Season 8

Jay and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. There is an exciting challenge for furniture restorer Sonnaz , when she is given the opportunity to work on an iconic piece of Danish design known as an egg chair. Christine Langton and her daughter Kate deliver an armchair designed by Arne Jacobsen. Husband Maurice loved this chair and sat proudly in it throughout his life. Next to arrive is Nick Wimshurst, with a remarkable item invented by his great-great-grandfather. The instrument has been in Nick's family for over 135 years, but he has never seen it work. He is hugely proud of his forefather's invention and feels compelled to find someone to help get it up and running again. Steve draws on all his know-how, and what he remembers from his school physics lessons, to enable lightning to strike once again. It's a first for master hatter Jayesh when Ross Brown visits with his grandfather's sailor's hat. Alf was a Royal Navy stoker, working in the vessel engine rooms, and served throughout the Second World War. He had quite the tale to tell his family when he returned safely after an attack from a German U-boat and was a true hero to a young Ross. Ross is putting all his faith in Jayesh to perform a minor miracle to erase the ink, while retaining the hat's characteristic wear and tear. And John Marshall wheels in the most extraordinary bicycle for experts Tim and Dominic to work on. Known as a bucking bronco bike, it has no pedals or chain but relies on the rider bobbing up and down to power it. Needless to say, both Tim and Dom are delighted to get cracking on this unique renovation project.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First through the workshop doors today is Minty Barlow, with a miniature replica house. It was once part of a model village tourist attraction in her home town of Cleethorpes. Her parents saved it when the attraction closed down in the 1970s and relocated it to their garden. There they created a magical world of fantasy and fairies for Minty and her brother. Young Minty was captivated by the fairy house and would love her daughter to see it in its original, charming condition. Ceramics expert Kirsten and woodwork expert Will are delighted to join forces for this one-of-a-kind project. Next to arrive is Luigi Ciaburri, with a vintage Bakelite radio that has been mute for over 50 years. He's hoping electronics guru Mark can spark it back to life. The treasured radio was passed down to Luigi by his Italian father, who emigrated with his wife to Wales to begin a new life and raise their family. It holds huge significance for Luigi as his family would sit together and listen to it for hours. Mark must dismantle the entire workings and recondition or replace each component to get this silent relic up and running again. Master of all things metal Dom takes receipt of a fairground game that promises to test your strength. The cast iron contraption belongs to Marie Heemsom and brought her late husband such pleasure. And paper conservator expert Louise is pleased to meet Jaishmin Shah and behold her beautiful Indian painting, which represents an important piece of her family's heritage. The depiction of an Indian deity was cherished by her late mother, but it is now cracked and faded. Louise has her work cut out to repair and revitalise the piece.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. Londoner Pablo Henderson is first to arrive, with his late father's defunct record turntable. His father arrived in the UK from Jamaica in the 1960s and loved music. The turntable would provide the sweet sounds of reggae music for the huge sound system that Pablo's father set up at neighbourhood parties. Electronics expert Mark gets the dilapidated deck back in tip-top condition once again, while Will crafts an impressive plinth to house it. Andy Matthews and his daughter Anna have brought in a stately chair for the attention of Will and upholsterer Sonnaz. The chair was made specially for King George VI's coronation ceremony, which Andy's grandfather attended as an usher. The chair was presented to him as a token of appreciation and has been a source of great pride for their family. However, 90 years have taken their toll on the piece. The wooden frame is unstable, and the velvet fabric is faded and threadbare in places. Together, Will and Sonnaz give it the restoration it deserves. Wendy Bray is a woman on a mission. She would love leather expert Susie to repair and revitalise her late mother's writing case. Wendy's mother was a remarkable woman who, during the Second World War, worked as a code breaker at Bletchley Park. She was a keen letter writer, and the case was with her always. Wendy would like to preserve the now-tattered case and pass it on to her daughter and granddaughter, through four generations or wonderful women. And last but not least, Cathy Downie has brought in a beloved mechanical toy clown. It was a gift from her dear Uncle Jimmy, with whom she spent many happy times as a child. She has treasured the acrobatic clown for decades, even though it has been broken for many of them. Fortunately, expert Steve knows just how to get this little clown spinning again.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First to pay a visit to the barn, and put their trust in master cobbler Dean, are Hayley Fellows and her mother Wendy. They have brought in a pair of speedway racing boots that evoke bittersweet memories. The boots belonged to Mike, who they recently lost to cancer. Having them restored was on his bucket list, and the women are determined to honour that final request. Organ restorer David faces a mammoth task when he takes on a 1960s electric organ. It belonged to Jonny Green's dad. Jonny's dad could never bear to part with it and always intended to have it fixed up. Fortunately, David is well known for his patience and perseverance, and Mark is on hand to mend the dated electrics. Suzanne Payne is hopeful that horologist Steve and wood restorer Will can help her to complete a true labour of love for three men in her family. Her father loved tinkering with clocks. He intended to gift the finished clock to Suzanne's father-in-law, but sadly both men passed away before its completion. The project was then taken on by Suzanne's husband Ian, who began work on a wooden housing. Tragically, Ian passed away several years ago. And Jasmine Asher brings her grandfather's diary and writing slate for the attention of Brenton and expert bookbinder Chris. Her grandfather was a political activist in India and lived a most interesting life. It's the only record they have of his writing and is in serious risk of perishing completely, but Chris is confident he can preserve it. Brenton gladly takes on the tarnished, scratched aluminium writing slate, which Jasmine's grandfather would lean on to document his life.

