Will Kirk, the woodwork restorer on BBC's The Repair Shop, was visibly emotional during Wednesday's episode as a guest's wartime story moved him to tears. The fan-favourite expert admitted he was 'going to cry' after the emotional restoration of a pair of baby shoes.
Guest's Heartbreaking Story
Barbara Dennison and her granddaughter Giovanna brought the shoes to the workshop, which held precious memories of Barbara's father, Norman William. He saved a little girl in Holland during the Second World War in 1945 and was gifted the shoes as a token of gratitude.
'He was going down the street in Holland and there was a little girl playing in the street. Some shooting started and he grabbed this little girl and jumped into a cellar,' Barbara explained. 'When the shooting finished, he took her back to her mum and dad. The family must have been really grateful because he saved her. They must have been talking and he told them that he had a little girl, then they brought him these little shoes.'
Restoration Challenge
Shoe restorer Dean Westmoreland faced a daunting task, admitting he felt 'nervous' due to the shoes' delicate condition. 'They're so delicate and so small that I'm a little bit nervous about handling them,' he said. 'Unfortunately, I can't scale my hands down to get in and do all this fine micro-detail work. The lining on this one is actually, almost all of it has come away. The leather is quite stiff, it's quite dry so I'm going to have to think about how to hydrate this leather.'
Emotional Reunion
Despite the challenge, Dean successfully restored the shoes. When Barbara saw them, she was tearful, saying, 'Oh that's lovely. Look it's all stitched on. Oh Dean, thank you.' She added, 'You've done exactly what I wanted. Each crack is just a wonderful memory of my dad and all my kids.'
Will Kirk turned to Barbara and Giovanna and admitted, 'You're going to make me cry.' Barbara expressed her gratitude, saying, 'I can't thank you enough.'
The episode aired on Wednesday, July 8, and is available on BBC iPlayer.
