04x25 - Victorian Firefighter's Helmet

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to The Repair Shop, where
much-loved but broken treasures...

This is amazing.
It's absolutely brilliant.

..are brought back to life.

Welcome to my universe.

It's pretty marvellous.

Furniture restorer Jay Blades...

It's so nice that we can be part of
that history to keep things going.

..and a dream team of some of
the country's most skilled

crafts people...

I'm having a lot of fun

and I'm really liking
the end result!

Sounds like teamwork.

..bring their talents to bear on
beloved pieces of family history...

Look at that.

I'm liking what I see. Yes.

Is this working? You beauty!

..utilising expertise passed down
the generations.

I'm going to teach you how to do
it the old-fashioned way.

Transforming priceless pieces
of family history...

Oh, my goodness me!

..The Repair Shop team
will resurrect the items...

Oh, gosh!

..the memories...

I'm going to have to hug you.

..and the stories behind them.

Look at that.

Oh, thank you so much.

I can't see it because
of the tears in my eyes!

This is a very emotional job to do,

but incredibly worthwhile.

In The Repair Shop today,

antique A&E for toy restorers
Amanda and Julie...

I feel like a doctor's assistant.

Do you? Mm.

I suppose we are doctors of a sort.

Teddy-bear doctors. Well, yes.

While a Fire Department antiquity
causes an emergency of its own...

I'm having to move
the metal so far...

It's just so thin that there's
a real high chance of it cracking.

But first into The Repair Shop,
Huw Banister from Ross-shire

in the Highlands, and a push-bike
with a patriotic past.

Hello. Hello. Hi, I'm Steve.

Hello, I'm Huw. Hi.

That's a nice old bike.
Tim, would you like to come over?

Tim Gunn has been restoring
bikes since he was a boy,

learning his trade from his father.

What a lovely old bike.

It was bought by my mother,
second hand, in 1937

so she could use it at Oxford
University where she'd just

qualified to go to.

Used it for commuting round Oxford
before the w*r,

and then she was called up to be a
code-breaker at Bletchley Park.

Oh, really?

Bletchley Park was the top-secret
home of the code-breakers,

employed to track enemy
communications in World w*r II.

Huw's mum Rachel played a vital
role in the w*r effort.

She was seconded to Hut 6, which was
one of the main code-breaking rooms

at Bletchley Park, and went there
with the bike that we've got here.

And then at Bletchley Park
she met my father who was another

of the code-breakers. Their eyes
met, obviously, over the code room!

I don't know the history but
presumably that is what happened.

A romance started

and they got married whilst
they were stationed there.

Huw's father Michael

helped to identify weaknesses
in coded messages.

It's estimated the code-breakers
shortened the w*r by two years

and, in doing so, saved over
14 million lives.

So, this is quite important
to the w*r effort,

in a way, if it was transporting
your mother to Bletchley Park.

I suppose you could say that!

And what's your very earliest
memory of this bike?

It had a saddle on here that I used
to sit on and I used to

hold the handlebars
while she was pedalling.

It's got great sentimental value.
Indeed, yes.

She is now 99. OK. Fantastic.

Still living in the same house
that I was brought up in.

When did she last ride the bike?

From my knowledge, 1983.

So has it been off the road
since then?

It's been off the road
almost since then.

So what would you like me
to do to the bike?

Well, I think if you look at it,

there's a few things
that are glaringly obvious.

The rear brake.

Yes, yes. The rod has actually
fractured where it goes in there...

Yeah, we can repair that.

..and connects to the back.

The other major aspect I
think is the drive chain.

OK. Yeah, I can see
that's got stretched.

It's got very, very,
very worn and rusty.

The rear sprocket - the teeth
have become like hook shapes

so they need somehow restoring.

Is your mother looking forward
to seeing it restored?

She is really looking forward to
seeing it, yes, because she's got

a great deal of sentimental
attachment to it.

It's been with her all her life.

Thank you very much.
Thank you. Lovely to see you.

Thank you. Thank you.
Bye-bye now. Cheers.

To have the bike restored is
really, really important to me.

It's been in the family for so long

and really it's like an old friend.

It will give me and the rest
of the family a great feeling

of pleasure to see it restored.

The bike was manufactured by
the Birmingham Small Arms Company,

founded in 1861.

They produced high-quality
metal goods,

from military and sporting firearms
to cars, bikes and buses.

