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Here at The Repair Shop, we take amazing objects from the past...

Oh, wow, look at that! ..and bring them back to life.

This is so much history that could've been lost there.

You've got to have a love to do this type of work.

It is absolutely a passion. Beautiful.

But these things aren't just precious to the people

we fix them for. Wow!

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Don't want to cry, but, oh, my God!

Heck of a history, isn't it?

They also tell a bigger story about Britain.

These went out of service in 1938.

Aha!

It's from my family business, which started in 1862.

Our history back then...

They're just about the most modern designed bikes

that I've seen for ages. They look extremely sporting.

..and who we are now.

Yes!

I'm Jay Blades.

Roll up, roll up, here we go.

In this series, we're going to look back at how we fixed...

I've no idea where to start on this.

..some of our favourite items in the barn.

CHEERING

L-l-look! Did you see that?

You've literally just unlocked the secret.

Now, that's a story.

..shapes the way we live now.

I can feel the memories she feels from it.

The story that is behind this is what's kept it alive.

Whenever we have toys in The Repair Shop,

we just can't resist having a go.

CHEERING

There's still a big kid in all of us, full of wonder and affection

for these nostalgic objects,

sparking memories of our own childhoods.

Choo-choo! Choo-choo!

Over the years, toys have changed, and changed us.

What was once the preserve of the wealthiest has become easily

available to everyone.

It does your heart good to see kiddies surrounded by

pre-War quality toys again.

So today we're going to look back at three classic toys that give us

a glimpse of what childhood was like in the past and how

it's been transformed.

Oh, look at that!

Nowadays, we're more used to playing with plastic, but before mass

production, early toys were crafted from wood by skilled artisans.

So it's lucky we've got one of our own - furniture restorer, Will.

He's going to be helping Julie Yates from Leicestershire,

Hello.

I'm Will. Pleased to meet you, I'm Julie. Nice to meet you, Julie. Hi.

I presume this is yours. This is mine, yeah. Lovely little horse.

My parents bought it for me from a store in Exeter

when I was two. Hadn't used to look like this.

It was dappled grey. Yeah.

I played on it an awful lot.

I used to have my friends round to play.

We played on it very, very hard.

I know it fell over a few times.

Just lovely. A lovely item to have.

When I left home, the rocking horse came with

my husband Paul and myself.

Children came along, two boys.

They remember it.

And obviously it was pretty old by then, it was looking tired, and

Paul and myself decided to restore it in the late '80s. OK.

And we didn't do a very good job.

And the second son has never liked it.

He's just found it scary.

Scary, right, I see the eyes. Because of the eyes.

He's been stored in the loft for a while.

Once their children had left home and started families of their own,

Julie and Paul made plans to have another go at renovating

the rocking horse.

But before they could begin, the family received

some shocking news.

Up until last year, we didn't even know that Paul was ill,

and on Boxing Day just gone,

we found out that he'd got terminal cancer.

So he knew he wouldn't be able to restore it,

which he was hoping to do for the grandchildren that are on the way.

You know, they say people are looking down, he'll be happy

What would you like me to do with the horse?

I'm happy for you to do it however you can.

I'd love it to be how it was, but it...it doesn't matter.

It was dappled. It was, you know, it had got dappling here. Yeah.

I remember these stirrups were red.

But we did a decent job of the saddle. We thought we did.

they'll find his name under there.

So if you do find Paul's name under there,

if the pen has stayed,

if that could be left on. Of course.

Just testing my memory, but I think his name's going to be under there.

It's in safe hands. Good.

And it'll be a real pleasure to work on.

Thanks for coming down. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Cheers, bye-bye. Thank you. Bye-bye.

I know he's in good hands and I know he's going to look a lot better

than when Paul and I restored him a long, long time ago.

I'm hoping that the little grandkids are going to love it as much

as I did when I was little.

I should know, as we were lucky enough to have one as kids.

There's me on the right.

The first examples date back to the 17th century,

but their popularity increased in 1851, thanks to Queen Victoria.

On a visit to Liverpool with her children, she chose

a dappled grey mare from manufacturer Collinson, starting

a royal tradition.

Ornate rocking horses were handcrafted and expensive,

only an option for the richest families.

So the pressure is on for Will to take extra special care of Julie's.

It needs a lot of work.

I mean, looking at the paintwork, it's all peeling off.

The plasterwork underneath is peeling off.

The wood on the inside might be...separating from each other.

I just won't know until I kind of get the mane off, get this

Riding to Will's rescue is Suzie Fletcher,

expert in everything equestrian and a master saddler.

Suzie's been riding horses like Jester here for over 50 years,

but this is a little different from the ones she's used to.

Hey, hey.

Oh, my word, what have you got there?

Oh! This is a heavy, heavy horse.

OK. It would be really nice if you could assess the leather work

and see if something needs to be replaced.

it all off to find the signature underneath... Yeah.

..how about if I made a saddle that could be removed so the family

can always look at...?

That is an amazing idea. You know where I'm going with this idea?

Are you able to do that? Of course you are. Yes.

I'll leave him with you. OK.

Brilliant. Thank you. Thank you, Will.

signature lies beneath.

I really, really hope it's here.

I, too, lost my husband to cancer.

It seems so insignificant, someone's name,

that they wrote.

It's so personal.

I'm really pleased for Julie that it's here.

Really pleased for the children.

Thankfully, Suzie's brother Steve is on hand to lend

some emotional support.

Oh, I didn't think that would happen!

So this is going to be...

..a very emotional job to do.

But incredibly worthwhile.

I'm going to get on with this now.

outside to begin the enormous task of restoring the woodwork.

So what I'm doing now is I'm using a two-part filler to fill in the

larger areas of missing plaster.

Filling and sanding stabilises the horse's structure while giving a

smooth surface ready for the next stage.

I'm just brushing on some, some white primer now.

It'll sort of work as a nice, white, clean background to work on.

It'll get rid of any sort of imperfections

Inside, Suzie's working on some detail of her own.

So the family can see Paul's signature, she's decided to make

an entirely new saddle, and I can't wait to get involved.

I thought I would make it a little bit blingy.

OK. I like the sound of that.

This is the flap of the saddle. All right, how do you put that on?

So you have these sheets of gold foil.

And this is the tool that you use for the job. Oh, is it?

Suzie heats the embossing roller, so when pressure is applied,

the gold will transfer on to the lever.

Oh! There we go.

See? Now, that is nice.

And this won't rub off or nothing, no? No, no.

If you got the temperature right, then you actually push

it in the leather a little bit.

Outside, Will has given the horse back its dappled coat,

using a traditional pattern.

I'm now using some shellac polish to seal the paintwork in.

It's also giving it a lovely sort of antique glow,

not just the protection.

It wasn't until the industrialisation of Britain

in the late 19th century that toys, like many other items,

started to be mass-produced.

In spite of what you might think, producing toy cars isn't child's

play - it's a highly organised operation.

Some of the die-casting machines can produce about 7,000 sets a day.

It was no longer only the wealthy who could afford such luxuries.

Seen as a status symbol,

rocking horses were made in huge numbers

for the newly-created middle classes.

Here's a rocking horse that's more than just a toy,

for, with its realistic action, a youngster can learn

the rudiments of horsemanship.

Still cherished today,

rocking horses of all shapes and sizes are more affordable

than ever, but the finest handcrafted examples will still set

you back thousands of pounds.

Back inside the barn,

Julie's horse has almost passed the finishing post.

It's over to Suzie to saddle him up for the final furlong.

Oh, my word, Will!

Think that's how it goes.

Look at him!

Isn't he fantastic? Isn't he handsome?

Thank you very much for your help. All right, Will, thank you.

It's been a labour of love to bring Julie's childhood rocking horse back

to life, just as she and her late husband Paul had intended.

I am really, really nervous.

No idea how it's going to look.

Hi, Julie. Hello. Hi.

Julie, this is Suzie.

I cannot wait to see this rocking horse.

I'm really nervous. I didn't think I would be.

I am so, so excited.

Are you ready? Let's have a look. OK. One, two, three.

Oh, gosh!

Oh, my goodness me!

It... That's mine! It's yours.

Oh...!

I don't get emotional, so I won't.

SHE CLEARS THROAT

Oh, my word!

Oh, you've worked so hard.

Oh...

Oh, if my husband was here, he'd shake your hands.

Beautiful. I'm...

Well, there is something I'd like to show you,

if you come around here.

The saddle comes off?

Oh.

I don't know whether I can look.

It's all right, lovey.

Oh, bless him!

SHE SNIFFLES AND EXCLAIMS

WORDS MUFFLED

Thank you.

Oh, yeah, he'd be so proud. I'm so proud.

He'd be proud of what you've done.

I am just bowled over by it.

Absolutely fantastic.

I can't tell you how pleased I am to see that rocking horse.

It's just wonderful. I just wish Paul could be here to see it.

Rediscovering our childhood toys can unlock treasured memories.

Having spent so much time together, they can feel

like long-lost companions.

Julie and Amanda are experts on the subject, as they've gone

through tonnes of stuffing and miles of thread restoring cuddly toys

for their owners.

Janet from Winchester, along with husband John, have a very important

piece of her childhood for them to repair.

So, what do we have here?

A bear. Oh! But he doesn't really look like a bear! OK. I'm intrigued.

Oh, my! Look!

Quite big.

Shall we open everything? Yeah. Here he comes.

So, we can see that Wheelie Ted has in fact been covered beautifully.

Really good job.

Do you know who covered him?

It was an old coat, and she decided he'd got in need

of covering up, really.

But I remember wearing that coat as a dressing gown.

Really? Yes.

Do you remember him without this covering on?

Well, it must be, like, 65 years ago.

It's a very long time ago.

I know he was getting very threadbare on the back.

I think his face might have had some damage as well.

So, how did you come to have Wheelie Ted?

My father worked for a lady, and I think that she gave him to him

for me, because I was borderline cerebral palsy. OK.

I couldn't walk, and I think she thought it might help

because he was sturdy and he would keep me upright.

He was actually the person that helped you to walk?

I'm sure he had a great benefit cos, you know, he's big,

so you'd have to walk with him.

You couldn't sit on the floor and play.

I mean, there weren't things

like walkers and all the things that you get nowadays.

Wheelie Ted was sort of a companion.

I mean, I was a bit isolated. He was your friend.

Yes, my friend.

And now he needs a bit of TLC.

So that's his original eyes, tied on a string, which is very clever.

And he's got a lovely growl.

I think that's my favourite.

I was going to say, I'm actually very excited.

Itching, aren't you? Yeah. Can you tell?

Yeah. Go on, go for it. I'll hold on.

PARP!

BOTH: Oh!

I've always loved his growl.

Just amazing. Why have you brought him to us?

What would you like us to do?

Well, I'd love him to look like a bear again.

He should be a teddy bear.

He doesn't look like a teddy bear, does he?

John, what are your thoughts on him?

How do you feel about this?

Well, he's been in quarantine for about 30 or 40 years,

and we'd would love to see him as part of the family again.

Yes, he's part of my childhood.

I've always had a very soft spot for him.

I'm not surprised. I think he's got a lot of secrets under here.

It's going to be an absolute honour to do that for you.

Oh, that's good.

He was a great friend when I was little.

a teddy bear again and...renew an old friendship.

Julie and Amanda are excited to see what Wheelie Ted looks

like under his cover.

Oh, that's not a bad start, is it?

Removing it will reveal his condition, but could also

confirm a suspicion Amanda has had about Wheelie Ted's origin.

I've got a really, really good feeling that we might be looking

at an early Steiff bear on wheels.

Yeah, that's where I was going.

He's got the shape, he's got the wheels. Underneath his feet,

there's another layer of felt, look, here, and it's red. Yes.

And that is a definite Steiff trait. To my mind, definitely Steiff.

Yeah. Definitely.

Steiff was one of the first companies in the world to

commercially produce stuffed toys.

Now famous for their collectable animals,

the German company was founded in 1880 by Margarete Steiff.

Margarete was born in 1847, and despite becoming partially

paralysed as a child, trained as a seamstress.

She began to sew elephants made from felt and quickly

realised their potential.

Within six years, she had sold over 5,000 elephants and soon

had a factory and shop manufacturing stuffed animals

of all shapes and sizes.

