Away from the workshop and TV sets, The Repair Shop's Julyan Wallis is loved-up with his wife16:33, 29 Jul 2026Julyan Wallis is a firm favourite on BBC’s The Repair Shop - but what do we know about his life?‌The TV star who works as a luthier - a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a soundbox - joined the BBC show back in 2020. Since then, Julyan, also known as the Guitar Doctor, has become a firm favourite with fans.‌Away from the workshop and TV sets though, who is he married to? And what has been his most challenging fix on the programme? Here’s everything you need to know about Julyan Wallis.‌Who is Julyan Wallis?Julyan Wallis was born and raised in Penzance and Newlyn, Cornwall, where he started playing the guitar at around the age of 12. And according to Julyan, as a kid he “always immersed myself in the instrument and loved it”.He explained: “I used to take it apart pretty much as soon as I started, I wanted to know what made them tick. My friends used to get me to re-string their guitars. When I left school I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I got on a building site with my dad, but after a few weeks of doing that I realised I didn’t enjoy it - I wanted to be inside, and I wanted to be doing something with guitars.”‌As well as The Repair Shop, Julyan also works at his own repairing service for stringed and other fretted instruments, The Guitar Doctor and J Guitars which have been operating since 1992 in Cornwall.His job has seen him work with musicians who have played with and for various famous faces over the years, including Tim Renwick (Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Eric Clapton), Louis Eliot (Grace Jones) and Graham Smith (Cat Stevens, Harry Nilsson).Julyan on joining The Repair Shop‌Julyan was unexpectedly asked to join the cast of The Repair Shop a few years back. At the time, he was celebrating the birthday of his wife.He explained: "I'll never forget the day Ricochet [TV production company] rang me as it was my wife's birthday - I thought it was someone contacting me about PPI." Thankfully, he gratefully accepted the offer and is now a regular in the barn.As for his most challenging fix on the show, Julyan previously revealed: “Every single one of my fixes takes me out of my comfort zone. One of my most challenging fixes of late was possibly the Oud.‌“The story behind it was great, and the Oud was in such a bad state of disrepair, I wasn’t even sure I could do it. As soon as the first thing I had to do did work, which was to make sure the neck was attached to the body, I knew it was going to be a long process and challenging.“It’s always a challenge because I have to make the items structurally safe and I’ve also got to make it sound good to play and feel good for the player to play. Then there’s the aesthetics, making it look good, colour matching skills and so on.”Julyan’s family life‌Away from the show, Julyan is loved-up with his wife Bonnie Wallis who he tied the knot with back in June 2002. The couple reside in Cornwall, where his business is based, and while it's not clear how many children the couple share, Julyan is clearly a proud dad.According to some of Julyan's Instagram posts, his son Finley plays football for the Pendeen Rovers. The couple also have a daughter called Ellie.And in September last year, Julyan shared the adorable news that he had become a grandfather. Alongside photos of the bundle of joy, Julyan wrote on social media: “September’s special event. We are so very proud of our daughter. Welcome to the world lil chap!”Article continues belowWatch Julyan on The Repair Shop every Wednesday at 8pm on BBC One.