Children in Need: Repair of late son's chair
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The Repair Shop star Will Kirk was emotional after a special repair for an eighteen year old boy named Etienne who passed away unexpectedly ten years ago. The BBC star was overcome with emotion when he revealed a restored wooden chair in honour of him. He starred during the special segment during Children in Need on Friday night.
Will reacted like many other viewers would have watching the charitable programme at home when he heard the impact of his latest repair.
The segment started with the story of Etienne being told to him and Jay Blades in the famous barn.
Etienne’s mum explained to Will and Jay Blades: “This chair was made in memory for my son, Etienne.
“When he was eight years old he suddenly became severely ill with encephalitis which is a bit like meningitis but is an inflammation of the whole brain, he was in intensive care but it was touch and go.”
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She continued explaining how he “had problems with his vision and epilepsy”.
His mum said he moved to a school named Whitehaven to help while he was suffering with the condition.
She said: “When you have a child with additional needs and you find the right school it’s amazing.”
Sadly, she added her son “was there for about two years and then very sadly he died very unexpectedly of a seizure in the night and we lost him”.
When he passed away at the age of 18, his family requested at the funeral that everyone make a donation to the school which meant so much to him.
The school commissioned a grand wooden chair for everyone to sit on and remember Etienne, with a monkey carved into the head, to signify his “cheekiness”.
However, after years of neglect in the sun, the chair suffered and Will had his work cut out to make the repair.
He told cameras: “At the moment the chair can’t be enjoyed by any children. It’s really wobbly and I think it’s due to years of water getting in all the cracks.
“Not only does it need to look beautiful but it needs to properly function as well.”
When it came to revealing the chair on the live show on BBC One, Etienne’s dad moved the popular TV personality with his touching tribute.
Will included a plaque designed by his family, which his father went on to describe.
He explained: “It shows a comet which reflects and for us represents the light which he brought into our lives.
“It’s a very short light but it has a long tail, the lightning bolt is because he was such a fan of Harry Potter.”
He continued: “He would be so tickled to see that there, it would make him very happy.
“The stars are just infinity really, he had a phrase which was I will love you to the end of the numbers, so we put that there as well.”
During the touching moment, presenter Chris Ramsey called the amazing fix as “outstanding” as he hugged Will.
Children in Need is live on Friday and Saturday from 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
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