Jay Blades and the team restore a barber's chair, an Iranian musical instrument, a roulette machine and a carousel horse.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. A daunting task has ceramics restorer Kirsten worried. Jayne Marston has brought in her parent's four-foot-high, heavy stone bird bath in the hope Kirsten can preserve it. Wherever Jayne's family moved the bird bath would follow, uprooted and replaced at the new house with great effort by her dad. Jayne's mum made her promise to keep feeding the birds and to keep water in the bath, telling Jayne 'whenever the birds are near so am I'. However, the bird bath is now showing its age, and with a huge crack threatening to break it in two, Kirsten's restoration skills will be pushed to their limit. David faces a musical challenge: Abbas Qureshi and his son Asad have brought in a beautiful but battered harmonium in search of someone who can restore its voice. Abbas's musical career started as a boy in rural Pakistan, where he first sang on stage at the age of eight. After moving to the UK in 1965, he carried on performing and formed a band in the 1980s that played all over England. But now his harmonium is broken, leaking air and out of tune. Now it's now down to David to restore the perfect harmony between musician and instrument. A very well-travelled piece of history is next to wind its way up the path to the barn. Belonging to Harry Dymond and his daughter Kathryn, it's a sailor's logbook known as a Continuous Certificate of Discharge, a record of all the ships served on and all the sailings made by Harry's professional seaman grandfather Frank, including one very famous and ill-fated ship's passage aboard the Titanic. 'Titanic Frank', as he is known to the family, survived the disaster. Frank's original logbook went down with the Titanic, but this replacement records the fateful journey and went on to accompany Frank for the rest of his life. The barn's resident book-binding expert Christopher brings it back from the brink, restoring a treasured heirloom the family can be proud of once more. Finally, an ageing teddy from the 1950s needs some TLC from bear experts Julie and Amanda. Teddy has been with Maria Naylor since her family's flight from Hungary after Russia took control of their homeland in 1956. Maria, her parents and her siblings found themselves in a refugee camp in Austria. Teddy travelled with the family across Europe until they settled in Manchester. Maria is hoping Julie and Amanda can give him a new lease of life in his later years.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. Painting conservator Lucia Scalisi welcomes a symbolic seascape painting into the barn. Owners Jenny and James sought solace on the Pembrokeshire seashore when they lost their baby son Elijah after only 37 days. For them, this painting of a rocky harbour and a rowing boat has come to symbolise the turbulent emotions they have encountered. Working on such a poignant painting is a huge responsibility for Lucia, but when the couple returns to see her restoration, they are utterly blown away. Bear ladies Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell revive a dislocated doll belonging to Ana, who fled to the UK from Bosnia with her parents when she was a child. With mechanical maestro Steve Fletcher getting a head start on the doll's squiffy eye, the ladies turn their attention to making the baby doll more robust and a little less scary. Farmer Simon is hoping to see his grandfather's fiddle drill back in action once again. The vintage seed-sower has seen better days, but with the joint craftsmanship of metal and leather experts Dominic Chinea and Suzie Fletcher, the unusual drill is soon in fine fettle once more. And ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsey revives an earthenware Parisian plate belonging to a family that fled the Nazi invasion of France and subsequently travelled around the globe, always with their precious plate in tow.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First to arrive is Marcia Bryan, with a precious doll for the attention of toy restorers Julie and Amanda. This dislocated doll serves as a reminder of Marcia's time in a children's home in the 1950s, where she lived with her twin brother from the age of six weeks. As a little girl, Marcia bonded with Diana the Doll as they shared the same skin colour. Decades later, Marcia is moved to tears when she returns to the barn to see that her precious dolly has been brought back to life. Luthier Julyan is tasked with the restoration of a vintage steel-bodied acoustic guitar. Owner David remembers his late father strumming the instrument in church and has fond memories of gigging with his recently deceased friend Terry when they were young. It's an exciting fix for Julyan, and after hours of fine-tuning, his expert craftsmanship strikes a deep chord for David. Max Shar is hoping ceramics expert Kirsten will be able to repair a symbolic sculpture that developed an unsightly crack after suffering a fall in an earthquake. The commanding sculpture provides a link to the father he lost when he was a young boy. Removing the crack is a painstaking process for Kirsten, but when Max comes face to face with the revived sculpture once again, the deep feelings come flooding back. And siblings Suzie and Steve undertake the repair of a leather trunk that accompanied an army officer as he travelled through Africa immediately after the Second World War.