Steve Fletcher is without doubt one of The Repair Shop’s most popular experts, having amassed a legion of fans since his debut on the heartwarming BBC show in 2017. The third-generation watchmaker is known and loved as the barn’s watch expert, but has also won the hearts of fans as a devoted family man and father of five children, several of whom have joined the family business.
Earlier this month, Steve swapped the iconic West Sussex barn for sunny Cornwall as his family headed off on their annual summer holiday – and shared all the details exclusively with HELLO!Read on to find out what Steve, his partner Mel and their family got up to during their week-long absence, including their cute family traditions.
© Steve Fletcher“Holidaying in Padstow is now a Fletcher tradition,” explained Steve, who is proud father to son Fred and daughters Amelia, Milly and two others whose names have been kept secret. “I have five grown-up children and my partner Mel has a daughter as well – all with their own partners and some with grandchildren, so over the course of a week in the summer they all come to visit,” said the Oxfordshire-based star.
While the watchmaker has a busy schedule and the filming for The repair shop While running his family business based in Witney, he also makes sure to find time for his family.
© Steve Fletcher“With busy filming schedules to consider, plus The Clock Workshop and everyone else’s busy lives, it’s so easy to let time slip away without catching up,” the 62-year-old explained. “But in Padstow we have the opportunity to mess around on the beach, build sandcastles with the little ones, Afterwards, have great conversations over a drink at the harbour.”
Steve and his brood’s favourite family traditions include the ‘simplest’ ones, such as crabbing in Padstow Harbour, enjoying a sweet treat from local ice cream parlour Harbour Ice and ‘a few too many pies’ from Chough Bakery.
© Steve Fletcher/InstagramLike Steve, two of his children, Milly and Fred, were able to take a break from the family business. Milly works there as a manager and Fred, who viewers know from his appearances in The repair shophas been with us as a trainee since 2020.
“Milly and Fred can come down too, so we owe a huge thank you to the rest of our team in Witney for keeping everything running smoothly in the workshop,” said Steve.
Amelia is now a content creator with over 10,000 followers on Instagram, where she documents her “Rural Vogue” adventures through the Cotswolds with her husband Al in their Land Rover Defender 90, nicknamed “Hutch”.
© Steve Fletcher/InstagramAlthough Hutch didn’t join the family on their trip, Amelia and Al were able to treat the family to a spin in their new Defender 130. “Amelia didn’t have her little green Defender with her this year, but she and Al got a huge new Defender 130 to try out for a week, so they had plenty of room to take the kids,” Steve explained.
The expert was also able to spend some quality time with his partner Mel, whom he had previously credited with helping him get his TV appearance by stopping him from deleting an email from the show’s producers.
“Mel and I took our bikes and met two of the sons-in-lawand stopped off at Camel Valley vineyard to rest our legs,” said Steve, who also marked the special family outing with a post on Instagram.
© stevefletcher.clocksSharing several snaps from the holiday, including one of Steve and his five children, the BBC star wrote: “Our annual family holiday to Cornwall was fantastic as always. As there are so many of us it’s impossible to get everyone together in one place at home at the same time, but in Padstow we manage it every year!”
“Exploring rock pools, spending days on the beach, crabbing at the harbor and plenty of food and drink. Perfect,” he added.
