The Repair Shop's Will Kirk leaves grieving widow sobbing as he transforms a very special gift from her late-husband
It's a very emotional one in the workshop this weekThe Repair Shop will leave viewers reaching for the tissues tonight as Will Kirk restores a very special present for a grieving widow.
Woodwork expert Will once again works his magic after meeting Christine, who lost her husband Gordon to cancer 17 years ago.
When he was alive, Gordon surprised Christine with a beautiful wooden bench one Christmas so they could sit together in the garden.
She tearfully recalls how they would each place a cup of coffee in the middle and “laugh all the time” while enjoying the garden.
The only problem is, after 25 years, the bench is totally weathered and both arms are now rotten.
The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk
Before handing her stunning teak bench to Will, Christine tells him the very sweet story behind it. She explains how Gordon bought it from a garden centre and surprised her with it on Christmas Day.
“Sometimes he wasn’t very good at Christmas presents so this was one of his better presents!” Christine laughs. “It was one of my most favourite presents ever.”
Remembering that Christmas morning, she continues: “He disappeared. I wanted him to peel the sprouts and carrots. He was a builder and had a pick-up truck, and he came down the lane and all I could see was this big wheel.
“He put a ribbon on it, that was flapping in the wind.”
Will asks Christine why she had decided to have the bench mended now. And she has a very good answer.
“It would have been our 50th wedding anniversary at the end of this month,” she explains. “I just feel he’s looking down on me and saying, ‘It’s alright, love’.”
Will gets to work
Standing in the grounds of The Repair Shop, Will says he “loves the sentiment” behind the bench. He sands it right back to work out what wood can be salvaged and what needs to be replaced.
Will discovers the arms are not the original ones and they are rotten through. He uses them as a template to make new ones out of teak wood.
Once fitted, he stains the entire bench. Will adds: “Once I’ve finished staining the bench, I’m going to seal it with a coat of oil so it can go back outside Christine’s house.
“She can sit on the bench much like she did when Gordon was alive.”
Will does a remarkable job.
“It’s quite emotional for me but I’ll be so grateful to have it back,” she tearfully says, before her newly-restored bench is unveiled.
Will tells her: “This kind of present is a big reflection on the type of person Gordon was.”
‘Can I sit on it?’
Christine then gasps and begins to sob when she sees. Between cries, she manages to tell Will it is “lovely”. She then asks if she can sit on it.
“Of course you can!” Will replies.
“It feels so lovely Will. I just can’t wait to get it home,” Christine tells him. “I feel like Gordon is putting his arms around me and saying, ‘Will has done good’.”
Will asks who will now be sitting next to her on the bench when she has her morning coffee. She tells him Gordon’s seat is reserved for her two pet sausage dogs “to chat to”.
Cracking job, Will. As always!