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First up is a unique and challenging commission for bear repair duo Amanda and Julie. Dolls Amy and David are the treasured possessions of 36-year-old Jess Hiles. First given to her when she was five, they have been her constant companions through thick and thin for over 30 years. Now Amy and David are looking their age, with missing limbs and tired bodies. While Jess would like them to be preserved for the future, she would also like one or two additional modifications: new clothes to match the tracksuit Jess wears when competing in the Special Olympics, a carbon fibre running blade to replace David's missing leg, and some Jay-inspired headwear. Instrument expert Pete has a medley of musical family memories wrapped up in a faded 50s drum kit to restore. Mark Winsor's Grandad Pappy, his dad, uncle and great uncle were better known as Pete and the Stardusters in the pubs and clubs of the West Country in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Some of Mark's earliest memories as a child are of watching his family play with Grandad Pappy on drums, and on very special occasions joining them on stage to play sitting on Pappy's knee. Mark would like to revive the drums and his family's musical heritage, but after years in the garage the drums are more rack and ruin than rock and roll, and restoring them will test even Pete's formidable restoration talents. Next to arrive is the oldest item ever to pass through the barn doors - and an ancient jigsaw puzzle for the barn's resident ceramics expert Kirsten. The 2,000-year-old terracotta figure belongs to Melanie Wells but sadly smashed into several pieces during her family's recent move to the UK from North America. The statue once belonged to Melanie's great-grandmother, for whom it became an important reminder of her homeland after she fled China in the 1940s. For Melanie, restoring the statue will also restore the link to her great-grandmother and her own Chinese heritage, while for Kirsten getting the statue back on its feet again will draw on her own restoration roots, conserving ancient treasures at the British Museum. Finally, there's a puzzle for art conservator Lucia. Emily Ellis's painted wooden toy box belonged to her grandfather Rolf and his brother John. It followed them to the UK when as boys they fled persecution in 1930s Nazi Germany because of their Jewish heritage. As well as reviving the beautiful paintwork, Lucia has the tricky task of deciphering and restoring the fading German lettering before she can return this important piece of family history back to Emily, ready to be handed down to her own young son.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First, art conservator Lucia Scalisi faces the thrilling task of restoring a rare 17th-century painting of Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I. For owner Howard Bird, the painting is invaluable, as it represents a lifeline between himself and a dear friend who sadly passed away. As Lucia scales away the layers of dark overpaint, she makes a discovery that sheds new light on this historic royal portrait. Wood and metal experts Will and Dom team up to tackle a vintage sewing machine table that bonds owner Kathleen to the seamstress grandmother she never even met. With their mutual love of sewing, Kathleen is hoping to be able to stitch at the same machine her grandma used when she was a young woman at the beginning of the last century. Hannah Clive, daughter of actor John Clive , brings a bit of Beatles nostalgia to the barn in the shape of a toy yellow submarine. It's a fab fix for mechanical maestro Steve Fletcher, as he immerses himself in the little sub. And stained-glass expert Matt Nickels and wood whizz Will Kirk join forces to fix a broken stained-glass window that reminds its owner of wonderful times spent with his late Granda, who triggered a lifetime's love of history.