In the BBC’s The Repair Shop, Steve Fletcher often works his magic repairing beloved heirlooms. Steve works alongside his sister Suzie, who is an expert in leather.
The third-generation watchmaker runs the watch workshop in Witney, Oxfordshire, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who opened his own shop in 1910. His business was passed on to Steve’s father and after Steve completed an apprenticeship in the shop, he took it over himself.
He regularly repairs clocks that his grandfather and father worked on before him. He recalls his favorite piece at The Repair Shop so far, saying, “I find most clocks pretty straightforward, but one stands out: the Beliard clock, which became a bit of a nightmare.”
“It had a defect and then we couldn’t get a suitable mainspring, so it took a lot longer than expected, but when it was finished, it turned out really well and it was a great watch.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Steve’s life off the screen, including his partner and kids.
Steve lives in Witney with his long-term partner Mel and Steve thanked Mel for encouraging him to sign up to The Repair Shop.
He said: “In 2016, I received an email from a company I didn’t know asking if I would be interested in being part of a brand new show.
“As I don’t trust anything on the internet, I almost deleted it and would have done so if my partner Mel hadn’t stopped me by saying everything looked fine.”
Mel sometimes appears on Steve’s Instagram grid and in April he shared a series of snaps and videos from an Easter weekend.
He explained: “I was in my home town of Witney, playing the saxophone and having a great time with good friends. Then Mel and I decided to get away from it all and go for a hike up Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons.”
He has five children – a son named Fred and four daughters, Amelia, Milly, Nicole and his youngest, whose name is unknown.
Fred and Milly both work in Steve’s watch shop, while Amelia is a social media influencer. His youngest daughter graduated from Oxford Brookes University.
On Father’s Day, he paid tribute to his children by sharing a photo of himself with three of his daughters and revealed that he has two grandchildren.
“The Repair Shop” airs Wednesdays at 8pm on BBC One.
