Fans of The Repair Shop were left stunned by an “incredible” transformation during Wednesday’s (29 January) episode of the BBC One show.
The episode featured a couple, Lloyd and Karen, who had visited the barn with Lloyd’s father’s professional Welsh rugby shirt from the 1960s. They explained how when Lloyd’s dad passed away, Karen had tried to wash the shirt as a nice gesture in a bid to frame it, but unfortunately the shirt didn’t wash well.
The original bright red colour of the jersey had run into the white collar, prompting Karen to try and bleach it, but this also failed and resulted in the garment being covered in bleach marks.
Thankfully, textile conservator Rebecca Bissonnet was on hand to help the couple at The Repair Shop.
Lloyd and Karen were greeted by Rebecca and Will Kirk in the barn as the newly restored garment was unveiled. Displayed on a mannequin, the shirt looked as good as new with the red and white colours back to their usual state.
“Oh my god that’s amazing,” Karen exclaimed, while Lloyd said: “You know that red I was talking about? That is Welsh red!”
Karen then admitted: “It didn’t even look that good before it went in the washing machine. Honestly, it did not look that good before!”
She and Lloyd became emotional as they inspected the transformed rugby shirt. Karen then explained that they had originally planned to have the jersey framed but she liked it displayed on the mannequin.
However, Will had other ideas. He then brought out a glass box for the shirt, meaning it could be displayed on the mannequin and protected.
The couple were visibly overwhelmed by the efforts of the team at The Repair Shop, as they thanked them and chatted about the significance of the rugby shirt.
Over on social media, fans of the BBC One show were stunned by the restoration of the Welsh shirt. One viewer said: “This rugby shirt on Repair Shop is incredible #therepairshop.”
“Wow! Amazing job #therepairshop,” a second person said, while a third added: “#therepairshop my word the rugby shirt!!!” and another wrote: “Amazing work to get it looking like that.”
The Repair Shop airs on BBC One on Wednesdays at 8pm.
