The Repair Shop’s Steve Fletcher has spoken about working on the “difficult repair” of the Tower of London’s lantern for the show’s Jubilee special, revealing that it was “a total honour” to do.
The upcoming episode of the BBC One show will see Jay Blades and his team mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee by restoring four heirlooms with royal connections.
The Repair Shop’s horologist Steve Fletcher told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that he was “fortunate to be a part” of the special.
“I had to restore and repair a very, very important lantern that came from the Tower of London that’s used every single night to go around and lock up the tower and keep it secure,” he said.
He added: “And I had to restore and repair this lantern so that it would last for hundreds of years to come. And that for me was a total honour.”
Fletcher also revealed that the repair proved to be more “difficult” than he expected.
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“I was trying to keep everything as original as I possibly could and I tried a couple of ways of preparing it that didn’t work out. So I had to then revert to another design.
“And I was really proud of the way that I actually designed and the repaired the lantern because it did mean that the way it was before had inherent mechanical problems with the handle – but the new handle that I devised will last for hundreds of years.”
The Repair Shop: Jubilee Special airs on BBC One on Wednesday 1st June at 8pm. See what else is on with our TV Guide or check out our dedicated Entertainment hub.
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