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A guest on The Repair Shop broke down in tears after seeing a transformed gift from her late husband – after pleading with experts to save it.
The BBC show’s latest episode featured Christine, who met with Will Kirk to discuss restoring a very sentimental item.
Over two decades earlier, Christine’s late husband Gordon gave her a wooden park bench as a Christmas gift – and it became a treasured possession.
Gordon had maintained the bench during his lifetime, but it now looked worse for wear after years outside.
He sadly died of cancer in 2009 – and Christine’s appearance on the show fell close to what would have been the couple’s 50th wedding Anniversary.
Will, 40, took up the challenge and towards the end of the installment, viewers saw him present the rejuvenated bench to Christine.
Christine, a guest on The Repair Shop, was visibly emotionally moved after seeing her transformed treasured item
Christine’s late husband Gordon, who died in 2009, gifted her this bench one Christmas and it became a treasured possession
Speaking moments before, she said: ‘I can’t believe I’m here. I feel as if somebody’s going to pinch me and I’m going to wake up.
‘It’s just quite emotional for me, but I’ll be just so grateful to have it back.
‘I can’t wait, they’ll be happy tears, honestly.’
And upon Will unveiling the new-look bench, Christine became visibly overcome with emotion.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she sobbed and wiped away tears from her eyes with a tissue.
She told Will: ‘It’s just so lovely. I’m so grateful.’
Christine continued: ‘The arms are just exactly the same.
‘It feels so lovely. I can’t wait to get it home.
‘I feel like Gordon’s putting his arm around me and saying, ‘Will did good.”‘
Further expressing her gratitude for the transformation, Christine and Will shared a warm hug.
The Repair Shop’s expert Will Kirk was able to work his expertise to restore the bench to looking better than ever
Christine said: ”It feels so lovely. I can’t wait to get it home. ‘I feel like Gordon’s putting his arm around me and saying, ‘Will did good.”‘
Elsewhere, another guest on the programme braced herself as a ring she was given by her parents and had never taken off was CUT off her finger.
Sally O’Connor, from Sussex, appeared on the BBC show hoping experts could help with the treasured item.
On her wedding day, Sally’s father had gifted her late mother’s diamond engagement ring – and she hadn’t removed it since.
Sally panicked when the diamond fell out last year and although she soon found it, a repair proved tricky as the ring was stuck on her finger.
As goldsmith Richard Talman readied the ring cutters, foreman Dom Chinea told Sally: ‘We can’t put it off any longer. We’re going to have to cut it off. I hope it goes well.’
To which she explained: ‘I am very nervous. I don’t think I can look. But I can’t take it off. It is stuck on.
‘I have tried ice and olive oil. I have tried the ribbon technique. Nothing.’
Continuing, she explained how the ring is naturally very close to her heart, given the family connection.
Sally said: ‘In 1992, my mum passed away very, very suddenly of cancer. And on my wedding day, my dad came to the house and presented me with mum’s engagement ring.
‘He’d saved it especially and I couldn’t stop crying because that’s when I saw it again for the first time since mum had passed away.
‘And I do think of mum every time I look at the ring. She’s with me all the time when it’s on my finger.
‘I am really hoping that you can make it complete again. Just to have the diamond back in would mean the world to me.’
Upon removing the ring, Richard then got to work on its restoration, which included taking measurements to get the correct size.
Addressing the show’s fans, he said: ‘This ring clearly has had a very loved journey throughout its life.
‘And it is most certainly not Sally’s fault that the diamond fell out.
‘The claws that were holding it in, all eight of them, have just worn away.
‘I’m really looking forward to being able to get this back in and make it whole again.’
After completing the restoration in a pain-staking process, Sally and father James come to the barn to see the final result.
Delighted with the repair work, Sally said: ‘I have never seen it sparkle so much. It is shining – like mum. This means the world to me.
‘It brings me back to my wedding day. Mum was very special and had a certain shine, didn’t she? Words can’t say how happy I am. I feel Mum is back with me.’
James added: ‘It is so sparkling and clean. You have done a super job.’
The Repair Shop airs Wednesdays on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.