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The Repair Shop star Richard Talman has insisted all is well with Jay Blades and Will Kirk after he wasn’t invited to their respective weddings, despite designing the rings for their big days. Richard is the show’s master goldsmith and owner of his company RTFJ, who both on-screen and behind-the-scenes has been responsible for multiple sentimental pieces of jewellery, including for his two co-stars.
Richard said it was “great honour” to be trusted to design such personal items for the likes of Jay and Will as with their new-found fame from the show, they “could’ve gone anywhere” else to do it. “He [Jay] trusted me to the task and I was very honoured by that because wedding rings aren’t just a piece of jewellery, they are a sentiment of your bond, of your marriage,” he shared with Express.co.uk.
“Anyone who trusts me to make something so meaningful is a part of why I love my job.” Will tied the knot with his partner Polly at a ceremony in the Cotswolds back in 2021, a delayed date due to Covid.
Amongst his loved-ones in attendance were co-stars Brenton West, Suzie Fletcher, Jay and Kirsten Ramsay, who posed for a picture together on the day. The following year, Jay tied the knot with Lisa Zbozen in Barbados, with only 15 loved ones present.
Of his co-stars’ weddings, Richard said: “I didn’t go personally, Jay’s wedding was abroad in Barbados, so he didn’t have any of the team there and Will’s wedding was very very close [people].” But insisting the team are all good friends, he went on to say: “We all often stay in local accomodation when we’re down there and if the accomodation is shared by a couple of people, then we most certainly have a drink at the bar together, not too many of course.
“But, it would not be uncommon if someone walks into the communal area of one the places that we stay and they see a handle of us sat around just chatting to each other, just like you see on the tele. Nothing is fake on there I can ensure you. Every member of the team acts like they are on screen, off screen.
“Everyone is just like a little family. I’m not aware of any expert that has any sort of conflict with another expert, everyone helps each other out.” The BBC show first came on to screens in 2017 and has since gone on to become an award-winning hit, with the likes of King Charles, Judi Dench and David Jason visiting the barn for expert help.
Earlier this year, the cast beat ITV show This Morning to Best Daytime Show at the National Television Awards and also won a BAFTA. Reflecting on the special royal episode, which was filmed in 2021, Richard said: “From what I can recall, there was only a minimum of experts and crew there that day. Most sadly, I was not one of them.”
Yet to meet a big star in the barn, the jewellery expert joked: “They’re keeping me on the backburner for another time, possibly.” Richard almost missed out on having a slot on the show as he believed the phone call from production was a prank at the time. “I didn’t think it was real. I will be honest with you,” he admitted. “It’s not everyday in your profession you get somebody calling you from the BBC wanting to schedule you in.
“So, I initially thought it was a prank call as that’s something me and my late father used to do to each other all the time, we used to wind each other up, so I assumed that’s what it was. But, my wife went, ‘check it out’ and we checked the number out and lo and behold, it was the production company.”
Richard was scouted for the show through his successful flagship business RTFJ, founded in 2010. He has since announced the launch of his new jewellery brand called Emilice, named after his young daughters Emily and Alice. The new brand of fashion items will start with jewellery and will soon feature leather ware and other accessories. For information and updates, see here.
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Source: NewsFinale