I can see already that there's
a few things that are broken,

that are worn out,
that need just replacing.

For instance, the handlebars.

Obviously, that rear brake linkage
is broken, so that needs replacing.

The saddle here -
that's a little bit too far gone,

and I think we need to try and find
a replacement of some sort.

Also the rear hub -
it's basically worn out.

But, other than that,
it's got its original paint work.

It just wants a good clean
and a good overhaul.

How you doing, Tim? Hello.
Got some tyres for you.

Oh, fantastic. Perfect timing.
Fantastic.

Yeah, I'm just about to
take this one off.

I think it should come out
all right.

It's in really good order.

See, I love it when you say it,
"It's all right."

To me, this bike doesn't look
all right - it looks far from it.

Well, it looks a bit of a wreck
at the moment,

but actually it's pretty straight,
the wheels are true.

It just needs
a bit of love and care.

That's all it needs.

OK, cool. So I'm going to
leave you with these. OK, brilliant.

I just can't wait to see it
when it's finished. OK.

Next through The Repair Shop doors,

Janet from Winchester,
accompanied by her husband, John.

She's brought a very important
piece of her childhood

that needs the expert touch of toy
restoration duo Amanda and Julie.

So what do we have here?

We have a bear.

Oh. But he doesn't really
look like a bear.

Oh, OK. I'm intrigued.

Oh, my... Oh, look.

Quite big.

Got wheels and everything.
Yeah. Here he comes.

So we can see that Wheelie Ted has,
in fact, been covered beautifully.

Really good job.

Do you know who covered him?
Well, my mother did it.

She was quite a good seamstress.

It was an old coat,

and she decided he'd got in need
of covering up, really. Mm-hm.

But I remember wearing that coat
as a dressing gown.

Really? Yes.

Do you remember him
without this covering on?

Well, it must be, like,
65 years ago.

It's a very long time ago.

I know he was getting
very threadbare on the back.

I think his face might have
had some damage as well.

So how did you come
to have Wheelie Ted?

My father worked for a lady and
I think she gave him to him for me,

because I was borderline
cerebral palsy. OK.

I couldn't walk and I think
she thought it might help,

cos he was sturdy and he
would keep me upright.

He was actually the person
that helped you to walk?

I'm sure he had a great benefit,

cos, you know, he's big so
you'd have to walk with him -

you couldn't sit on the floor
and play. No.

I mean, there weren't things
like walkers

and all the things
that you get nowadays.

Wheelie Ted was sort of a companion.

I mean, I was a bit isolated.

Your friend. Yes, my friend.

And now he needs a bit of TLC.

So that's his original eyes tied
on a string, which is very clever.

And he's got a lovely growl.
I think that's my favourite.

I was going to say -
I'm actually very excited.

Itching, are you? I'm twitching,
yeah. Can you tell?

Yeah, go on. Go for it.
I'll hold on.

HONKING GROWL
Oh!

THEY LAUGH

I've always loved his growl.

It's just amazing. Can I ask,
why have you brought him to us?

What would you like us to do?

Well, I'd love him
to look like a bear again.

He should be a teddy bear,

and he doesn't look like a teddy
bear, does he, really?

It would be lovely to see him
without his coat.

Despite the fact
the coat has memories as well!

I'm sure it does, yes.

John, what are your thoughts on him?
How do you feel about this?

Well, he's been in quarantine
for about 30 or 40 years,

and we'd love to see him
as part of the family again. Yes.

He's part of my childhood.

I've always had a very soft spot
for him.

I'm not surprised.

And I think he's got
a lot of secrets under here.

It's going to be an absolute
honour to do this for you.

Oh, that's good.
You'll be all right, I'm sure.

He will.

He was a great friend
when I was little,

and he means a lot to me
because of that, really.

I hope the teddy bear ladies
can make him look

more like a teddy bear
again and, um...

..renew an old friendship.

Julie and Amanda's first task
is to remove the bear's cover

that Janet's mum made
all those years ago.

Oh, it's not a bad start, is it?

In the process, it will reveal
not only what condition he's in,

but could confirm a suspicion Amanda
has about Wheelie Ted's origin.

I've got a really,
really good feeling

that we might be looking at an
early Steiff bear on wheels.

Yeah, that's where I'm going.

He's got the shape,
he's got the wheels.

Underneath his feet, there's another
layer of felt, look - here.

And it's red.

And that is, to my mind,
definitely Steiff.

