BBC The Repair Shop star issues warning to couple over poignant fix relating to late son: ‘It’s risky’
The Repair Shop newcomer Rob Fraser gave a warning to guests on the latest episode of the BBC favourite over a precious item relating to their late son.
Mr Fraser was tasked with fixing a piece of plaster from the couple’s kitchen wall which contained a moving message.
John and Margaret Ivin brought along the item, which has been written on by their late son Christopher when he was 14.
Explaining the broken piece of plaster to Mr Fraser and Dominc Chinea, Margaret shared: “It’s a section of our kitchen wall. Last summer, we had our kitchen renovated and the builder came in and said, ‘just come and look, I’ve found something.’
“Where they’d taken one of the original cupboards off the wall, this was behind it, and it was a complete shock to see it there.
“It was our late son, Christopher. Back in… when he was about 14.”
The message read: ‘This is original wallpaper. Friday, 4.15, 8th December, 1989. Please leave this wallpaper, Chris.’
“He often wrote,” Margaret added. “Scribbled little notes that he would leave around the house. Some of them just, ‘I love you.'”
When Mr Chinea asked about how their son had died, Margaret explained: “He got a very, very rare form of cancer. Testicular cancer.
“He was coming up to 35, just in his thirties. It was 18 months from diagnosis when he died.
“When you lose a child, you never get over it – you get through it, and we’ve just got through it.”
The grieving parents shared how moved they had been over the surprise discovery, with Mr Fraser aware of how important the fix would be.
However, he faced a tricky challenge and warned the couple about the difficult nature of the restoration, admitting he was nervous.
“There’s so much going on, the paper is really fragmented, so that’s very risky. I’ll have to take my time, I might need some help.
“It’s not going to be easy. I need to get eyes on all these pieces and work out what condition each individual piece is in.
“I’m really nervous about handling this. This is gypsum plaster, which is very brittle.”
Thankfully, the heritage stonemason was able to repair the poignant item, leaving an emotional John and Margaret delighted.
“That’s amazing,” Margaret stated as the pair saw the finished result for the first time.
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The two broke down in tears over the profoundly emotional moment, with Margaret adding: “What can I say? What can I say?
“It’s funny handwriting, he would be chuffed to bits to see that. I mean, he was what, 14? and he would’ve been 48 this year.”
“He was a lovely boy, yeah,” John added before the couple expressed their gratitude over the fix.