Steve Fletcher, the clock and watch expert from The Repair Shop, has spoken candidly about the joy of working alongside his sister Suzie and his son Fred on the beloved BBC programme, movingly revealing that he wishes his parents could have been there to witness it.
A Family Affair on Screen
The trio appeared together on Wednesday's episode of The Repair Shop for the first time, showcasing their family's deep-rooted craftsmanship. The clock workshop, originally founded by Steve's grandfather Fred, was passed down to his father John, and Steve now runs it with his own son Fred. Suzie joined the show as a leather expert after returning from the United States.
Reflecting on their collaboration, Steve said: "I had been working at The Repair Shop for the first series. Suzie was still in America, and I'd been saying what fun it was. I knew that Suzie was going to come back to the UK, so I said to the producers, how about bringing Suzie in as the leather expert? So, when she came back from the States, she joined us, and she's now almost as good as me!"
He continued: "Then Fred came on board. He worked with me in my workshop anyway, and then during Covid, I was working on an extremely large wooden clock, and I needed help lifting things. Because it was Covid, other people couldn't come within two metres of each other, but Fred was in my bubble, so he could come on board and work side by side, and that's how we came to all work on the show."
A Special Bond Beyond the Barn
Suzie described the experience as "special" and "incredibly natural." She explained: "The barn environment is a bunch of people that are there for all the same reasons. We're such a close group, of course, the three of us are related, but it feels like we're related to everybody down there. It does have that family atmosphere, and everybody just gets along. So, we just feel really grateful for the fact that the three of us get to work together. It's quite special, really."
Steve added: "I just think it's a lovely, warm feeling, working with my family. But like Suzie said, it is wonderful down there anyway, because we are like a big family. It's very strange; we might not see each other for a few months, but as soon as we see each other again, it's like we saw each other five minutes ago." He further noted: "You support each other through all of life's trials and tribulations as well, from buying a house to someone getting poorly, and we're all very supportive. It's almost like it can't be real because it's a TV show, but actually it really is very real, and we are like family."
Suzie concluded: "Following on from that as well, the fact that we are in our ninth year, so much has happened in everybody's life. There's been marriages, there's been babies, and, like Steve said, buying houses, and the older ones of us have gone through that. So, we're kind of like aunts and uncles to the younger ones, including the crew. It's a very supportive and positive place to be. I think anyone that comes in soon feels this, and any nerves that they may have completely disappear because they're nothing but support there."
Early Beginnings and Shared Humour
The trio also appeared on Morning Live on Wednesday, where they discussed how their involvement in the family business began. Steve recalled: "We were brought up in a house with a carpentry workshop attached to it, an old disused one. But it was full of wood, loads of nails, screws, tools, and all sorts of things. So from a very early age, we just played there, making things, repairing things."
Suzie added: "And learning how to use tools. And dad treated me and my sister the same way as the boys. We were taught how to make and mend, and it didn't matter; you just learnt to be practical." Steve revealed he had taught Fred to use real tools from an "early age," while Fred commented: "I was probably five or six when I had a woodsaw!"
Speaking about their shared sense of humour, Suzie said: "Thankfully, our parents gave us a really cracking sense of humour, and it's followed through the Fletcher gene. Thankfully, Fred and his sisters have the same sense of humour. So, when we're all together, it's all bets are off. We can't look at each other sometimes when we need to be serious and professional, because we know what the other one's thinking. Laughter is wonderful, and we thoroughly enjoy it and encourage it at all times."
Steve echoed this: "That's absolutely right. We as a family have a shockingly silly sense of humour. When we're together, we end up absolutely splitting our sides most of the time, we're having a laugh and a giggle."
A Heartfelt Wish
Reflecting on their lineage and what their family's reaction would be to seeing them work together, Steve heartbreakingly said: "I really wish that our parents were still alive to watch the show and see us together on it. I think they would have been so proud. We just love working down there together as well. It's so very reassuring."
Suzie added: "It's become such a huge part of our personal lives as well. It's been nine years and we still thoroughly enjoy being part of the team. I think that says a lot for the whole of the production, and also how much the public enjoy the show, which is really what we're doing this for. So, we're glad that viewers love what we're doing, because we love doing it."
The Repair Shop airs Wednesdays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
