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The Repair Shop is a BBC One classic, featuring a team of experts restoring beloved but broken family heirlooms. A variety of items come through the barn doors, including toys, clocks, furniture, and jewelry, all in need of some attention.

The personal stories of each guest also captivate viewers of the show, as their treasured possessions have their own backstory.

Leather and saddle expert Suzie joined The Repair Shop at the start of season two, and she has never looked back, although it was not the easiest of starts for her.

The craftswoman has opened up about her 18-year marriage with her late husband, Rob, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2013.

Suzie first met her husband in Colorado after initially moving to the US to work as a master saddler in Illinois. She was only supposed to stay in the US for two years, but she lived there for 22 years before moving back to the UK.

Her husband died following a battle with cancer, and he had been diagnosed while they were living together in the US. Heartbreakingly, Suzie tried to protect her own family from her husband's diagnosis in case they worried about her.

Speaking previously on the Relatively podcast, she said: "My family were great, but I was very aware that they didn't need to be overly worried and I did have a really good support group in my friends in the States as well.

"I suppose I tried to protect them from too much information, particularly because my mother was still alive and she would worry desperately if she felt like I wasn't going to be able to cope."

Suzie added: "To be perfectly honest, when we got that diagnosis, I knew that my focus was to provide my husband with everything that he wanted, no matter how impossible it seemed. If he wanted to fly to the moon, I'd try and make that happen."

Losing her husband left Suzie devastated, but she used The Repair Shop as a way to move forward with her life following his death.

The expert shared how the show had helped her through many dark days, which partly inspired her to sign up for the programme.

Horologist Steve Fletcher is one of the core team at The Repair Shop who has been there from the beginning, and encouraged his sister, Suzie, to become an expert on the show, five years after Rob's death.

She said: "Every time [Steve] called he looked to be having such a good time I jokingly said, 'If they need anyone to do leather I'm your gal.'"

"I really was joking, but after several phone calls and a lot of reassurance from Steve, I agreed to give it a go and joined the team.

"I'm so happy I did as this is one of the most enjoyable things I've ever been involved with. It's also helped me through some very dark days."

On one episode of The Repair Shop, Suzie broke down during filming whilst recalling her husband's death. She was repairing a rocking horse when she found a name written on it.

Suzie explained: "I too, lost my husband to cancer. It seems so insignificant, someone's name that they wrote."

The Repair Shop airs Thursday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer