Steve Fletcher was seen grappling with a daunting old shop till (Image: BBC)
star Steve Fletcher admitted he was in over his head on Wednesday’s episode of the One show (March 5). The clockwork expert and brother of the show’s leather expert Suzie Fletcher was tasked with repairing an old till from the late ’60s from a shop in Coventry that catered to the Asian community. But after Jas, the son of the shop owners, admitted he couldn’t find the key to the till, Steve was left with a huge problem and worried he wouldn’t be able to open it.
He initially attempted to use one of the seemingly hundreds of keys he had in the shop as he painstakingly attempted to open the till. As he pondered what other options he could take without damaging the till, he told viewers at home: “I’ve got no diagram, I’ve never done a till like this before. I don’t know what to do.
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Steve struggled to get into the till (Image: BBC)
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“My biggest problem is that I need to work out a way of getting into it without causing too much damage.”
He then attempted to pry his way in, saying: “I’m just hoping to force my way into it. I really don’t like being beaten by anything.”
But he carefully managed to pry his way into the till. He was especially happy after opening the cash drawer and came all the way out, avoiding any further issues. The final result was staggering, with show guest Jas breaking down in tears in astonishment.
Elsewhere in the episode, the team revived a dilapidated carved village sign that has stood pride of place in Broome, Norfolk, since the turn of the millennium, along with a handmade organ crafted in Basra during World War I.
The final repair was a pair of old red fabric movie theatre chairs brought in my two sisters hoping to preserve their parent’s legacy from their own movie theatre.
Steve carefully managed to pry his way into the till (Image: BBC)
One fan commented on the amazing repairs on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “Worst condition of items I think I’ve seen in an episode!! Great work”
When handyman Steve is not transforming items on The Repair Shop, he can be found in Witney, Oxfordshire, where he owns a family-run clock workshop.
The business was founded in 1910 by Steve’s grandfather Fred, who later handed the reins to Steve’s father John. Both Fred and John have since passed away, with Steve now running the shop and continuing over 100 years of family craftsmanship.
The TV star has passed his love of horology down to his son Fred, who joined the workshop as an apprentice clockmaker in 2020 after attending a college for science and engineering.