Judi Dench tries to hold back tears as the Repair Shop team repairs her late husband’s pocket watch

news7f08/25/2022

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Love: Dame Judi Dench has said having her late husband

An emotional Judi Dench said it was ‘more than she could have hoped’ for The Repair Shop team to repair her late husband’s pocket watch and engrave his initials.

The veteran actress, 87, corrected the emotional repertoire as part of a BBC One live special held at the Edinburgh Television Festival to mark the show’s fifth anniversary.

Before Judi appeared on stage, a tape was played showing her introducing the team with a pocket watch she had given her late husband, actor Michael, in 1972 – a year later. when they get married.

Love: Mrs Judi Dench has said that the repair of her late husband’s pocket watch and his initials by The Repair Shop team was ‘more than she could have hoped for’

Dame Judi told furniture restorer and host Jay Blades that she gave Williams the watch while they were acting together in a play and that he used it during production.

She said he then carried it in his pocket and ‘treasured it’ before he died of lung cancer in 2001 aged 65, after they had been married for just under 30 years.

The pair rose to fame when they appeared together on the hit ITV sitcom A Fine Romance, about the unlikely relationship between Mike and Laura, an unlikely single couple. brought together by Laura’s matchmaker sister, played by Susan Penhaligon.

Sweet: The veteran actress corrected the emotional repertoire (pictured) as part of the BBC One show’s live special held at the Edinburgh Television Festival

Kind: Judi revealed her late husband Michael (pictured in 1999) was given the watch in 1972 a year after they got married and always carried it in his pocket until his death in 2001

The show ran for 26 episodes in four series from 1981 to 1984, drawing millions of viewers on Sunday nights.

The actress described her late husband as ‘awesome’ and said it would be ‘lovely’ if she could hear the pocket watch working again as a reminder of the times they split. shall.

Another clip shows horologist Steve Fletcher dismantling the watch so he can thoroughly clean it and repair its mechanisms.

When Judi was presented with the repaired watch live on stage at the television festival, she was emotional and described the piece as ‘wonderful’ as she put it to her ear to hear it tick. after years of silence.

Screen stars: The pair became household names when they appeared together on the hit ITV sitcom A Fine Romance, from 1981 to 1984 (pictured in 1983)

The team also pointed out that they had engraved her husband’s initials on the back of the watch for her, to which she replied: ‘Oh my word, that’s more than I could have hoped for. Thank you very much.’

She added that she was ‘full of admiration’ for the work they do and was an avid viewer of the show.

When asked what she plans to do with the watch, she said she wants to pass it on to her daughter Finty or grandson Stanley.

Judge Craig Revel Horwood, 57, serious coming of the ball, also joined the live session on Wednesday as he managed to get a lifelike chimpanzee from Andrew Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard musical Webber, given to him as an opening night gift, fixed by the expert team.

In a video clip, furniture restorer Will Kirk and ‘The Teddy Bear Ladies’, Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell, who specialize in making stuffed toys, are seen repairing the chimpanzee with how to create new hands using liquid rubber as well as repair its thin coat by giving it hair plugs.

After being introduced to the resurrected animal, the notoriously harsh Horwood said the transformation was ‘astonishing’.

He added: ‘That’s actually 100 times better than what it would have looked like in 1992.’ The team asked them if they got a perfect 10 on their work, and he said they got ‘better than 10’.

Love: The actress has been with her partner, conservationist David Mills, for 12 years (pictured together in 2015)

Earlier this year, the actress appeared in a mock sketch of The Repair Shop for Comic Relief.

She plays a character struggling with memory who wants an old doll from her childhood repaired to help remind her of her youth, but finds it stolen by Dawn French and Jennifer. Saunders smashed.

Judi has worked with her partner, conservationist David Mills, for 12 years. Last year, Mills revealed that they were considering tightening the knot during the pandemic, even considering the benefits of marriage.

Mills told Richard Eden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show: “We haven’t really looked at it before, but during the lockdown we had a serious discussion, looking at the pros and cons.

Live show: Judi was a special guest alongside Craig Revel Horwood, 57, of Seriously Prom during the live section to mark the show’s fifth anniversary at the Edinburgh Television Festival

‘After a lot of thought, we decided against it and thought, ‘We’re happy to stay where we are. ‘ ‘

The actress recently revealed she feels ‘afraid’ to finish her acting job. Dame Judi says Despite her legendary reputation, she is always worried that no one will want to hire her again.

In an interview with Reader’s Digest magazine, she confessed: ‘I’ve always thought, a very lucky person to be employed.

‘I always feel scared when I finish a job because I think I won’t get it again and then feel so relieved when I start my next job.’