Expert Chris Shaw was quick to pivot his plans on The Repair Shop to avoid a huge disaster.12:55, 18 Jul 2026The BBC expert was forced to change his original plans,‌Chris Shaw was given the task of trying to restore a sentimental item back to its former glory during an old episode of The Repair Shop.‌The BBC star met siblings Amy Bird and Lottie Blunden as they entered the barn with a book which their parents gave to Lottie when she was three years old in 1976. Lottie told Chris that their mother had written it while their father illustrated it, calling it her most 'treasured possession' to this day.‌She explained it chronicled her life as a baby until the day her younger sister was born, which then continued. Chris was in awe at the book as he commented: "It's amazing! What a beautiful thing to have, and your parents are obviously super talented."Sadly, their father died in 2014, making the book even more precious to them. However, calling it 'tatty', they detailed that pages are falling out and there are various marks which are what they'd like Chris' help with.‌Although it was clear that the fix wasn't going to be straightforward for Chris when he began inspecting the book more closely.He told the camera: "I've noticed this outer 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."‌After dismantling the book to begin the restoration, it was clear things weren't going as planned for Chris.When he began trying to melt the plastic to separate from the page, he commented: "Intention good, bad decision. So, by removing the sticky-back plastic, in fact, it's removed some of the colour from the back cover."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!"‌However, he was able to pivot his original idea and have a backup as he continued: "The positive side, I can tackle 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 correct width, and you're not going to notice what I've done."‌In the end, it was time for the siblings to return to the barn to see what Chris had done. They were blown away when seeing the book, as one of the sisters remarked: "Look at the edges! Doesn't it look strong?"The other replied: "It feels so robust now, doesn't it? I love that you can still see where the smudge was, but it feels cleaner somehow, and the memory is still there."Calling the fix 'perfect' they were in awe at how they'd managed to fix the book as they were quick to thank Chris for his work.Article continues belowOne of the sisters confessed they were feeling 'overwhelmed' looking at their restored book, as the other agreed.The Repair Shop is available to watch on BBC iPlayer