During the most recent episode of on experts Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch were left amazed by a puppet brought in by Jill Purves and her daughter Vickie.
The puppet in question was Bulbous the Elephant, which Jill had acquired at a puppet auction. According to Jill, Bulbous had previously appeared in a programme alongside the beloved character Muffin the Mule, a star of the first British TV series for children in the 1940s, reports
Julie was thrilled, stating: “I’m a little starstruck!”, while Vickie added: “It’s quite a famous character.” Amanda referred to the puppet as a “celebrity”.
The experts were eager to learn more about the puppet and Jill revealed that she and her husband, both seasoned puppeteers, had been performing for decades. The puppet was intended to be part of their toy theatre’s museum, but it had suffered smoke damage in a fire.
BBC The Repair Shop experts left ‘starstruck’ as they meet iconic BBC character (Image: BBC)
Vickie expressed her concern: “He’s in a bit of a sorry state, the poor thing. It’s quite a rare puppet, a very special puppet to us because you get so attached.”
Julie asked how they wanted their help, and Jill requested that they clean the material, repair the trunk, and properly string the puppet. The two presenters were in for a startling discovery as they began renovating the renowned puppet.
As they opened up the character, an unexpected layer of material was revealed. Julie announced: “I’m pretty sure, this is the original Bulbous under here.”
The duo were keen for the experts to fix their puppet (Image: BBC)
It became clear that there had been a previous repair attempt covered by additional lining, which Julie suspected to be the cause of the extra material.
When Jill and Vickie saw the restored puppet, their reaction was of complete astonishment, with Jill exclaiming: “Oh wow! What a difference, he’s much fresher! You’ve done the trunk, look at the trunk Victoria. You’ve done a lovely job, you really have.”
But the surprises didn’t stop there; the team informed the mother-daughter duo about the hidden covering found within the puppet, essentially presenting them with two versions of Bulbous.
The original puppet was hidden underneath an extra layer of material (Image: BBC)
Overcome with gratitude, Jill and Vickie expressed their awe: “You’ve done such beautiful work, both of you have.”
Currently ,The Repair Shop are on tour with a brand-new live stage show, The Repair Shop Live: Secrets from The Barn
The Repair Shop is available to watch on iPlayer.