Definite Steiff trait, yeah.
Definitely.

Steiff is a world-famous
German toy brand

that rose to prominence
during the Victorian era.

Their bears are considered
extremely collectible,

depending on their condition.

Janet did say she thinks
there's some damage to his face.

She did, didn't she?

Oh, look!

Oh, that's not so bad.

She says, confidently!

He hasn't got any ears.

No. Um...

We've got his eyes.

There's this original nose and a bit
of his original mouth. Fantastic.

But this - obviously,
we need to take it off

and see what's going on
under this muzzle.

Do that first? I think so.

Can you hold him up,
so that there's nothing...

So you can support him for me,
and that... How's that? Yeah.

And I can see what I'm doing,

and I won't snip
where I'm not meant to.

I see what she's done now. Yeah.
She kind of shored up his chin.

We've got to get to that main wound.

Feel like a doctor's assistant.
Do you?

It does feel a little bit medical,
doesn't it... Yeah.

..when we do this. But I suppose
we are doctors of a sort.

Teddy-bear doctors. Well, yes.

I'm liking what I see.
Yeah, so am I.

Under the patch, Wheelie Ted's nose
has been packed flat,

so Julie wants to
pull his muzzle out,

back into its original bear form.

There it goes. There you go.
That's where it should be.

So now... This is what
we're looking for, this shape.

There you go.

I don't want to pull it too hard,

but if you can see there...

And this is the piece we have

to replace round this side.

FLAMES WHOOSH

Making his own discoveries
out in the metal workshop,

restorer Tim is getting down to
the nuts and bolts of the BSA bike.

I can see now that the chain itself
is so badly worn.

It's probably original to the bike
and I'd like to keep it,

but it's too far gone
and I just have to replace it

because it will make the bike safer,

and it will make everything
work properly.

This rear sprocket is so badly worn
that it's worn away the teeth,

and it gives this characteristic
hooked effect.

So basically
that's got to be replaced.

Obviously Huw's mum pedalled
backwards and forwards

to Bletchley Park and that's
probably where the mileage went in.

With worn teeth, the sprocket
can't bite on the bike chain,

meaning the rear wheel
won't be powered.

So what I've got to do now is
I've got to remove this sprocket

from this housing here,
which is easier said than done.

The heat - all that does is it
expands the joint in the threads.

Obviously, there's a lot of old
residue and oil in some places,

which is burning,
which is what you can see there.

You see it's starting to go a little
bit of a cherry-red colour.

Using a tool called a chain whip,

Jim releases the old sprocket
from the hub.

There we go. Perfect.

I've managed to source a replacement
sprocket of the same type

that was originally fitted.

This has come out of my stores

and, as you can see
as a comparison now,

you can see the difference.

There we go.
That's the hub repaired.

It just needs...

I just need to carry on cleaning it.

With a long road of repairing
ahead of him,

Tim needs to enlist the services
of metal worker Dom Chinea.

Hello, Dom. Hey, Tim. You OK?
I wonder if you can help me.

I've just taken the mudguards
off of Huw's bike. OK.

And I've noticed that they've got
a couple of little splits in...

Oh, God. OK.

..that need a little bit of repair,

and I'm hoping
that you can help out.

The only thing I'm worried about

is that that's the original transfer
for the bike. Ooh, yeah.

And there's a little split there

that might cause
a little bit of an issue.

It's very close. You obviously...

I'd like to try
and preserve these if I can.

Yeah, OK. I'll give it
my best shot. All right.

I'll try and be...
Can I leave them with you?

..as careful as I can. Yeah, OK.
Thanks, Tim. Thanks very much.

With Dom repairing
the cracked mudguards,

Tim can turn his attention
to the brakes.

This brake rod here has broken.

What I've got to do is
I've got to undo that nut,

and then I've got to try and pull
that broken rod out inside there,

and then I'm going to weld it
to the end.

It's quite easy just to replace
that with a brand-new one,

but this bike's
been through World w*r II

and I'd like to put that original
piece back together again.

Yeah, there we go.

Yeah, I'm really pleased with that.
That's gone better than I hoped.

So that should be ready
to go back in the bike again.

There you go, Tim.
These are ready for you now.

Oh, OK. Dom. Thanks very much.
Look, that's the one that was...

That was the dangerous one
near the transfer.

Yeah, that was the crucial one,
wasn't it? Yeah.

That's come out well.
Brilliant job. Thanks, Dom.

