment. All the way from Scotland, brothers Lewis and Ross have wheeled in their family's mobile ice cream trailer. Keen to share the inside scoop on the family business, they reveal that they've been serving up gelato in St Andrews, Fife since 1908 when their great-great-grandfather came over from Italy and started selling the yummy stuff from a shop in the centre of town. Passed down to their grandparents and then to their parents, the family shop is to be carried on by the lads, and part of their plan includes restoring the mobile trailer, which was bought at auction in the 1990s and used to sell ice cream at weddings and events before being left to retire outside. With the wood frame falling apart and a rotten steel chassis, but with the promise of free ice cream at the end, Dom pulls off a beautiful restoration with creamy ice treats a big hit in the barn.

Toy restorers Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch are ready to triage the next repair as Fayez and son Jay arrive with a four-legged friend who's been through the wars. Bought in 1983 in Syria for his sons, Fayez's rocking horse was a favourite growing up for son Jay. Every time he visited the country in the summer holidays, his grandmother would show him the horse which she promised to keep safe. When the wars erupted, Syria became unsafe for the family to visit, but before she passed away, Fayez's mum ensured the rocking horse was kept safe in an apartment owned by Fayez and his wife. Years later, when they finally made it back over to Syria to inspect their apartment, it was a complete mess, but amongst the carnage was their precious rocking horse. With a baby on the way for Jay, it's never been more important to the family to see the toy returned to its original condition. The Bear Ladies enlist the help of Pete Woods to make this repair a real team effort.

Stuart Taylor is hoping to turn the page on an unfortunate incident that caused big damage to a pocket-sized book. The pocket dictionary belonged to his mum who sadly died from leukaemia aged just 38. Only four years old when he lost his mum, he doesn't have many memories of her, so the book - which his sister passed to him when he was 15 - is a tangible link to her. But sadly, during a house move, the book fell out of a box and was only found much later in the street - run over, covered in mud and virtually destroyed. Stuart has been overcome with the burden of guilt over the precious keepsake. For book-binder Christopher Shaw, it's a little book with big problems, but his expert hands - along with those of clock face expert Cindy Welland - ensure Stuart can treasure it forever, guilt-free.

Oyez, Oyez! Carpenter Will Kirk and silversmith Brenton West are on hand to do what they do best for the final fix. In search of sparkle is Kila and her bell. As the first ever female town crier for Lytham in Lancashire, she wants her dull bell to be as shiny as she is when dressed in all her finery. Passed down to Kila when she was inaugurated in 2023, the bell has seen better days and needs sprucing up. Also on Kila's wish list: a baldrick - or belt, typically worn over the shoulder to carry a weapon or instrument - in which she can keep her all-important handbell, which leather worker Suzie Fletcher is roped in to make. In one of the barn's grandest exits, Kila - in full town crier livery - has a go on her spruced-up ringer and gives the experts a bold thank you cry.

Taking on the barn's first fix are leather worker Suzie Fletcher and textile conservator Rebecca Bissonnet. They are tasked with rescuing a dog's jacket worn by a four-legged hero involved in the Lockerbie bombing disaster. Brought in by owner and trainer Neil Powell, the jacket and collar belonged to Pepper, a much-loved border collie who qualified as a search and rescue dog at just 18 months old. The brightest dog Neil has ever known, Pepper also helped rescue a young German boy, who had been missing for over 36 hours in terrible weather. 

But in 1988, after helping search operations in the large crater at the Lockerbie disaster, exposure to the contaminated site left Pepper and the other search dogs with tumours, and they all died. For Neil, it is imperative that Pepper's well-worn search and rescue jacket and collar are restored to keep his memory alive. Suzie brings life back to the leather collar, whilst Rebecca washes away years of dirt from the jacket to reveal something special for Neil. 

The barn's second assignment arrives with Gurcharan and her daughter Dimple, who have high hopes that carpenter Will Kirk can fix a table that has helped their family find their feet. The table was bought by Gurcharan's husband in 1975 after she moved from India to the UK to marry him. Already pregnant and following their arranged marriage back home, the couple needed to quickly fill their new UK home with furniture, and the table was the first thing through the front door. Their children, including Dimple, and later numerous grandchildren, learnt to walk around the low-rise table. And as her health deteriorated, Gurcharan would sit at the table to cook or bake. 

Over the years, it has become one of the family. But a bad re-varnishing job has left it looking past its best, and the spindles, which once formed a magazine rack, have fallen victim to the children, who used them in sword fights. Will brings his A-game to the table, leaving Gurcharan and Dimple with a beautifully restored and fully functional piece to cherish. 

