Repair Shop star helps raise toast as The Archers turns 75
Repair Shop star helps raise toast as The Archers turns 75
Albert TaitSun, September 6, 2026 at 7:47 PM UTC
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Dominic Chinea, an expert in restoration of metalwork, joined The Repair Shop in 2017
One of the stars of The Repair Shop fixed a toaster during a cameo appearance on The Archers to mark the radio soap’s 75th anniversary.
Dominic Chinea, a restorer from the BBC television series, featured in Sunday evening’s episode of the long-running Radio 4 show in which he visited the fictional village of Ambridge.
The metal expert stopped off at the village’s annual flower and produce show, where one of the show’s characters, Leonard Berry, asked him to help fix Robert Snell’s broken toaster, not realising his fame for fixing things.
In the episode, which aired at 7pm, he then met Tony Archer, who showed him a toy tractor that used to belong to his son, John, who died at the age of 22. Mr Chinea also agreed to fix that, too.
“This was quite the ‘pinch me’ moment, being part of The Archers – it’s such an iconic show,” said Mr Chinea.
“Having only worked on factual TV series, I found it fascinating to be involved in the recording of a scripted drama; it’s the first time I’ve ever played a cameo scripted role.
“I’m not going to lie, I was a little out of my comfort zone and I hope I did the Repair Shop team proud.”
‘Oddball props’ to appear on restoration show
An upcoming episode of The Repair Shop will in turn see the team work on a doorbell sound board used in the production of The Archers. The 12-doorbell sound board used in the drama only has two bells still functioning.
Vanessa Nuttall, a sound engineer for the radio soap, and Louiza Patikas, who plays the character Helen Archer, took the board to The Repair Shop barn for the episode, which will be shown next year.
Jeremy Howe, the editor of The Archers, said: “As huge fans of The Repair Shop, we thought we would give them an unusual challenge from the huge array of oddball props we use to make our Ambridge sound effects.
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“Without giving too much away, I think The Repair Shop geniuses – Mark [Stuckey, electrical expert] especially – rose to the challenge and then some. We are delighted with our good-as-new gizmo.”
First broadcast on Jan 1, 1951, The Archers was originally conceived to educate both farmers and the public on modern agricultural methods.
But the show has evolved over 75 years, often tackling heavy subjects as it has aimed to reflect contemporary rural life in England, including climate change, economic challenges faced by farmers, domestic abuse, alcoholism and modern slavery.
The BBC has been celebrating the 75th anniversary of the show all year. On New Year’s Day, it aired a day of special programming – which included a 45-minute episode compared to the typical 13-minute runtime – and a reenactment by the current cast of the opening scene from the very first episode.
The Archers remains one of the BBC’s most popular programmes and was the top on-demand show for listeners of all ages on BBC Sounds at the end of last year.
Previous guest appearances have included Queen Camilla, who played herself in her role as president of the National Osteoporosis Society during the show’s 60th anniversary in 2011, and Princess Margaret, who appeared in 1984 as a surprise guest at a fundraising fashion show at Grey Gables.
Queen Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, made an appearance as herself on the radio soap - PA
Mr Chinea’s cameo appears to be the first collaboration between The Archers and another BBC show since the 2011 anniversary when panellists from Gardeners’ Question Time appeared in an episode of the soap.
The Repair Shop sees members of the public bring in damaged or worn-out treasured possessions and family heirlooms to be restored by a team of expert craftspeople.
Mr Chinea joined the show in 2017 and has become one of the programme’s most recognisable specialists, helping to fix metal objects, signs, machines, vehicles and unusual pieces that need careful repair.
The King appeared in an episode of the show in 2022, having sent antiques from his Dumfries House collection, including crockery from Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and an 18th-century bracket clock, for restoration.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