In 1895, Harrods became Steiff's first overseas account -

their stuffed toys sold to London's upper-class boys and girls.

Janet's Wheelie Ted has been through a lot since he rolled off

the shop floor.

It's up to the bear ladies to bring him back to his best.

Oh, look!

Well, that's not so bad.

She says confidently.

He hasn't got any ears.

No.

We've got his eyes.

There's his original nose and a bit of his original mouth.

Fantastic. But this, obviously, we need to take it off and see what's

going on under this muzzle.

Do that first? I think so.

Can you hold him up so that there's nothing...so you can support him

for me? How's that? Yeah, and I can see what I'm doing and I won't snip

We've got to get to that main wound.

I feel like a doctor's assistant. Do you? Hm.

SHE LAUGHS

It does feel a little bit medical, doesn't it... Yeah.

..when we do this, but I suppose we are doctors of a sort.

Teddy bear doctors. Well, yes.

I'm liking what I see. Yeah, so am I.

Wheelie Ted's nose has been pushed flat,

so Julie pulls his muzzle out, back into his original bear shape.

There it goes.

That's where it should be.

So, now looking for this shape.

There you go. I don't want to pull it too hard,

but if you can see there,

and this is the piece we have to replace around this side.

Before that, a pampering, clean and shampoo is long overdue.

I can just see all the years of dust settled on Wheelie Ted,

all just puffing off and collecting on my table down here.

I'm going to start now giving him a really good surface wash.

I've got my solution here, really gentle wool soap.

And I froth it up like this and

I'm just going to use the bubbles on the top.

Most vintage items that are made of mohair

are surface-cleaned like this.

Underneath there we've got wood wool that's over 100 years old.

If we get damp into it, it doesn't dry that well, could start

to smell and he would start to look stained and horrible.

We always love going the extra mile in The Repair Shop,

and Julie has got plans for the coat Wheelie Ted came in with.

We have washed it.

It's come up beautifully.

We just feel, to discard this as if it had no emotional use...

..it just wouldn't be right,

so we are going to make it into something,

so that it can carry on.

All clean and dry, Amanda can begin to make Wheelie Ted's new ears.

This is literally all that's left of his two ears, and gives us

a little bit of a clue as to what they would have looked like.

So, what I'm going to do is, I'm going to pin this piece

onto my graph paper and then we will transfer our pattern onto the fabric

that we've chosen to match him.

I love working on the features of a bear, face especially,

but all the things that give it its character, I suppose,

And when it comes to finishing touches, once again Suzie

can be relied upon to create something special.

We think that he possibly had a nice collar when he was brand-new

and when he came out of the factory. OK. Yeah.

Would you be able to make us one? Yeah.

Just as a little finishing touch for her. Absolutely.

I've got this colour brown.

Oh, yeah, that would be perfect. Or a lighter one?

Is this nice?

I think that would be lovely. Yeah.

So, have you got a teddy bear?

I actually don't have a teddy bear.

Did you ever have a teddy bear? I'm bearless.

I remember having one, but I think it was Steve's teddy bear,

and he was golden. That's interesting.

So, what happened to him? I think Steve threw him away. Oh!

Hi, Steve! I've never thrown a teddy bear!

You absolutely did. When was that?

He was up in the attic. Oh! It was a golden teddy bear.

No, no, the moths had had it.

I didn't get to say goodbye.

And it was your teddy bear as well.

I can assure you, I didn't have a teddy.

Hmm. We'll have to have a family meeting about this. Photo albums,

they're often a good place to start looking.

# If you go down in the woods today... #

Teddy bears are perhaps the most popular toy in the world.

Most of us - well, except Steve - have probably had one.

And they're not just a childhood staple, but a cultural phenomenon.

But how did they get their name?

Well, that was the brainwave of New York shop-owner Morris Michtom.

Morris's inspiration came from a cartoon published in 1902

of President Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a trapped bear.

Morris made a small stuffed bear, which he sent to the president,

and was given permission to use Roosevelt's nickname "Teddy"

to market the new toy.

Now the mouth can be stitched on, and they say that the expression

he gets - happy, coy, romantic or cheeky - depends on the mood

of the girl who's doing the stitching.

# Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic. #

So, I think he's always going to have one ear slightly higher

than the other, but I think he is slightly stretched and slightly

out of shape. I mean, I think he looks adorable. It looks like that's

where they're meant to be. Yeah.

This face was all bandaged up, but we've been able to repair that,

bring his snout back out.

And while we were doing that, inside his face, Steiff had kindly

left us some really long threads.

So I've got original thread here that I can actually

make his mouth with, and I don't have to worry about matching colours

and things like that,

so it's really nice that's going to be original.

Always like doing this bit, putting the eyes in.

Always looks a little bit worrying.

You've got to get it in the right position, underneath his chin.

How we doing? Yeah, nearly there, Jay, nearly there.

So, like in upholstery, we would pull it

so it creates kind of an indentation. Absolutely.

So you do the same, yeah?

But what I'm going to do, I'm going to do it by knotting it.

OK, let go.

Gone. And it won't come through there, will it?

No, no, not now. There's no tension on those threads.

OK. The tension is, you know, behind the eye.

Aw, look at that.

See, now, that, he comes to life! Aw!

That's beautiful. It's remarkable, isn't it? Unbelievably cute.

Nice one, Suzie. It does look nice.

Finishing touch.

He looks amazing! The business, eh?

It's been years since Janet saw her lifelong friend

without his coat, and we're all excited to see them reunited.

Hello. Hello.

Lovely to see you again.

Quite exciting to see what he looks like.

I haven't seen him... It must be 60 years or more. Yes.

It's going to be quite a surprise.

It is. Shall we let her see it?

Yeah. OK.

What a transformation! Yes, it is. It's really impressive.

Don't you look good, Wheelie Ted?

What do you think about it?

I expect he's very pleased to have been evacuated from his...

..from his cover. He can breathe again.

Yes.

Well, it was an old artificial lamb coat that my mother used to wear.

I used to wear it like a dressing gown.

But we did actually think you probably would want it back,

because we don't like to throw anything away, so we will give

it back to you. Amanda, do you want to get it? Yeah.

Well, I don't think that was the whole of the coat, to be...

Oh, goodness!

Oh! Aw!

Isn't that beautiful?!

Thank you very much. You're welcome.

Thank you, both of you. Oh, you look like a bear again.

That's what's really exciting.

That's lovely.

I think he's beautiful.

Thank you. Thank you as well.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'll bring Wheelie Ted out for you. Please. Thank you.

It means so much to me.

I had a feeling I might cry.

I mean, it's so, so...

..emotional, really.

After so long,

now he's repaired.

And he looks like a bear again!

And he's got a friend.

It's even better.

Like teddies, some toys bring us comfort,

and others are made to excite.

And one of the best presents any kid can get is a bike.

Nothing can beat that sense of speed and freedom.

Brothers Andy and Glenn Turner from Chesterfield have got a 1970s

icon in desperate need of restoration.

For metal expert Dom and myself,

it's like Christmas come early.

Look at that! Before you guys even tell me about this,

I know what this is.

Yeah. I've always wanted one of these. This is a Chopper.

Is this yours? Yeah, this was ours.

Yeah, we had this as a shared Christmas present back in...

Was it 1975? Hold on, the shared Christmas present? Yeah.

Only got one between us. You got one between you?

Yeah. That's how it was in them days.

We would never have asked for a Chopper.

It were completely out of the question.

So we never thought we'd ever see one, let alone own one.

That must have been some Christmas.

Oh! Probably best one ever.

We shared a bed, like most kids did back in them days,

and we got my dad's old coat over the top of us.

And Christmas morning, me being youngest and probably most excited,

I woke up first.

And I'm looking at bottom of the bed and there's this bright red

Raleigh Chopper at the bottom of the bed.

So I'm shaking our Andy like this, "Wake up! Wake up!"

And then we were up, dressed, out!

How on Earth did you decide who got to go first?

He were bigger than me!

He hadn't got an option. So you were pushing him?

The argument never lasted long.

You said you would never dare ask for one.

No. What do you think made your parents get it?

Well, we didn't know this as kids,

when we first got this, but my mum were going out, calling a bit of

bingo to earn some extra money.

Wow! My dad were a postman. Right.

