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Episode 3

Painting conservator Lucia Scalisi uses her skills to honour a racing legend, and a mechanical doll needs the expert skills of toy restorers Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch.

First to the barn is Peggy Doran and daughter Jayne, hoping painting conservator Lucia Scalisi can use her skills to honour a man who was a legend in their family. Back in the 1940s and 50s, Peggy’s husband Bill was a well-decorated motorcycle racer who sped through the finish line at Scarborough to win the course lap record and eventually the Gold Cup. He went on to win the Belgium Grand Prix. After he retired, he opened a motorbike shop, and his love of bikes was passed down to daughter Jayne and eventually granddaughter Emilie.

Sadly, Bill died when Jayne was just 13. The family enjoy looking through old photos of their beloved Bill doing what he loved best, and once, when Jayne went up to Scarborough to visit the track where her dad held so many accolades, she saw the old course lap record sign, with his name on it. But she was dismayed to learn that it was about to be demolished after years of being exposed to the elements. The circuit director offered her the sign to take home with her as a memento of her dad. She couldn’t believe her luck, but it had picked up some bumps and scrapes over the years. Lucia must scramble to salvage the vinyl lettering, whilst Dominic Chinea races to save the wooden framework on the back of the sign. It’s a double win that leaves the entire family feeling on top of the podium.

Next, a severely cracked mechanical doll needing the expert skills of toy restorers Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch. For Ian, the doll is a painful reminder of his sister Denise, who he lost in a road traffic accident when she was just 24. After she died, his parents stored the doll in the loft, and Ian has only recently rediscovered it. While Julie and Amanda crack on with filling the doll’s fractures, creating new digits for her missing fingers and making a new outfit, mechanical whizz David Burville is enlisted to get her walking and moving her head again. When Ian sees the newly restored doll, he can’t believe the transformation.

Oyez, oyez! Carpenter Will Kirk and silversmith Brenton West are on hand to do what they do best for the final fix. In search of sparkle is Kila and her bell. As the first female town crier for Lytham in Lancashire, she wants her dull bell to be as shiny as she is when dressed in all her finery. Passed down to her when she was inaugurated in 2023, the bell has seen better days and needs sprucing up. Also, on Kila’s wish list - a baldrick, or belt, typically worn over the shoulder to carry a weapon or instrument and in Kila's case to keep her all-important handbell, which leather worker Suzie Fletcher is roped in to make. In one of the barn’s grandest exits, Kila - in full town crier livery - has a go on her spruced-up ringer and gives the experts a bold 'thank you' cry.

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43 minutes

Audio described

Last on

Fri 10 Oct 202507:15

Credits

RoleContributor
NarratorBill Paterson
ExpertDominic Chinea
ExpertLucia Scalisi
ExpertJulie Tatchell
ExpertAmanda Middleditch
ExpertDavid Burville
ExpertBrenton West
ExpertWill Kirk
ExpertSuzie Fletcher
Executive ProducerGlenn Swift
Executive ProducerEmma Walsh
DirectorIngo Nyakairu
Production CompanyRicochet Ltd

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