The Repair Shop fans have taken to social media to discuss Wednesday night’s episode, which involved a repair that many viewers have described as “creepy”, as well as the glaring absence of the series’ presenter, Jay Blades, who recently appeared in court after being charged with coercive behaviour.
Jay, who had already filmed the latest series of the show ahead of the charges, has been edited out to the show, and viewers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to discuss. One person wrote: “Watching #TheRepairShop. The BBC is getting very good at removing talent under proceedings from shows like they never were there in the first place. Probably sensible going forward.”
Another person added: “Once again @BBCOne proving that a single star #Jay is not required when you have a program team full of knowledge, experience, enthusiasm and empathy for each project #TheRepairShop @TheRepairShop.”
A third person pointed out: “The Repair Shop should continue without Jay Blades. The show is bigger than any one individual. The format is what makes the show popular with viewers, and makes it into a ratings winner, not Mr Blades.”
Meanwhile, fans were somewhat creeped out by one of the repairs in the latest episode, where experts Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch had their work cut out for them after being tasked with fixing an old doll named Annabelle. The head had become detached from the doll’s body, and was a little spooky to begin with!
One person posted: “Creepy doll,” with a ghost emoji, while another person added: “That headless doll is creepy,” while a third added: “She needs to be renting that doll out to horror film sets. #TheRepairShop.”
© GettyHowever, Julie and Amanda did an incredible job with repairing Annabelle, and her owner was thrilled, saying: “Oh my word! That’s amazing. Oh she’s beautiful. And she’s got hair like she used to, and you made a dress! She’s properly cleaned up. Both of you have done such an amazing job, thank you so much. I just want to hug her! It’s like Auntie Eileen back again. I can imagine Auntie Eileen as a child playing with her.”
She added: “I could never have imagined that she could look like this again. I’m so impressed. She can be watching over us like she watched over the children in the past and be a part of our lives again, the way Auntie Eileen was a part of ours.”