Good, no problem. Cheers.
Thanks, Tim.

The bike's repair
may be well under way,

but new items arrive
at The Repair Shop regularly.

Ex-firefighter Stewart Knott
is keen to get an expert opinion

on a treasured family heirloom.

How you doing? I'm Jay.
Hi, Jay, I'm Stewart.

All right, so what we got here,
then?

Right, here we've got
a Victorian brass fire helmet.

Oh, Steve used to...

Steve! Have a look at this, mate.

Something you used to wear.
JAY LAUGHS

That? Maybe... Yeah.
Hello, I'm Steve.

Hi, I'm Stewart. Hi, Stewart.

How come you've got this, then?
This is quite nice.

Well, I joined the fire brigade
when I was 19. Right.

And when I joined, my father
presented me with this.

He got it out the loft... Yeah.

..and said, "Well, you're
in the fire brigade."

He gave me this.

And we kept it at the house
where I lived with my parents

until I married and moved house,
took it with me.

But it's been stuck on a shelf,
not really on display. Yeah.

It's got a bit battered
and the inside's a bit perished.

So how come your dad had this, then?

Well, that's one of the problems -
I don't know. I see!

I didn't ask at the time,
and I should have done.

But both of my sons
are firefighters,

so one day one of them
will inherit this.

So it would be nice
if it was in good condition

for them to hand it down, perhaps...
Fantastic. ..in later years.

You must be very proud
that they're both firefighters.

Yeah, I am. Yeah, they've both
followed my footsteps.

So, yeah, I am really proud.

And you were a fireman too?

I was retained... Yeah.
..in Oxfordshire. For 30 years.

Oh, good. It's amazing, isn't it,
how much we see in the Fire Service.

And there's nothing...
No better feeling than saving lives.

No. You've hit the nail
on the head.

To save somebody's life is not
something that everybody does

and to have done that
on a couple of occasions,

it's a fantastic feeling, yeah.
Yeah, it's good.

Yeah, it makes your career in the
Fire Service completely worthwhile.

It's a good feeling.

And you didn't wear one of these?

Thank you.
THEY LAUGH

You're not old enough.

Yeah, these went out of service in,
I think, 1938. OK.

So what would you like us
to do with this?

Well, there's a few dents
in the top. Yeah.

And the strap...

Some of the chainmail's come loose
and the strap is a bit brittle.

Yeah. But the main thing
is the lining.

It's a leather lining
and it's perished. Yeah.

So how are you going to decide which
son you're going to give it to?

Er, well, I won't be around then.
THEY LAUGH

So I'll leave it to them.
Oh, right. OK.

Stewart, thank you for bringing
it in. We'll definitely get this

looking tip-top and Bristol fashion,
won't we?

Yeah, absolutely. OK, cool.
Cheers, Jay. Thank you.

Thank you, Stewart. Nice to meet
you. Cheers. Thank you very much.

Bringing the helmet in
has made me realise

how important it is
to me and the family.

It's been around the house,

but mostly out of sight
and not seen.

So it'd be nice
for it to be on display.

Right, this helmet is fairly intact.

There's two major things
that are wrong.

One is that the crest
is pretty dented.

The other thing
is the leather inner,

which is in real poor condition.

These helmets were made
in quite large numbers

and they're all made of brass,

and most of it's either soldered
together or screwed together.

So it should come apart fairly easy.

So...

Oops.

CHUCKLING: It's just fallen out!

Well, that's good.
That makes my job a lot easier.

Steve can manage the exterior
of the helmet,

but the leather interior
needs specialist attention.

So he's recruiting his sister,
saddle maker Suzie.

Hello, sis.

Hello.
What have you got on your head?

This is a fireman's helmet.

Oh, dear.
That's not going to help, is it?

THEY LAUGH

This is the liner
of an old Victorian helmet.

You can see it's in
pretty awful condition. Yeah.

So this has what's called red rot.

It's just... Red rot? Red rot.

It's gone powdery. Yeah.

So it just peels away.

What I suspect
was pigskin back in the day

needs to be replaced.

So that's...
that's doable, isn't it?

Yeah, that's very doable.

Can I leave it with you?
Absolutely, yeah. Good.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

On the opposite workbench,

Julie is reconditioning the fur
of the bear on wheels.

I can just see
all the years of dust

settled on Wheelie Ted,
all just puffing up

and collecting
on my table down here.

