Jay Blades fights back tears as The Repair Shop guest reveals harrowing family tragedy behind ‘life-changing’ statue
THE Repair Shop’s Jay Blades fought back tears after a guest was left speechless and sobbing on the latest episode of the BBC show.
The 53-year-old and Kirsten Ramsay were tasked with restoring a sentimental art piece with an emotional backstory.
During The Repair Shop episode, Kirsten and Jay were handed a replica of the famous Italian statue of David for restoration.
However, Kirsten, who specialises in ceramics and regularly repairs beloved antiques on the show, led the transformation with the help of Jay, who is best known for his skills in modern furniture restoration and eco-design.
The guest brought in the precious sculpture to the professionals, who had no idea of the heart-wrenching story attached to it.
When Jay heard the emotional story, he was utterly taken aback by the unique artwork.
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Speaking on how he obtained the item and where it was from, the guest explained: “I bought this in America a while ago. I was living there.
“I walked into the shop, and it kind of stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me of my dad.”
During the heart-breaking revelation, he said: “I can honestly say it changed my life.”
He added: “I was separated from my dad from a very young age.
“We came from Iran to England, but my dad stayed with my sister until she finished her studies."
The man revealed that the war between Iran and Afghanistan prevented them from seeing each other due to travel restrictions, so he started saving up his pocket money.
When he finally made £20, he would call his father, and from then on, the man would save up for three or four months so that they could have a two-minute phone call together.
Unfortunately, the guest only saw his father once before he died when he was aged 11.
He revealed: “I do not know how an object can give him so much”, referring to the artwork symbolising his father.
The art piece cracked down the middle due to an earthquake in California, but the guest could not stomach parting ways with it.
Admiring the man for the bond he had with his father, Jay said: “That is something I have always admired growing up, I didn’t have a father."
Touching on the bond between father, son and the painting, he credited it by saying: “It’s very powerful.”
Before the spectacular reveal, Jay asked the man how he felt about the restaurant, with the guest admitting that he was extremely “anxious”.
As Kirsten lifted up the cover, the guest could be heard saying: “Wow, wow, wow. This is amazing. How did you do this?”
Jay paused briefly, standing silently and looking watery-eyed while the guest embraced the heart-tugging moment.
In a separate instalment of The Repair Shop, expert Lucia Scalisi was taken aback by a revolting shock found in one of the items brought in by a guest in the latest episode.
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She revealed that the show had made history after a guest brought in a painting infested with woodworms.
The Repair Shop is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
