Steve Fletcher is well known and loved as The Repair Shop’s resident horologist and regularly wows viewers with his amazing watch repair skills. But did you know that the pundit had a very different career before appearing on the popular BBC show?
Back in the 1980s, Steve worked as a fireman in Witney, Oxfordshire, where he still lives and runs his clock repair business, The Clock Workshop.
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In 2021, the TV star reminisced about his days as a firefighter on Instagram, sharing a newspaper clipping from 1987 that featured a story about Steve, who designed a special watch for German firefighter exchanges.
The article explains that Steve was a resident fireman in his local brigade in Witney and produced a watch for their German friends in the town of Ihringshausen. According to the report, the brigades have been alternating visits for several years and Steve decided to send a gift to celebrate their German counterparts moving to the new fire station.
In the caption, Steve wrote: “1987! Someone added this to our local memories page on Facebook this week – a great memory of my time with Witney Fire Service and our German exchanges with our colleagues in Ihringshausen.”
Fans took to the comments section to praise the post, with one person writing: “Great, beautiful memories,” while another added: “That’s brilliant, well done.”
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Others couldn’t help but notice how little Steve has aged since the late 80s, with one person commenting: “You haven’t changed at all Steve,” while another added: “You never have, Steve.”
© Guy LevySteve with his sister Suzie, who is also an expert at The Repair Shop
Who are the experts at The Repair Shop?
© Guy LevySonnaz Nooranvary, Lucia Scalisi, Julie Tatchell, William Kirk, Jay Blades, Amanda Middleditch, Suzie Fletcher, Dominic Chinea, Steve Fletcher
- Jay Blades: Manager and expert in furniture restoration
- Will Kirk: Carpenter and joinery expert
- Steve Fletcher: Horologist
- Suzie Fletcher: Leatherworker and saddle specialist
- Kirsten Ramsay: Ceramics expert
- Dominic Chinea: metal worker and car restorer
- Brenton West: silversmith, photography expert
- Sonnaz Nooranvary: Upholstery restorer
- Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell: soft toy restorations known as ‘The Teddy Bear Ladies’
- Lucia Scalisi: restorer of paintings and art
- Mark Stuckey: Electronics expert and radio restorer
- Neil Fairley: Vintage electronics repairman
- Hannah Weston Smith: Traditional Upholsterer
Steve Fletcher’s early career and TV debut
Steve has been repairing clocks for years and runs his own workshop in Witney, founded by his grandfather over 100 years ago in 1910.
After gaining a first-class qualification from the College of the British Horological Institute in 1973, Steve began working as a third-generation horologist and eventually took over the family business from his father, who passed away in 2007.
© BBCSteve with presenter Jay Blades
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In 2017, Steve made his television debut in Repair shopfirst season and has amassed a legion of fans with his impressive restorations.
The watch expert has his partner Mel to thank for landing the gig as she encouraged him to respond to an email from the company behind the show.
© stevefletcher.clocksSteve with his partner Mel
“In 2016, I got an email from a company I’d never heard of asking if I’d be interested in doing a brand new show,” he explained in a previous interview with the BBC.
“Not believing anything on the internet, I almost deleted it and would have if my partner, Mel, hadn’t stopped me saying everything looked fine. I answered and moments later got a phone call from [producer] Shane who told me about the series and I agreed to appear in it.”
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education