The Repair Shop guest breaks down in tears recounting harrowing moment his dad was gunned down - leaving expert too stunned to speak

Daily Mail​

10-07-2025

A guest on The Repair Shop broke down in tears recounting the harrowing moment his dad was gunned down - leaving the expert too stunned to speak.
The resurfaced episode of the BBC programme saw the craft and artisan experts get to work to repair more guests' cherished heirlooms.
One of them, a man named Iain McPherson, met with silversmith Brenton West in hopes his prized possession could be overhauled.
The instalment, originally released in 2022, saw him bring in a bookend, with a statue of an Special Air Service (SAS) soldier on it.
His father, who served in the special forces unit of the British Army, was given the keepsake for its 50th anniversary in 1991.
Iain explained his father left him the figurine when he passed away in 2002 - but it had unfortunately sustained extensive damage over the years.
The resin model had its head accidentally knocked off when the father and son had once been doing a spot of decorating.
Several other sections had also chipped off, with Iain luckily keeping most of the detached pieces, which could be used in the repair work.
The man told expert Brenton more about his father - and his horrifying near-death experience: 'He joined the army as soon as he could in the Second World War.
'Then, he joined the SAS when it was formed [in 1941]. The special forces, they do a lot of fighting behind enemy lines.'
Referring to the Nazi occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1944, he continued: 'In my dad's case, he was over in Greece quite a lot.
'He tried to liberate the Greeks and while he was there, he got wounded.'
Severely injured, his father was on the verge of death - before, in a moment of astonishing luck, Greek resistance groups found and saved him.
He was quickly losing blood - so the soldiers had to take decisive action, Iain said: 'He had three bullets in his leg and they actually cut his leg off on a kitchen table.'
Expert Brenton was left completely shocked by this, replying incredulously: 'They cut his leg off?'
He could only listen on in stunned silence as Iain said despite how harrowing the moment was, his 'very modest', highly decorated father never spoke about it.
Brenton responded: 'You find that with true heroes. They don't often talk about it.'
Iain was touched by this and quickly became overcome: 'Everybody said he was a great guy which is why this means a lot. I'm getting upset.'
Aware of the importance of the item to the guest, Brenton got to work bringing it back to its former glory.
And when he unveiled the final result to Iain later in the episode, the guest was totally shocked: 'Woah.'
Iain soon broke into an enormous grin, saying the figurine was 'back to his old self' - before breaking down again, wiping away tears with a handkerchief.
'I don't think I could ask for better', he said, adding: 'You've fair done me proud and my dad too.'
'I don't think I could ask for better', he said, adding: 'You've fair done me proud and my dad too'
It comes after another guest on The Repair Shop was similarly left 'speechless and blown away' - resulting in a very dramatic turn, in a BBC first.
The Repair Shop On The Road, a spin-off from the original beloved heirloom restoration show, returned to our screens for new episodes last month.
The BBC series, which began in January, sees the experts leave the workshop to tour the UK, using their skills to keep people's sentimental items in mint condition.
Presenters and experts Dominic Chinea and Will Kirk were joined by painting specialist Lucia Scalisi in Glasgow for one particular instalment.
They met with Kaming, a member of the Scottish city's Hakka Chinese community, who wanted help to restore a Chinese unicorn head to its former glory.
The mask, made from fragile bamboo and paper, is used to perform a traditional dance at celebrations like Chinese New Year or weddings.
But around 25 years of heavy use had left it looking worse for wear, with the horn in particular needing urgent attention.
Kaming explained that to his knowledge, he is the last person in the community who knows how to perform the dance and wants to teach it to generations to come.
This made it especially important to get the mask restoration right - so the important cultural tradition it is associated with is not lost forever.
Lucia did not let him down, using her specialist skills to bring the mask back to life.
Just before unveiling it, she asked: 'Are you looking forward to seeing it?'
Kaming could not wait - and when she removed the cloth covering it, he was astonished at what he saw.
Gasping and covering his mouth in shock, he said: 'Just speechless! Speechless. It's amazing.
'It's a very big difference especially the actual front here. Looking shiny.'
The expert was delighted at his reaction - and expressed her own love for the object too: 'Everything about it is exquisitely beautiful. The symbolism on it is incredible.
'And I think that it will do a very good job for your community centre for years to come. And now I think it's your turn to keep your side of the deal!'
The mask (pictured), made from fragile bamboo and paper, is used to perform a traditional dance at celebrations like Chinese New Year or weddings
It was then a new BBC first occurred as the show quite literally took a dramatic turn.
It came as The Repair Shop saw its first ever dance routine performed on-screen in the show's eight-year history.
Lucia was invited to the Hakka Chinese community centre to watch Kaming perform with the newly restored mask.
She exclaimed: 'I actually don't know what to say, I am truly blown away to have that lovely unicorn do the unicorn dance.
'It was energetic, it was very powerful. It was wonderful!
The guest offered her some final words of thanks to close the episode: 'It means a lot to the Chinese community to have it fixed because it represents a whole lot to them.'
The Repair Shop is available to watch and to stream on BBC One and iPlayer.