Once free of a lifetime of dust,

this elderly bear
now needs a careful shampoo.

I'm going to start now giving him
a really good surface wash.

I've got my solution here -
really gentle wool soap -

and I froth it up like this,

and I'm just going to use
the bubbles on the top.

Most vintage items
that are made of mohair

are surface cleaned like this.

Underneath there, we've got
wood wool that's over 100 years old.

If we get damp into it,
it doesn't dry that well -

could start to smell,

and he would start to look
stained and horrible.

Julie, meanwhile, has got plans for
the coat Wheelie Ted came in with.

We have washed it,
it's come up beautifully.

We just feel to discard this,
as if it had no emotional use,

it just wouldn't be right.

So we are going to make it into
something so that it can carry on.

TILL RINGS

With the toy now clean and dry,

Amanda can begin
reconstructing his features.

We're making Wheelie Ted a new
pair of ears right from scratch.

This is literally
all that's left of his two ears.

Gives us a little bit of a clue as
to what they would have looked like.

So what I'm going to do is
I'm going to pin this piece

onto my graph paper, and then
we will transfer our pattern

onto the fabric
that we've chosen to match him.

So I'm going to make...
This is how I like to do it -

I make a mark the end so I know
I've got the length correct.

I love working on the features
of a bear - face especially.

But all the things that give it
its character, I suppose,

are my favourite part to do.

I just love seeing them
come back to life, really.

And when it comes
to finishing touches,

there's a wealth of other
craftspeople always on hand

to lend their expertise.

We think that he possibly
had a nice collar. Ah! OK.

When he was new, and when he come
out of the factory. Yeah.

Would you be able
to make us one? Yeah.

Just as a little
finishing touch for her.

Yeah, absolutely.

Um...I've got this colour brown.

Oh, yeah, that would be perfect.
Or a lighter one. Is this nice?

I think that would be lovely.

Yeah. Yes.

So have you got a teddy bear?

I actually don't have a teddy bear.

Did you ever have a teddy bear?
I'm bearless.

I remember having...

..one, but I think
it was Steve's teddy bear

and he was golden...
Oh, that's interesting.

So what happened to him?

I think Steve threw him away.
That's shocking!

Don't trust Steve with anything.

I'll have to have words with him.
Yeah.

Oi, oi, oi! Oh...
THEY LAUGH

Hi, Steve!

I've never thrown a teddy bear...
You absolutely did. When was that?

He was up in the attic.

Oh! It was a golden teddy bear.

No, no, no. The moths had had it.

I didn't get to say goodbye.
And it was your teddy bear as well.

I can assure you,
I didn't have a teddy.

Hmm...

We'll have to have a family meeting
about it.

Photo albums - they're often
a good place to start looking.

Leaving Suzie to finish the collar,

Amanda and Julie can begin
making all their repairs

blend in with Wheelie Ted's
distinguished old features.

What we're trying to do
is make these pieces look

as if they've been there
for 100 years.

So I've got some soot hair
that I will really rub in.

And Julie's using tea.

I am going to use a little bit
of soot. Oh, are you? I am.

You can steal my soot.
Because this area around his nose...

..is dirtier than the area
under his chin. Yes.

And I'm going to have to blend
through that,

because that was obviously kissed
lots and lots. OK.

I just take tiny little bits of
the soot, like this, and rub it in.

But a little goes an awful long way.
You need to really work it.

It's a painstaking process
but I really enjoy doing this part.

It feels like all the hard work,

all the preparation
is all coming together

and we actually start to see
Wheelie Ted come alive again.

It also means that we must have
nearly finished him. That's true.

Also on the home straight,
bike restorer Tim.

He's reassembling
and putting the finishing touches

to the code-breaker's bicycle.

Right, we're in first gear now.

That's second gear.

And that's third gear.

I'm now happy with the gears.

The brakes just need
a final adjustment

and just a little bit
of a tweak here and there.

But the bike is now back together.

Tim's work is done,
and just in time -

Huw has returned
from the far north of Scotland

to collect his mother's
treasured push-bike.

I'm feeling really excited about
seeing my mother's bicycle again,

and a wee bit apprehensive, perhaps.

Looking forward
to getting back on it

and, in a way, reliving those
memories from when I was a child

and I used to ride to the shops
with my mother.

Hello, guys. How we doing, Huw?
I'm really well. How's yourself?

All right? I'm very good, actually.
Good. Hello, Huw.

