Repair Shop experts mend rugby jersey after 'mortified' wife's bleach error
Karen Richards accidentally damaged her late father-in-law's rugby top when she gave it a wash
What did you miss?
The Repair Shop's experts had a tough challenge after a woman confessed that she had wrecked her late father-in-law's treasured Wales rugby shirt in the wash.
Lloyd Richards and his wife Karen were on the latest episode of the BBC show on Wednesday, 29 January, taking a red rugby top once owned by Lloyd’s dad Bryan Richards into the barn. The shirt was discoloured and faded, and Karen admitted it had happened when she had used bleach on it.
"I was a bit mortified," she said tearfully.
What, how and why?
Lloyd told how his father, who was a fly half, wore the jersey when he was playing for Wales in the 60s.
"My greatest regret is I never saw him play," he said. "He died just before Christmas last year. He was 91 and since his passing it matters even more that we hold onto his legacy. He is a legend my dad, loved him to bits."
Lloyd and Karen had planned to frame the special top, and Karen decided to give it a wash first.
She told experts Rebecca Bissonnet and Will Kirk: "I forgot that it was from the 1960s. I put it in the machine and when it came out, the red had run into the collar. I tried to get the pink out of the collar and then it…"
Kirk asked if she had tried to bleach it out. "Yeah," she replied. "This is all me so I was a bit mortified to say the least."
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Becoming tearful, Karen went on: "I have felt incredibly guilty ever since. He worked hard for that. For me it’s a way to honour him really, if we can get it looking anything like it looked originally… it’s not a Welsh rugby shirt unless it’s red."
What happened?
Bissonnet got to work, dyeing the top and tidying it up. Lloyd and Karen were thrilled with the results when they returned to the barn, with both saying it looked "amazing". "Honestly it did not look that good before!" exclaimed Karen.
The experts also unveiled a display case they had come up with to help the couple showcase the top when they got it home. "That's fantastic," Lloyd declared.
"That is my lovely father-in-law," said Karen, joking that she would not be touching the jersey again.
"It's really healing," she added. "It's healing because it has healed my guilt but actually it's healing because we have lost him and we feel like we have got a little bit of him back."
The Repair Shop airs on BBC One on Wednesdays.