The Repair Shop star Will Kirk gave a guest on the latest episode a stern warning after she accidentally spoiled a sentimental item.
In the latest visit to the iconic barn, which aired on Wednesday, January 29, Lloyd Richards and his wife, Karen, met Kirk to explain what had happened to a beloved rugby shirt.
“So this, if I’m not mistaken, is a rugby jersey,” Kirk noted as he was joined by expert Rebecca Bissonnet.
“It’s my father’s, Brian Richards,” Lloyd explained. “This was his jersey that he wore playing for Wales in the ’60s.”
“My greatest regret is I never saw him play,” the guest reflected sadly before continuing: “He grew up in a place called Skewen, South Wales.
“He used to say that he trained by running up and down the coal heaps behind his house.
“He went on to play for Neath Rugby Club, moved to Swansea, played for Swansea, became captain of Swansea. He was Barbarian. And of course it sort of culminates with playing for his country.”
The Repair Shop Welsh shirt before being fixed
BBC
“The position that he played, fly-half, any rugby fans will know a fly-half wears the number ten,” Lloyd added.
“But he wore the number six. He was the last Welsh international to play with the number six. It was 1960. I don’t know the reason why it changed.”
Kirk offered: “I think it’s something to do with an internaitonal numbering system. So it’s uniform all throughout.”
Lloyd went on to explain how his father had sadly died just before Christmas at the age of 91.
“He’s a legend, my dad. Loved him to bits,” he added, labelling him a “maverick” of the pitch but “a very humble bloke” in life.
Bissonnet then asked what had happened to the shirt, at which point Karen sheepishly detailed: “When we were given the shirt, I just thought, ‘Well, before we frame it, I’ll wash it.’
The Repair Shop Welsh shirt before after being fixed
BBC
“I forgot that it was from the 1960s,” she noted, alluding to the spoiled and running colour of the jersey.
“I put it in the machine and it came out and the red had run into the collar… I tried to then get the pink out of the collar and then it… yeah,”
“Did you try to bleach it out?” Kirk probed, to which Karen admitted: “Yeah.”
“Oh, so this wasn’t from being in the washing machine? This is actually you,” he emphasised.
Karen replied: “This is all me. So I was a bit mortified, to say the least. I have felt incredibly guilty ever since.”
Getting emotional, she went on: “You know, he worked hard for that. For me, it’s a way to honour him, really, if we can get it anything like it looked originally.”
Pointing towards the logo, she she expressed her gratitude that it hadn’t been touched, but added it wasn’t a Welsh rugby shirt if it wasn’t red.
“There’s a word in Welsh which is ‘hiraeth,’ and hiraeth is sort of a longing for the place that you come from – and that’s sort of hiraeth for me,” Lloyd commented poignantly.
Thankfully, Bissonnet was able to return the item looking as good as new, which left the guests very moved.
Karen and Lloyd were warned about looking after the shirt
BBC
Both were stunned during the big reveal, with Karen bursting into tears.
“You know the red I was talking about? That is Welsh red,” Lloyd praised.
“It didn’t even look that good before it went in the washing machine!” Karen beamed.
As an extra gesture, Kirk and Bissonnet revealed a see-through display box for the shirt.
“That is my lovely father-in-law, so thank you,” Karen gushed through tears.
Taking on a more serious tone, Kirk warned: “It’s over to you to take home. Be very careful with it!”
“I’m not touching it,” Karen responded before asking her husband to take the cherished shirt.