Hi, Tim. How are you? Good to see
you. Yeah, Lovely to see you guys.

You excited? I am very excited.
And, er...

..looks roughly the same shape
under there. Yeah.

Let's put him out of his misery.
Yeah. Go on, then, Jay. Take it off.

Oh, wow.

That's beautiful.
Thank you. Absolutely beautiful.

Sorry, I feel quite emotional
about seeing it.

It's really... You know. Wow.
Yeah, I can understand that.

Can I touch it?

LAUGHING: Of course! It's your...
It's your bike!

It's your bike.

It's been completely apart.
Wow. Completely.

I've had it in component form, and
then I've just cleaned everything...

Oh, wow. Amazing. ..reassembled it.

On the back here, you can see

a few little flecks of white paint
coming through,

and you can see just there
a little line there.

OK. That was a small panel
that was painted white.

And it was done
in the Second World w*r

because the law stated that you
couldn't actually ride with lights.

With lights on.

So you had to paint a little
white panel on the back. Oh, wow.

That's something I never knew.
Yeah. Brilliant, amazing.

So that's underneath.
That's underneath there.

Someone painted it,
painted over it at some point.

So, in a nutshell, what you've done
is you've given it proper service -

or a Tim service, I would call it,
because...

Yeah, when Tim goes to town
on a bike, I mean, he really does.

What do you think, Huw?
I think it's...

Has he done you proud?
I think it's absolutely fabulous.

Yeah? I'm so happy, yeah.
It just brings back those memories.

Beautiful to see it
back to full working order.

I can safely ride it now,
which I couldn't have done before,

and I'll be taking it today
to show my mother.

So she'll see it. Fantastic.

So the only thing that's left to do,
really, with something like this,

is to test it... Absolutely.
..to see how it goes. Yes.

So would you do us the honour?
Of course I would.

CHEERING

So how was that, then?

That was really good fun. Yeah?
Brought back a lot of memories.

Excellent.
I'm really pleased you like it.

It's lovely. Fabulous job.
Thank you, guys.

It's been a pleasure.
He's done a good job. He has.

So we don't need to
wrap it up now, do we?

No, I'm cycling home now. You are?

Yeah, it's only 600 miles.
THEY LAUGH

All right. It's that way.

OK. You sure it's that way?
I wouldn't want to go the wrong way.

Yeah, yeah, it's that way.

LAUGHING: Yeah, I think
it is that way.

Bye! Take care now.
BIKE BELL PINGS

It felt fabulous, riding the bike.

And very comfortable, surprisingly.

I'm going to take the bicycle
to my mother's house,

and I think
she'll be absolutely delighted.

It does bring back
very happy memories.

Ex-firefighter Steve is restoring

a neglected and battered
Victorian fireman's helmet.

How you doing, Steve, me old mucker?

Yeah, good. Oh, you got it apart.
Yeah.

But, um... Yeah, I'm a bit
worried about the actual dents.

Hold on - you just said
you're worried.

If you're worried, my knees start
wobbling. What's going on here?

Not worried-worried. OK.
Just a bit concerned

that, actually, the equipment that
I've got, the hammers that I've got,

are not the right shape
and design to hammer these out.

I know just the man
that can do that.

So leave it with me.

Stop you from worrying...
STEVE LAUGHS

..and stop my legs shaking.

All right? Thank you very much.
No problem.

How you doing, Dom?
Hey, Jay. You all right? Yeah.

I've got an interesting one for you
here. What on Earth is it?! OK...

Well, this is a fireman's helm...
Well, part of a fireman's helmet.

And then Steve is working
on the outer bit,

but this is a bit he can't tackle
cos it needs panel beating... Right.

..without breaking it.
Oh, it's so thin. Yeah. It is thin.

I'll try my best. No - when you try
your best, good things happen.

So I'm happy. Thanks, Jay.
All right, mate.

Back inside the barn,

Suzie is working on
the helmet's leather lining.

After a couple of false starts,
I've finally got my template done.

So now that I'm happy with that,

I've got this beautiful piece
of pigskin here.

So, just need to put it
on the leather and mark around.

That's one of the things
that is good about pigskin,

is that it has a lovely texture

and is incredibly strong
and hard-wearing.

It's such a durable leather
and supple and thin.

Just check our sizing here.

It's got to be tight enough
to fit nice and snug.

I'm starting on focusing
on this dent at the front here,

which was a prominent one
at the front.

