Repair Shop's Suzie Fletcher 'escaped' set as moment on show 'was enormous trigger'

Repair Shop's Suzie Fletcher has told how she “had to escape” the show’s set after being overcome with grief after seeing an item that had been brought in by a member of the public. Suzie, who lived in America for 22 years, working as a saddle-maker, returned to the UK after the death of her husband.

Her brother Steve persuaded her to join the Repair Shop team, and she says that working on the show has “helped her through some very dark days.” She writes in her memoir, The Sun Over The Mountains, that she was welcomed from the very beginning: “Being part of The Repair Shop has healed me from the inside. Using my skills in such a positive way has brought me joy and confidence.”

She credits the Repair Shop crew for being a big part of that, and stresses how grateful she’ been for their support: “If I've ever been worried or run into a problem, their very first words have been 'What can we do to help? What do you need?' This changes the dynamics of everything.”

But there have still been one or two difficult moments. She describes working on a wooden rocking-horse that had been brought in by a woman named Julie. The toy had been much used and loved by her family, and at one point Julie’s husband Paul had decided to restore it.

But he had sadly died before completing a second round of repairs, many years later, and Julie had brought it in for the Repair Shop team to take a look at. Julie asked repair Shop’s Will to do his best to preserve Paul’s signature, which has been inscribed under the saddle.

“The handwriting of a loved one after they have gone is something very special,” Size writes. “I have precious notes and cards from my late husband Rob. Some of the words were scribbled on scraps of paper, but I cherish and take comfort from them when I look at them from time to time, so I understood Julie's request.”

Amazingly, Paul’s inscription was intact. “As soon as I saw Paul's signature, I was biting my lip to keep back the tears. But sometimes there is no holding back grief, and that's when I revealed on camera the tragedy of my own life and how I had lost my husband to cancer.

“Thank goodness Steve was there to hold me as I felt the waves of loss pass through my own body. I didn't expect to break down like this, but the trigger was enormous and I’d kept things bottled up for so long.

“Somehow, we got through that scene, and I escaped outside.”

Suzie needed a walk in the fresh air to regain control of her surging emotions, and was soon back at work: “After the tears, I felt some relief and was able to get on with the job.

“I was soon back in the zone, lost and completely absorbed in my work. I made an entirely new saddle and embellished it with gold foil embossing. I got on with the matching bridle and leather straps.

“By the time it was ready for Julie, it looked beautiful. On the day she came back to the barn, she didn't know about the date and Paul's signature. When I took the saddle off to show her, she was absolutely stunned and quite emotional. I understood how she felt, as a widow myself I had that extra layer of sensitivity, but at the time she didn't know about my own loss.”