The Repair Shop viewers moved by story of woman who lost mum in a fire

What did you miss?

The Repair Shop viewers were heartbroken as a woman asked for help with a teddy bear that was singed in a fire that took the life of her mum.

Camilla Greenwood lost her mother Linda last year when a fire broke out at her house. The teddy, which was her mum’s when she was a child, had survived the blaze and she said she wanted it repaired so that she could pass it on to her own children.

"That’s a way of keeping her alive I think," said Greenwood, who was expecting her first baby.

What, how and why?

When Greenwood entered the barn she met teddy bear experts Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell and explained that the bear had been given to her mum when she was a child and that it was then given to her.

"He’s just sort of been a continuum throughout my mum’s life and my life," she said. "My mum died last year. There was a fire at my mum’s house that destroyed the house and my mum didn’t get out. So it is remarkable that the bear survived. He was just on the lawn outside the house and I have no idea how he survived really."

"It’s important for me to try and rescue at least something," she said. "All of our memories that were built together and any toys that my mum had saved to give to her grandchildren have gone.

"So it's particularly important for me to be able to give something to my children that means something from my childhood and my mum’s childhood."

Greenwood said the teddy had been well loved by her mother — who she called "a force to be reckoned with" — so didn’t have a lot of fur even before the fire, but she said she hoped it could be restored to look "not as shabby."

"I think if possible remove any evidence of fire — I would quite like to eradicate that as much as possible," she said.

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The experts worked their magic and by the time Greenwood returned the teddy was unrecognisable, with no trace of the singed hair.

In tears, Greenwood exclaimed: "Oh how wonderful, thank you so much! How have you done it? It's just amazing. I’m speechless. I just think it’s the most incredible transformation."

What did viewers say?

Viewers were moved by the story, with one posting on X: “The bear ladies on The Repair Shop do such valuable work. They understand, in their souls, just how important soft toys are to us. I will love my Gog until the day I die. My sister feels the same about Bobby Bruin, her bear."

"My goodness, how brave was the young lady with the bear?" said someone else. "The rest of us, meanwhile, are in bits. Joyous television."

Another wrote: "I’ve never known such an awful story that breaks your heart - losing your mum in a fire and having the only thing remaining - what an honour for the teddy bear ladies but what a difficult job."

Somebody else commented: "OMG! This teddy bear story on The Repair Shop is heartbreaking!"

The Repair Shop airs on BBC One, and streams on BBC iPlayer.