But my hammers don't fit in there,

so I've sort of improvised
with some bits of hardwood

that I'm just going to use as
a kind of extension of the hammer,

and then use that...

You can see on the top, I've put...

The profile on the top, the curve,
is to match that curve.

So just to avoid any sharp edges
of the wood poking through

and causing more damage than I need.

My major concern with having
to move the metal so far...

The metal... Like, it's
almost fatigue, I guess,

but it's just so thin that there's
a real high chance of it cracking.

But I'm just going to
have to work very slowly

and if there's any signs that
it's starting to get a bit thin,

or it doesn't want to move
or it just starts...

I'll stop,
because I would much rather

just leave it solid and dented
than start cracking it -

it would just ruin the piece.

So far so good.

I'm really pleased
with the progress so far.

I've got a long way to go but a lot
of the majority, the major bits

of movement have actually happened
already and, fingers crossed -

I don't want to jinx it -
but there's no cracks yet.

With Dom and Suzie doing their bit,

Steve can now concentrate
on restoring the brass links

that make up the chin strap.

I'm just going to repair them
and solder them back on.

It's very, very thin.

I guess it's been polished
so many times that it's, er...

It's worn down.

Right. So I've just
got to solder this one.

Pop that in the joint.

Good.

That's looking great.

That's the first one.
Just got to do the second one now.

Hello.
HE CHUCKLES

Do you like my new hat?

Um, yeah. It's very...

Er...

Take it off.

SHE LAUGHS

You're speechless. Yeah.

Oh, wow.

Think that will do the trick?
Yeah, that's really good.

Gosh, it's absolutely fantastic.

That will be far more comfortable.
Yeah.

All you've got to do
is try and put it in.

Good luck! Cheers.

CLOCKWORK TICKS

Over on Julie
and Amanda's workbench,

Wheelie Ted is undergoing
reconstructive surgery.

So I think he's always going to have

one ear slightly higher
than the other,

but I think he is slightly stretched
and slightly out of shape.

I mean, I think he looks adorable.

It looks like that's where
they're meant to be. Yeah.

This face was all bandaged up
but we've been able to repair that,

bring his snout back out and while
we were doing that, inside his face,

Steiff had kindly left us
some really long threads.

So I've got original thread here

that I can actually
make his mouth with,

and I don't have to worry
about matching colours

and things like that.

So it's really nice -
that's going to be original.

Always like doing this bit,
putting the eyes in.

Always looks
a little bit worrying,

and we've got to get it
in the right position

underneath his chin.

How we doing? Yeah, nearly there,
Jay. Nearly there. Yeah? Yeah.

Just putting his eyes on.

You tie the eye down
underneath his chin? Yes.

So, like in upholstery,
we would pull it... Mm-hm.

..so it creates
kind of an indentation.

Absolutely. That's what I'm going to
do now. You'll do the same, yeah?

But what I'm going to...
I'm going to do it by knotting it.

OK? OK, let go.

Gone. It's gone.

And it won't come through there?
No, no, not now.

There's no tension on those threads.
OK. The tension is behind the eyes.

Oh, look at that.

THEY LAUGH

See now that... It comes to life.

That's beautiful.
Remarkable, isn't it?

Unbelievably cute.

Would you? Of course I would.

Nice one, Suzie.
It does look nice.

Finishing touch.

Oh, he looks amazing.
The business, eh?

When lifelong owner Janet brought
Wheelie Ted to The Repair Shop,

his original features
were hidden from view.

Well, Wheelie Ted -
he was not a teddy bear any more.

He'd got a woolly coat!
SHE LAUGHS

And he looked more like a lamb,
I think, than a teddy bear.

No, I'm so excited. I just can't
really wait to see him again.

But what will his lifelong friend
make of this new old bear,

who helped her take her first steps
all those years ago?

Hello. Hello!

Lovely to see you again.

Quite exciting to
see what he looks like.

I haven't seen him...
Must be 60 years or more. 60 years?

LAUGHING: It's going to be
quite a surprise, really.

It is. Shall we let her see it?

Yeah. We better had. OK.

Oh, my goodness.

And he's got a collar.

Isn't he wonderful?

Oh!

He's a bear again.

THEY LAUGH

And he's got another ear.

He didn't have any ears
at all under there.

He didn't have any ears?!
No ears at all. Aww.

And his nose was flat against
his face... Oh, poor thing.

