The Repair Shop

[gjz30075]

There was a mention in one of our sections on this forum about a celebrity bringing a Lotus part
to The Repair Shop but I can't find it. Does anyone know what episode this was? Or upcoming?

[UAB807F]

this one ?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001yt40/the-repair-shop-series-13-episode-3?seriesId=unsliced&page=1

I don't know if it's available outside the UK but if not, then I'd expect it to be sold to a streaming service at some point. If you can't get it, there's a newspaper article about it here;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/bbc-repair-shop-experts-shaken-32706759

[reb53]

Or you can wait for it to turn up here.

https://eztvx.to/search/the-repair-shop

[gjz30075]

Very good, thank you!

[661]

Enjoyed that, thank you

[Andy8421]

For those not of these shores, its an interesting niche program that has become very successful.

I have to admit there are a couple of 'specialists' on the Repair Shop that make me shudder, their electronics guy who recently restored a jukebox is a shocker (pun intended) and there are one or two others that I wouldn't trust anywhere near a family heirloom. There are however a few who are a pleasure to watch for the obvious enjoyment they get from the process, in particular the two cuddly toy ladies are a joy.

The programme is recorded at the Weald and Downland Living museum, which is just outside Singleton close to the Goodwood racing circuit. If you have been to the circuit, you have probably driven past it.

I have always suspected that programmes like this are really recorded in a studio with a few 'establishing' shots of the outside of a barn, but friends have visited the museum while shooting has been taking place and it would seem to be the genuine article.

[reb53]

The two teddy bear ladies are fun aren't they.
Though I know what you mean about the other experts Andy.
Myself and a fellow clock repairer sometimes have a chat about what we've seen on there.
Usually along the lines of, " good grief, did you see how he ...."
But then I'm reminded of the words of the famous, now departed, watchmaker George Daniels.
"When a watchmaker looks at the work of another, he's not looking for reasons to praise that man".

I had my own "Repair Shop" incident a few years ago when a lady brought me a clock that had "followed us around the World for the last 40 years but has never worked".
As it was currently in storage she was able to spirit it away without her husband knowing and bring it to me.
Then she brought her husband to my workshop under some pretense and I was able to pull the covering off a , ( running ), clock that they might have seen "similar ones to".
She was prepared but the look on his face as the penny dropped was priceless.

Ralph.

[Andy8421]

Ralph,

Thanks for the comments. I thought the watch guy was one of the more competent individuals - clearly its not my area of expertise.

I watched the Mike Kimberley episode last night, only a brief appearance by Mike, but he is doing pretty well for 86 years. I hadn't realised that he went back to Lotus after he left them the first time around. He finally stepped down as CEO in 2009 at the age of 71 due to health problems.

The Lotus item in question is a gold plated toy car model of the Lotus Esprit submarine that was used in 'The Spy who loved me'. 10 gold plated models were presented to the stars of the film and others involved in the production. Mike was given one of the models as CEO of Lotus at the time. Mike's son had given the toy a beating when he was a child, and the repair was bringing the toy back to decent condition.

Of mild interest is Elon Musk bought one of the cars used in the film (I would guess there were multiple cars used). Apparently if you log in to the Tesla model S as '007' and adjust the ride height low enough, the image of the Model S on the display changes to the submarine version of the Esprit.

[h20hamelan]

I suspect the show is popular because the majority of people are amazed that things can be repaired.