Who is on The Repair Shop at Christmas? Full line-up and start time for BBC special
The Repair Shop at Christmas has confirmed its extra special guests! 🎅🎄
- The Repair Shop is back with a Christmas special.
- The beloved BBC show will have some famous guests.
- But when can you expect the show to be on?
The doors to the Repair Shop will open for some very special guests this Christmas. The beloved BBC show is back for its yearly festive episode - and there will be some Hollywood magic.
A firm part of the broadcaster’s Christmas calendar each year, it wouldn’t be the same without a Holiday version of the long-running series. The line-up for this year’s episode has been confirmed.
But what can you expect from the show today? Here’s all you need to know:
What time is The Repair Shop at Christmas on?
The TV favourite is back with a post-Christmas treat for fans. The Repair Shop will be on today (December 26) starting at 7.30pm.
The special follows a festive episode of Would I Lie To You? The Repair Shop at Christmas is due to run for around an hour and will finish at 8.30pm.
It will be repeated on Sunday, December 28, at 1.25pm if you can’t watch it live. It will also be available on demand via iPlayer as well.
Who is on The Repair Shop at Christmas?
It will be a star-studded affair in the Repair Shop this festive season. From a favourite children’s book writer to a Hollywood icon.
- Dame Helen Mirren
- Julia Donaldson
- Rob Brydon
What to expect from The Repair Shop at Christmas?
Hollywood legend Dame Helen Mirren arrives, along with a beloved but badly broken cello. This beautiful instrument was owned by theatre director Martin Landau, who aged just 14 fled Nazi-occupied Europe on the Kindertransport, carrying with him just a few personal possessions and his all-important cello.
But the instrument was brutally broken by Nazi guards prior to his boarding the train, and its neck deliberately snapped in two. Despite this blow, Martin guarded the cello carefully for the remainder of his life, eventually gifting it to Denville Hall, a care home for retired members of the entertainment industries, of which both he and Dame Helen are loyal supporters.
Sadly, the cello has remained silent for over 80 years, and the residents would dearly love to see it restored so that they can hear it played for the first time. Dame Helen entrusts luthier Becky Houghton with the huge but delicate task of reuniting the snapped neck, fixing the broken bodywork and giving the cello back its voice in time to spread seasonal joy to the care home residents and their families.
Also stepping into the magical world of the barn at Christmas is legendary children’s author Julia Donaldson, accompanied by Rob Brydon, who plays the part of Reginald Rake in this year’s seasonal adaptation of her book The Scarecrows' Wedding.
Julia tasks furniture restorer Will Kirk and ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay with the repair of a toy farmhouse that once belonged to her granny. This crumbling structure enraptured Julia and her sister throughout their childhood, firing Julia’s imagination and helping inspire some of her best-loved books.
Julia’s plan is to donate the farmhouse to a local children’s hospice, where she has performed many of her stories. And an already challenging task takes on a whole new dimension when Rob has the brainwave of asking the barn’s team of experts to create a series of toy characters for the children to enjoy, based on those in Julia’s books.
The Repair Shop's expert elves are soon hard at work bringing miniature snails, whales, tiddlers, scarecrows and gruffalos to life!
Also arriving at the barn is a life-sized mechanical Rudolph belonging to the Leicestershire fire service. This extraordinary reindeer has brought decades of festive cheer to generations of families but is currently in a sorry state, with tangled and matted fur, ears that no longer move, eyes that no longer blink, and worst of all, a red nose that no longer lights up!
It takes the combined efforts of mechanic magicians Steve and David, bear ladies Julie and Amanda, master saddler Suzie and metalworker Dom to restore Rudolph to his proud best, ready to strut his stuff on the streets of Leicester this Christmas to raise thousands of pounds for local charities.
In their packed Christmas schedule, Dom and Will also find time to restore a battered and broken sledge that has been at the heart of one family’s Christmases for a remarkable eight decades. And bookbinder Chris Shaw breathes new life back into a torn and tattered carol book that has played a central role in a much-celebrated yuletide cultural tradition in Sheffield.
What are you most excited to watch on the TV this Christmas? Let me know your picks by email: [email protected].