BBC One’s The Repair Shop has amassed a huge number of fans since it first hit our screens in 2017 – and it appears that our new monarch King Charles is one of them.
Speaking to Radio Times magazine, host Jay Blades revealed that King Charles III is “a fan of the show” and took part in the upcoming centenary special due to his interest in “heritage craft”.
“It was a real mutual understanding between the two of us, as we saw what he’s doing with The Princes Foundation’s Building Craft Programme, then invited one of his apprentices to help on a project,” Blades said about the special episode, which celebrates 100 years of the BBC.
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He added: “I don’t know how much TV he watches but I believe he’s a fan of the show and he was certainly excited to be in the barn.”
The special was filmed back in Autumn 2021, when the then Prince of Wales stopped by the The Repair Shop to explored his shared passion of preserving heritage craft skills with the show’s team.
Blades also visited Dumfries House in Scotland with Kirsten Ramsay, Steve Fletcher and Will Kirk to learn about The Prince’s Foundation’s work to train the next generation of craftspeople and meet some of the students on the programme, who are learning blacksmithing, stonemasonry and wood carving skills.
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The special will also see The Repair Shop team pledge to restore an 18th century bracket clock from the collection at Dumfries House, as well as pottery by ceramics company Wemyss Ware that was made for Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee.
The BBC One show was recently nominated for two National Television Awards – Best Daytime Show and Best TV Expert for Jay Blades – however, The Repair Shop lost the former to This Morning and the latter to Martin Lewis.
Interview by Tim Davie for Radio Times magazine.
The Repair Shop’s centenary special will air on BBC One on Wednesday 26th October at 8pm. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.
You can read the full interview with Jay Blades in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, which is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.