Pete Woods has a gift for restoring instruments, and Natalie and her dad, Mike, are hoping he can restore harmony to one they treasure. Mike's late father played the saxophone over a semi-professional career that spanned from the 1940s right up to the 1990s. Post-war, he travelled around the UK in big bands and swing bands. In 1950, he decided he needed a ‘proper job', so became an engineer, but he continued playing the saxophone with a band he formed called The Dick Wade 5. He was in his mid-70s by the time he retired, and he died in 2004. 

His musical talents were passed down to his son Mike, who plays piano, and his granddaughter Natalie, who is following in his footsteps by playing the saxophone. Mike would love to see the saxophone playing as it did in its heyday so that Natalie can continue to use it. Pete must repair the pads, fix a missing key guard, and spruce up the old brass to get Natalie playing the saxophone in front of an audience of experts. 

Bringing some special footwear for cobbler Dean Westmoreland to tackle is Gill from Merseyside. Her treasured rugby boots, which she wore back in 1994 to help win the Women's World Cup, have seen better days. Back when Gill was climbing the rugby ranks, there were no administrators - the players organised their own games. Gill was heavily involved and was eventually chosen to play for her country. During the 1994/95 season, she was made England captain, and her team reached the final of the Women's World Cup. It was her beloved boots that carried the ball over the try line, winning the match for England. 

After a few more seasons and plenty of wear and tear, Gill put them away for safekeeping before hanging up her boots for good in 2002. Since then, she's been awarded an MBE from the Queen for her services to the women's game. Now, she's keen to get her boots repaired so she can treasure them before donating them to the Rugby Museum in Twickenham to inspire other young women interested in the sport. Dean's got some 'sole-searching' to do in order to revive the boots, but his Midas touch leaves Gill floored.

Arriving first at the barn is Ian with some footwear that has proven essential to his life. He bought what he calls his ‘soldier boots' 19 years ago and wears them anytime he's doing anything of importance. Ian was born profoundly deaf, and at the age of 14 was diagnosed with a disease that's left him with just five per cent of his eyesight. Despite his adversities, he has forged a career as a blind photographer, but it's been a difficult path. The boots act as an armour of sorts, and are part of Ian's uniform to help conquer the trials and tribulations thrown up each day. In them, he feels ready for battle, but unfortunately the boots are no longer ready to conquer the world. He's had his money's worth out of the soles, and the fur lining is nearly non-existent. Expert cobbler Dean Westmoreland pulls off a magnificent salvage job which leaves Ian practically skipping out of the barn. 

The next item is a pressing matter for metal worker Dominic Chinea as visitor Emily brings a rather weighty number that belonged to her grandad. The 1826 printing press was passed down to her when he died several years ago. In the 1940s, her grandad worked at a printing firm. He loved his work so much that he often took it home, and Emily grew up making Christmas cards and labels with him. The printing press was gifted to him by the firm, but he never got round to refurbishing it - it just sat at home collecting dust and rust. Emily lost her dad when she was just 18, so her grandad meant the world to her, and having the press restored in his memory is top of her wish list. Renowned as being rather fiddly, Dom's got a big job on his hands just to remove all the built-up grease and dirt, but his precise restoration of every nut and bolt means that every day can now be an ‘inky fingers day' for a delighted Emily. 

Irwin is next into the barn with a well-travelled toy that needs help. 

Presented to him in 1962 by his mum and dad, George has become a lifelong companion and much-loved stuffed bear. Part of what's known as the ten-pound pom brigade, Irwin's parents were two of the millions of Brits who immigrated to Australia between 1945 and 1982. Once there, his mum found a job in a soft toy factory called Barton Waugh, where George was made for her son. At three years old, Irwin contracted Polio, and George was by his side at every hospital trip. The family decided to move back to the UK for more support, and George has been a companion for Irwin ever since. Both his parents have now passed away, but Irwin clearly remembers his mum talking about getting George restored one day. With George his oldest and proudest possession, he's enlisting the loving hands of the Bear Ladies, Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell, to bring some tender loving care to his beloved bear. 

The final restoration arrives ahead of time. Head teacher Bethan has brought in her school clock and has high hopes that the combined restoration skills of clock restorer Steve Fletcher and clock face painter Cindy Welland can nurse her historical timepiece back to life. Back in 1877, the clock was gifted to the school by none other than Florence Nightingale. It has remained a talisman of the school and their biggest claim to fame, but as far as anyone can remember has never worked! With the school's 150th anniversary coming up, Bethan is hoping the clock can make its debut as a working feature of the school's rich history. Steve takes a school trip to unveil his and the team's efforts and receives top marks.

The team salvage a vintage rugby shirt worn by a Welsh professional in the 1960s. His daughter-in-law had tried to freshen it up before framing but there was a laundry disaster.