The Repair Shop is set to have viewers in tears tonight as Will Kirk restores a treasured Christmas gift for a widow who is still desperately missing her husband.
Wood expert Will meets Christine, whose husband Gordon died from cancer 17 years ago.
Before he died, Gordon surprised her one Christmas with a beautiful wooden bench so they could sit side-by-side in their garden.
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Christine recalls how they would place their coffee cups in the middle and “laugh all the time” as they enjoyed the view together.
After 25 years outside, the bench is badly weathered and both arms have completely rotted away.
The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk
Before handing it over, Christine shares the story behind the teak bench.
Gordon bought it from a garden centre and unveiled it on Christmas Day with a ribbon tied on.
“Sometimes he wasn’t very good at Christmas presents so this was one of his better presents!” she laughs.
“It was one of my most favourite presents ever.”
She remembers that morning clearly.
“Gordon disappeared,” Christine recalls.”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 gently asks why now felt like the right time to fix it.
“It would have been our 50th wedding anniversary at the end of this month,” Christine says.
“I just feel he’s looking down on me and saying, ‘It’s alright, love’.”
Will gets to work
Out in the barn, Will says he loves the sentiment behind the bench.
He sands it back to assess what he can save and what must be replaced.
The arms are not original and have rotted through. Will uses them as templates to craft new ones from teak.
Once the repairs are complete, he stains the bench and seals it with oil so it can return to Christine’s garden.
“She can sit on the bench much like she did when Gordon was alive,” he says.
Christine admits: “It’s quite emotional for me but I’ll be so grateful to have it back,” as she prepares to see it again.
Will tells her: “This kind of present is a big reflection on the type of person Gordon was.”
‘Can I sit on it?’
When the restored bench is revealed, Christine gasps and bursts into tears.
Through sobs, she calls it “lovely” and asks: “Can I sit on it?”
“Of course you can!” Will replies.
“It feels so lovely Will. I just can’t wait to get it home,” she says.
“I feel like Gordon is putting his arms around me and saying, ‘Will has done good.'”
Asked who will sit beside her now, Christine smiles and says Gordon’s place is reserved for her two sausage dogs to chat to over coffee.
Another beautiful restoration, and not a dry eye in sight.
- The Repair Shop airs at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday March 4, 2026.
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