King Charles to join Jay Blades on The Repair Shop for BBC centenary special

King Charles will join The Repair Shop for BBC’s centenary.

Filmed prior to his accession to the Throne, Jay Blades and the expert team of The Repair Shop craftspeople meet up with the former The Prince of Wales.

The BBC share: “Jay Blades and ceramics expert, Kirsten Ramsay; horologist Steve Fletcher; and furniture restorer, Will Kirk are invited to Dumfries House in Scotland to meet The Prince and learn about The Prince’s Foundation’s work to train the next generation of craftspeople.

“As a result of the visit a skills swap ensues: Jay, Kirsten, Steve and Will pledge to restore two historic pieces that The Prince has selected while The Building Craft Programme lends graduate Jeremy Cash to the Repair Shop to work with metalwork expert, Dom Chinea on a very special third item – a fire set in the shape of a soldier with a poignant story behind its existence.

“The two precious items The Prince has chosen for repair are an 18th century bracket clock from the collection at The Prince’s Foundation’s Dumfries House headquarters, and a piece of Wemyss Ware made for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee; legendary British ceramics produced since 1882.”

Jay Blades said: “You’ve got someone from a council estate and someone from a Royal estate that have the same interests about apprenticeships and heritage crafts and it is unbelievable to see that two people from so far apart, from different ends of the spectrum, actually have the same interests.”

The special will air on Wednesday, 26 October at 8PM on BBC One.

BBC Commissioning Editor, Julie Shaw, said: “This is an incredibly special programme which has the magic that Repair Shop viewers have come to know and love. People will see The former Prince of Wales as you rarely see him – and he is as captivated by the skills of the team who work on his items as any of our Repair Shop visitors.

“The episode is a real treat and we hope that people enjoy it as much as we do.”

The programme was filmed between Autumn 2021 and March 2022 before His Majesty became King Charles III.