But also, when he'd finished his post shift,

he used to mend televisions.

And they were doing it so we could have a Chopper.

This was expensive back in the day, I remember. Oh, aye!

What they went through to get that for us is like...

So, what would you like us to do to it? I'd like another go on it.

I'd love another ride on that.

One more ride would be out of this world! It would.

So, Dom, what do you reckon?

I think we've got our work cut out, don't you? It's a lot of work. Yeah.

Tell you what, Dom, you can have a go on that if you fix it up.

Yeah? Deal!

Thank you for bringing it in. Yeah, thank you. Thank you.

Lovely to meet you. Cheers, Dom. Lovely to meet you.

Take care. See you. See you later.

It holds a lot of memories for me and our Andy, that Chopper does.

We had some good times on that.

I'd love it to come back looking something like it did back

in Christmas '75. To be on a Chopper again, at my age, eh?

THEY LAUGH

They've got their work cut out.

This is the bike.

It's brilliant, isn't it? It is.

My biggest concern, first impressions, is the chrome.

That needs to be stripped off completely back and then replated.

And there's a lot of it.

The only way to restore this and do this properly is to just take

it completely apart. All of it? Every nut and bolt is going to

have to come, because you don't know what you're going to find

underneath. Whoa! I know, it's a job.

Well, I'm going to give you a hand with the seat.

Yeah, that'd be really helpful. Let's go, get started. Yes.

Oh! Ready?

Now a cultural icon, the Chopper was released in 1969.

Its good looks captured our imagination and we all wanted one.

They remind me of those American dragster racing bikes.

They look extremely sporting.

But bikes aren't just toys.

At the turn of the 20th century, cycling had a huge social impact,

bringing personal transportation to the masses.

Raleigh Bikes, maker of the Chopper, was one of Britain's

great industrial success stories.

From its beginnings in 1885 on Raleigh Street in Nottingham,

it became at one time the biggest bicycle manufacturer in the world.

This is the great factory where over 80% of British cycles are made.

How you doing, Tim? Hey, Tim. Wow! It's a Chopper!

It is a Chopper. Once you've got all of the bits off that need

Tim, is this not the most awesome bike?

Oh, it's amazing. We'll have to take the whole thing apart to get

the chrome parts off.

Yeah, we can evaluate it as we go along. Cool. Shall we get stuck in?

Yeah, let's go for it. Let's do it. All right.

# I'm in pieces, bits and pieces

# Since you left me and you said goodbye

# I'm in pieces, bits and pieces... #

Tim, how you getting on down that end? A little bit of

chrome work left under there. That's about it.

Yeah, OK.

There you go. Oh!

This is not quite as straightforward as I first thought.

Go on, Tim!

TIM GROANS, DOM LAUGHS

Here we go.

Oh, my...

Jay. How's my dream team doing, eh?

Very good. All right. You got it all apart, though!

Apart from this. Well done. That's the last rim.

OK. That's the last bit. Spokes out. Still got piles of stuff broken,

stuff to be worked on, stuff to be cleaned, stuff to be painted. Yep.

Wow! But that is everything ready to be chromed.

And you've got the seat off for me. Yes. Yes.

I'll get on with this and get those chromed off for you.

By the time they're back, hopefully, we'll have all of this in

a better place. OK. All right. You all right with all that?

Yeah, I'll be all right. Cheers, lads. See you later.

Take care. Whew! Cheers.

Often, repairs can take a few days.

There's still plenty to do before Andy and Glenn's Chopper

can get back on the road.

It's a great responsibility to get this looking just right.

Dom has stripped back the frame, ready to respray.

This paint has been colour matched.

So that is the absolutely accurate replica of the original paint.

And I can get cracking on the seat.

What I have to do is take off all of this vinyl and then replace it.

Ah, right. That's off now.

What this is going to do is just fill that side, because

there's a bit of a void there, but it's nothing really major,

but just cushion it a bit,

so when I wrap over the fabric, it'll be nice and soft again.

It's not just the seat we want to last - the rest of the bike

needs to be as good as new, too.

Jay, what's this? Ho, ho, ho.

Look at this. Woo! The chrome's back!

Not only is the chrome back, look at that chrome.

Yes! They've done us proud.

Just me and Tim, put this back together, no problem. And that's it?

Yeah, yeah. I'll leave you to it. Fantastic.

All right. Thank you so much.

So, the next stage now is to lace up the wheels.

I have salvaged the original spokes.

These spokes were made in Nottingham in 1975, in the Raleigh factory,

so it's nice to be able to put them back in again.

So now we've got all the spokes in the hub, basically we've got to

put the whole lot together in the wheel-building jig.

This is so much more than just some vinyl letters.

This is the name. This is the logo.

This is the thing that makes this thing a Chopper.

If I get these stickers in slightly the wrong place,

it will really stand out like a sore thumb.

Phwoar! I'm glad that job's done.

Perfect. I honestly couldn't be happier.

That looks really, really good.

Tim looks like he's doing really well with the wheels over there.

You OK? Yeah, good.

Well, that's the front wheel built now.

I've just got the rear one to do, tyres on it and then get them

on the bike.

The Chopper's good looks were heavily influenced by American

Chopper motorcycles in California.

The Mark 1 was an instant hit, and the Mark 2 went on

sale in 1972 for £81.95 -

over £1,000 today.

It would have been a massive investment for pestered parents

up and down the country, and many, like Andy and Glenn's,

would have had to have saved or buy on credit.

Thanks to the car,

cycling had been in decline since the 1950s.

It was the must-have toy of the '70s,

and it's as cool today as it was back then.

I really hope Andy and Glenn are happy when they're reunited with it.

Oh, man. There you go. That's on.

Now, that looks a bit more like a Chopper, doesn't it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's come together really, really well,

considering what it was like. Yeah.

I think... I think Glenn and Andy are going to be over the moon.

Oh, they're going to be blown away. Yeah.

When Glenn and Andy wheeled the Chopper into The Repair Shop,

it was a pile of rusty parts.

Now they're back, hoping to recreate the magic

of Christmas morning, 1975.

It feels like Christmas Eve again,

but, obviously, 1975 Christmas Eve, we had no idea

we were about to see a Raleigh Chopper.

I'm just as excited and nervous now, and I'm a bit older than 11!

Hiya.

LAUGHTER DROWNS SPEECH

Good to see you again.

Even just seeing it wrapped up,

that takes my breath away a bit, that does, Dom.

It's bringing back memories. Yeah,

yeah. Think I might be getting bits of sawdust in this eye here.

LAUGHTER

Just rip it off.

That's fantastic!

That is absolutely unbelievable.

It is, it's brand-new!

That is unbelievable.

I can't... God, that's even better

than I remember it. Really? Yeah.

It's fantastic, I can't believe it's the same bike.

I don't want to touch it. Take you back? Yeah.

Oh, gosh. Kind of leaves one thing. Shall we take it for a ride?

Yeah, yeah! Go on, it's yours.

I want to make sure it works all right before we leave here.

LAUGHTER

Right. Never had one of these in 1970.

Here we go. Oops.

Let me get pedalling.

Oh, ah! It suits him, doesn't it?

Brilliant. Absolutely out of this world... Unbelievable. ..to see that

Chopper, in that condition, compared to how we dropped it off.

Wow!

Oh, ah. Oh, look.

LAUGHTER

I haven't smiled so much for years.

I'm 11 again!

That's 44 years old, that bike.

Come on, then. Can I? Yeah! Are you sure? Yeah, go on. Brilliant.

Got to see this.

LAUGHTER

You're just hoping he tumbles off, aren't you?

Come on, Dom.

Right. Here we go.

CHEERING

Brilliant. Come back!

He's got our Chopper!

I think he wants one of those now, doesn't he? Whee!

It makes everybody smile, doesn't it?

It's brilliant.

That is absolutely brilliant.

It's all yours. I'm going to have to say goodbye. Don't want to let it go! Unbelievable.

Now it's all ours again. Bye!

LAUGHTER

We're privileged to be part of people's childhood memories...

Oh, my goodness! Isn't he wonderful?

..and fulfil some of our own dreams in the process.

I've always wanted one of these.

Come back!

He's got our Chopper!

It's why we all love working at the barn.

Oh, gosh!

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