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First to arrive is Tom Wenham, with a pair of running shoes used by his grandma when she represented Great Britain at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. The bespoke shoes enabled Audrey and her relay teammates to race their way to a silver medal in front of Hitler. Repairing the running shoes is a huge responsibility for the barn's newest recruit, cobbler Dean Westmoreland. Paper conservator Louise Drover is called upon to painstakingly revive a damaged photograph of a much-missed father who was an activist in the ANC, the resistance movement that fought to end apartheid in South Africa. With additional help from Will Kirk on the wooden frame, Stephen Tobias's daughter Lorna is overcome with emotion when she finally comes face to face with her father's portrait once again. Victoria Finn is hoping Pete Woods and Suzie Fletcher can restore her daughter Isobella's grandad's clarinet and case. Eleven-year-old Isobella has waited half her lifetime to learn the instrument but wanted to be taught on her late grandfather's instrument. After a meticulous makeover and a pitch-perfect performance by Pete, Isabella is delighted with her revamped instrument. And toy restorers Julie and Amanda undertake the repair of a prized push-along donkey that has been by the side of its owner since she lost her father as a young baby.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First to arrive are father and son Herbert and Joshua Klein, with a mantle clock in the shape of a ship for the attention of horologist Steve Fletcher. This treasured item was a gift from Herbert's late grandfather, with whom he had an incredible bond as a child. Born deaf, his grandfather would communicate by pointing and gesturing while Herbert would lip read. The clock hasn't worked for five decades, but Steve is determined to return it in shipshape condition. Ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay is called upon to painstakingly piece together a vintage ceramic night light, fractured into dozens of fragments. Owner Emma remembers her late mother making up magical bedtime stories about the bunnies nestling inside the mushroom-shaped light. It's a daunting fix for Kirsten, but hours of careful craftwork leave Emma overjoyed. Skateboard enthusiast Mike is hoping Will Kirk and Dominic Chinea can restore his wooden board that transports him back to his youth in 1960s Liverpool. A pioneer in the world of skateboarding, Mike is a firm believer that you're never too old to surf sidewalks. With Will and Dom equally enamoured by the vintage board, it's all hands on deck to bring it back to life. And toy restorers Julie and Amanda undertake the repair of a treasured teddy bear that has been by the side of a young man as he has undergone life-changing surgery.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. Metal expert Dominic Chinea faces the heavy-duty task of repairing a seized-up old roundabout that reminds its owner Stella of her three daughters' childhoods. Sadly, Stella's middle daughter Emma died in 2016, leaving two young children behind. Dom has the tough task of getting the old roundabout revived and revolving once again, in time for Stella and her grandchildren's return to the barn. Master saddler Suzie Fletcher is excited to tackle a mid-19th century ladies' side saddle bought in Texas by owner Sara. Having lived a cowboy lifestyle in her youth, Sara is surprised to learn that Suzie also spent time on ranches. The bond formed between the two ladies makes this a very special repair for both Suzie and Sara. Wood expert Will is amazed when a First World War dominoes set, thought to have been played during the Christmas truce of 1914, arrives at the barn. Owner Ben believes the dominoes played a part in this symbolic moment of peace in an otherwise pitiless war. And toy restorers Julie and Amanda join forces with mechanical maestro Steve Fletcher to fix a broken teddy bear that was gifted to an abandoned girl from Hong Kong when she arrived in the UK to meet her adoptive family for the first time.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. Painting conservator Lucia Scalisi welcomes a historic portrait of Charles II into the barn. Owner Liz remembers it hanging in her grandparents' dining room when she was a child. Now her son Dylan is fascinated by its history, so they are hoping it can be brought back to life. It's an exciting fix for Lucia: as she removes layers of dirt, it becomes clear just how old the portrait really is. Goldsmith Richard Talman faces the delicate task of reuniting the broken pieces of an engagement ring that symbolises two grandparents' deep love. Owner Michelle's grandmother Muriel was engaged to another man when she first locked eyes with Wilfred in a pub. She called off her engagement, and the pair went on to have a long and happy marriage. Michelle wants to honour their love story by having the romantic ring restored. Born in Zanzibar, Mahbuba fled to the UK as a child due to the revolution, with no time to bring any possessions with her. Years later, she stumbled across an ornate wooden chest in a market in Oman, evoking strong memories of the childhood she left behind. Silversmith Brenton West and wood expert Will Kirk join forces to bring this lavishly embellished family heirloom back to its former glory. And soft toy specialists Amanda and Julie are entrusted with a very special donkey that acted as a comfort blanket to a young boy who lost his mother and later became a source of comfort for his twin sister when tragedy struck again.