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Episode 19

Episode 19 of 25

The team restore a silver statuette that survived a shipwreck, a traditional Iranian baby hammock, a remarkable concrete portrait and a flight case once owned by a rock legend.

The team take on four more remarkable restorations steeped in personal history and cultural heritage.

First through the barn doors is Ruth from Nottinghamshire, carrying a weather-worn concrete portrait of her late father David, a passionate beekeeper. This remarkable artwork was commissioned as a gift to her father by Ruth herself, and it’s the delicate task of paintings conservator Lucia Scalisi to restore it to its former splendour. However, the challenge of recreating David’s faded features – and particularly the swarm of bees that accompany him – proves unexpectedly tricky for Lucia, who’s more used to working with canvas, and it takes a couple of false starts before she finally hits her artistic stride.

Next, silversmith Brenton West meets Ian and his daughter Issy, who bring in a rare and precious silver statuette of a paratrooper. One of only a hundred ever made, this beautiful object belonged to Ian’s father John, a proud veteran of the parachute regiment, and was one of his most treasured possessions. But after surviving a dramatic shipwreck off the coast of Tenerife, the statuette has been left battered and tarnished, with its silver parachute strings a torn and tangled mess. Can Brenton bring the paratrooper back from the dead, restore the statuette’s shine and honour a lifetime of service?

Pari from Ormskirk brings in a precious heirloom from her childhood in Iran – a traditional leather baby hammock of extraordinarily intricate design, in which her own brother was once swaddled. Leather expert Suzie Fletcher has the mammoth task of reconstructing its missing loops and reinstating its decorative stitching, with only a hand-drawn diagram left by Pari’s late mother to go on. Can she revive this much-loved link to Pari’s past and to the Iranian in-laws who welcomed her English mother into their hearts?

Finally, metalworker Dom Chinea tackles a battered flight case once owned by Trevor Bolder, legendary bassist for Uriah Heep and David Bowie’s Spiders from Mars. Now the proud possession of Trevor’s fellow Hull musician Lindsey, the case and its fittings are covered in rust and barely functional. It’s down to Dom restore it in time for its next gig – a slot at Glastonbury – and create a new chapter in rock history.

Release date:

57 minutes

On TV

Tue 5 Aug 2025 20:00

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Credits

Role Contributor
Expert Dominic Chinea
Expert Suzie Fletcher
Expert Will Kirk
Expert Lucia Scalisi
Expert Brenton West
Production Manager Evie Turner
Executive Producer Hannah Lamb
Executive Producer Emma Walsh
Executive Producer Sandy Watson
Series Producer Shane Normoyle
Director George Vernon
Production Company Ricochet Ltd

Broadcast

Take Part

If you have a treasured possession that needs restoring, please get in touch.