he King guest-starred in a special episode of The Repair Shop as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.
The program is Charles will meet with show host Jay Blades and his expert team of artisans to explore their shared passion for preserving heritage craft skills.
The team will also repair two precious items chosen by the monarch: a piece of pottery made for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and an 18th-century clock.
The special was announced during The One Show on Tuesday, with the episode airing October 26 at 8pm BBC A.
In August 2021, Blades’ team, ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay, timepieces Steve Fletcher and furniture restorer Will Kirk were invited to Dumfries House in Scotland to meet the King, then Prince of Wales, and learn more about The Prince’s work. Foundation in training the next generation of artisans.
In the episode, Charles Blades gives a tour of the estate and meets some students from the Building Craft program set up by The Prince’s Foundation who teaches traditional skills such as blacksmithing, stone carving and wood carving.
Blades, who grew up in Hackney, London, said: “You have someone from a municipal estate and someone from a royal estate who have similar interests in apprenticeships and heritage crafts and it’s incredible to see two people from so far apart, from different sides of the spectrum, basically have the same interests.”
Meanwhile, Dumfries House collection manager Satinder Kaur, Kirk, Ramsay and Fletcher gives a tour of the collection of 18th-century furniture and decorative art.
In the episode, the Repair Shop team also pledged to restore two historic pieces selected by the King, namely an 18th-century bracket clock from the Dumfries House collection and a piece of pottery made by Wemyss for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Ware, a renowned British ceramics company founded in 1882.
A skill swap also takes place when the Building Craft Program lends its graduate Jeremy Cash to the Repair Shop to work with metalworking expert Dom Chinea on a special third item: a fire in the shape of a soldier with a gripping story behind it. to exist.
In the spring of 2022, Blades and the team welcomed the King into The Repair Shop’s shed to be reunited with the items.
The BBC’s Editor-in-Chief Julie Shaw said: “This is an incredibly special program with the magic that Repair Shop viewers have come to know and love.
“People will see the former Prince of Wales as you rarely see him – and he is just as fascinated by the skills of the team working on his items as all visitors to our Repair Shop.
“The episode is a real treat and we hope people enjoy it as much as we do.”
Joanna Ball, Executive Producer of The Repair Shop and Managing Director of Ricochet, added: “We are thrilled that The Repair Shop can play a role in highlighting the importance of passing craft skills on to the next generation.
“Hosting His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in the barn was a real privilege for the whole team.”
Kaur, collection manager for Dumfries House, said: “At The Prince’s Foundation, we are very proud to partner with The Repair Shop for this very special episode.
“It was a pleasure to welcome Jay Blades and the talented restorers to our headquarters in Dumfries House to discover our collection of 18th century furniture and decorative arts, including many examples of the work of Thomas Chippendale, who were a huge hit with the team.
“They also met students who benefit from our Building Craft program, which helps preserve heritage craft skills that are at risk of being lost through education and training.
“Over the past five years, The Repair Shop has done an amazing job demonstrating the skills of craftsmanship and highlighting the importance of repairing items rather than replacing them, so it was a very natural partnership.”
The program was filmed between the fall of 2021 and March 2022, before Charles became king after the death of his mother the queen.
The special episode of The Repair Shop will be broadcast on October 26 at 8 p.m. BBC One.