Repair Shop fixes mother's vintage salon hairdryer

A woman who had her mother's vintage salon hairdryer returned to its former glory by the BBC's Repair Shop team hopes that her granddaughter will one day be able to use it.

Alison Heath, from Shropshire, said the hairdryer had been a part of her life for decades, having originally been used in the salon that her mum, Dorcus, owned in Newport.

After the salon shut, it was taken to Dorcus' home in Stafford, where it became part of a routine between Heath, her mother and her two sisters, Pat and Carole.

"Myself or my sister used to go round on a Sunday and we'd wash her hair for her, put her rollers in, put her under the dryer and sit there chatting, and it was just our weekly ritual," she said.

"When she died, it was just automatic that that hairdryer wasn't going anywhere apart from my bedroom, where it's been for the last 10 years.

"That hairdryer has literally been in my life forever, and a really important part of my life with my mum and everything."

Heath put a blanket over the seat, which was cracked, and disguised it by putting a couple of her mother's old hats on it.

That was until her sister Carole suggested that she write to The Repair Shop.

"They came and picked it up because obviously it's quite heavy and bulky," she said.

The repairs were undertaken by Dominic Chinea, Sonnaz Nooranvary and Mark Stuckey.

"Where do we start with this?" Chinea said, as the pair inspected the hairdryer, which did not work, had no seat back and was faded in colour.

"It's quite amazing, isn't it?" said Nooranvary.

The team repainted the metal, upholstered the cushion, fixed the electrics and created a new back for the seat.

When it was revealed to them on the show, the three sisters described the repair job as "beautiful" and "even better" than they thought it would be.

"The guy that brought it back for me, it was all wrapped in bubble wrap and a blanket, it was like bringing a precious newborn into the house," said Heath.

"I'm hoping that in the foreseeable future if I ever need any help setting my hair, that my granddaughter will be able to do it.

"At the moment, it's just more of a silent beauty in the corner of my bedroom."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.