The Repair Shop viewers were left on the edge of their seats as expert Chris Shaw was forced to change his plans to avoid a disaster during the BBC show

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The Repair Shop’s expert Chris Shaw narrowly avoided a significant mishap during the latest episode of the popular BBC programme.

On Wednesday night (February 12), viewers met two sisters, Amy Bird and Lottie Blunden, who brought in a cherished family heirloom for repair. The item was a book their parents had created as a Christmas gift for Lottie in 1976 when she was just three years old.

She explained: “Mum wrote it and Dad illustrated it. It’s my most treasured possession still to this day.” The book chronicled her life from birth until she was a little over three years old.

As Chris leafed through the pages, he found the photos ‘delightful’, particularly those capturing the momentous occasion of Amy’s birth. Their father died in 2014, making the book even more precious to them, reports GloucesterLive.

The siblings wanted their sentimental book fixed by the experts (Image: BBC)

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When asked about their expectations for the book’s restoration and why they chose to have it repaired now, Lottie explained: “I think it’s so tatty now. Pages are coming out because we just had this book out so much.”

She added: “It just got water over it and marks on it and things. I suppose, especially now that Dad isn’t with us, it just feels really important to preserve it for our family and the future generations of our family.”

After the sisters left, Chris outlined his plan for the book to the audience, noting: “I’ve noticed this out cover has been covered in sticky-back plastic. What it restricts me to do is sort out any of these stains.

“So, in the ideal world, I would like to remove the sticky-back plastic.” However, his efforts hit a snag on the show as he quickly realised his approach was problematic.

BBC The Repair Shop expert faces ‘total disaster’ as he halts plans midway through fix (Image: BBC)

He candidly informed the audience: “Intention good, bad decision. So, by removing the sticky-back plastic, in fact, it’s removed some of the colour from the back cover.”

Recognising the potential consequences, Chris explained: “If that were replicated on the front, it would be a total disaster. Basically, I’m stopping removing of the sticky-back plastic because it’s too risky!”

Despite the hiccup, Chris outlined a positive strategy moving forward: “The positive side, I can table this stain here and then obviously re-colour the losses that I’ve taken out.

“Then I can reinstate some stick-back plastic to the correctly width and you’re not going to notice what I’ve done.”

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The book was made by Lottie and Amy’s mum and dad in the 1970s (Image: BBC)

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Fortunately, his careful improvisation paid off, as illustrated by the siblings’ reaction when they returned to the barn to review his work.

They marvelled at the strength and perfection of the pages, with Lottie exclaiming in amazement: “How have you done that? How have you made it so so perfect?!”