..with that sort of...
There was a fabric

sort of repair bandage-type
thing going on.

I expect my mother
had tried to do that.

It's also credit to your mum,
actually...

Yeah, I was going to say. ..as she's
preserved what was underneath there.

What a transformation! Yes, it is.
It's really impressive.

Don't you look good, Wheelie Ted?
What do you think about it?

I expect he's very pleased to have
been evacuated from his cover.

He can breathe again. Yes.

Isn't he wonderful?

What was the cover
that was on here, then?

Well, it was his old artificial lamb
coat that my mother used to wear.

I used to wear it
like a dressing gown.

Well, we did actually think you
probably would want it back,

cos we don't like to throw anything
away, so we will get it back to you.

Amanda, do you want to get it?
Shall I go and get it?

Well, I don't think that was
the whole of the coat, to be...

Oh, goodness!

Oh! Isn't that beautiful?

Oh, thank you very much.
Thank you, both of you.

Oh, you look like a bear again.
That's what's really exciting.

That's lovely.

I think he's beautiful.

Thank you. Thank you.
Nice to meet you.

Thank you as well.

Thank you.

I'll bring Wheelie Ted out for you.
Thank you.

I mean, it means so much to me.

SHE SNIFFS

I had a feeling I might cry.

I mean, it's so, so emotional,

really, after so long.

And I wanted him repaired,

but I've never known how to
get him repaired, really.

Now he is repaired
and he looks like a bear again.

And he's got a friend!

That's even better.

It's been a team effort to renovate
the Victorian fireman's helmet.

Steve, Suzie and Dom
have all played their part.

Now it's time to
piece it back together.

Whoa. Just in time.

That looks fantastic.

See, I knew you could do it.
THEY CHUCKLE

I did have my reservations.

That is so, so good.

I know it's far from perfect,

but it's kind of as far
as I dare go. I've just...

I'm so worried about it cracking.
Yeah. It's really so thin, so...

You've made my job very, very easy.

Thank you so much.

No, you're welcome.
Cheers. Happy to help.

Just getting
to the final stages now.

I'm polishing it up and, as soon as
I've got it completely polished,

I can then put it all back together
again, which I'm looking forward to.

I've got to present it
back to Stewart

in the way that he would expect,

and the Fire Service
would expect as well.

Steve needs to shine the helmet
to Fire Department standards,

as ex-Station Commander Stewart
has returned for inspection.

I'm quite excited.

It's going to be interesting
to see what they've done.

The fireman's helmet doesn't just
represent the Fire Service,

it also represents a link
with my parents,

so I'm looking forward
to seeing it again.

Hello, Stewart. Hi, Steve.

How are you? I'm fine, thank you.
All right? Good, good, good.

You looking forward to this moment?
Yes, I'm very excited.

Excellent.

Can you remember how it was
when you brought it in?

Yeah. It was dull, dishevelled
and dented, I think.

Yeah. Leather - perished.
Strap - falling apart.

So it looked a bit sad.

Right. I won't leave you
in suspense any longer. OK.

HE GASPS

That is incredible.

That really is incredible.

I wasn't expecting it
to look like that.

I've never seen it look like that.
Oh, right.

That's better
than I've ever seen it.

I can't see where it was dented,
and it's polished brilliantly.

That is incredible.

Thank you.

This has been a great project to do.

It's been a real team effort.

It's... It's like a...a new one.

Would you like to pop it
on your head?

Yep, let's give it a go.
OK. OK, thank you.

It's like it was made for me.
Yeah. Fantastic.

Yeah, suits you.

Seems to fit. Thank you.

You going to wear it
down the street now?

No, I'm going to take it off now.
STEVE CHUCKLES

This has been a great project.
Really enjoyable for me.

And it's nice to have that
Fire Service connection as well.

So thank you very much, Stewart,
for bringing it in.

Thank you, Steve, for all your work
and your colleagues have done on it.

Thank you. Thank you. There we are.

Thank you. All right.
Bye-bye now. Bye-bye.

The helmet exceeded my expectations.
It was unbelievable.

It's now going to go on display.

We're going to maintain it
in its excellent condition

and it will be pride of place
in my living room.

Join us next time
as more cherished possessions...

LAUGHTER AND CHEERING

..go from neglected...

It's quite overwhelming at the
moment, how rusty it actually is.

..to perfected...

Oh, my goodness. Oh, wow!

..in The Repair Shop.