The shirt, belonging to player Ronnie Cope, is in a sorry state at the start but the show's experts will try to work their magic and bring it back to life
Sara Johnson
Sara Johnson is hoping to rescue the shirt worn by her dad Ronnie Cope in 1958
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A Manchester United shirt from the team who made it to the FA Cup Final in 1958 just months after the Munich air crash disaster is one of the items featured on The Repair Shop tomorrow night.
Brought in by Sara Johnson from Crewe, she told the team how her father Ronnie Cope was one of the so-called Busby Babes players who made it to the final that year, despite the crash having killed eight players among the 23 lives lost.
Textile conservator Rebecca Bissonnet faces the challenge of bringing the shirt back to the deep Manchester United red, while honouring its unique history.
The Repair Shop
Sara gets help from the show's experts Rebecca and Dom
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Just months after the tragic Munich Air Disaster, Ronnie and his teammates defied the odds to reach Wembley. But the vivid red shirt was later left in a garage, used for painting, and faded by sunlight.
The shirt, which is remarkable relic of both sporting triumph and personal memory, is in a sorry state, having faded from the United red to a pale pink.
Sara tells the team that her “gentle giant” dad Ronnie was 24 when he played that Cup Final match, and had been signed for the club aged just 15.
Ronnie Cope with other players
Ronnie Cope - right - wore the shirt in 1958 during the FA Cup final shortly after the Munich air crash
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“He was playing out and his sister came running over to him and said ‘Ronnie Ronnie you’d better come home, there’s a Rolls Royce outside - and it was Matt Busby wanting to sign him. They gave him a joining fee of £400, and off he went."
Sara says her dad left devastated by the plane crash telling experts Dom Chinea and Rebecca that they lost the final to Bolton Wanderers but felt like they’d triumphed just by getting that far. “They lost but to them it felt like big win, because they got to the cup final after the Munich air disaster in February that year,” she explained.
Sara explains to experts Dom and Rebecca that even though her Dad’s Man U side didn’t win the FA Cup game, he felt like he had won just making it to the final, having lost so many of his teammates, and having played with largely a reserve team. “A person that died was one of his best friends, he was devastated,” Sara says.
The show's textile expert Rebecca Bissonnet
The show's textile expert Rebecca Bissonnet has her work cut out
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Viewers will have to tune in from 8pm to see if the pale pink shirt can be returned to it’s former glory.
Dominic, who is the show’s metalworks expert, has revealed a significant career shift that saw him relocate his workshop and family to Cornwall.
The skilled craftsman swapped the hustle and bustle of Kent for the tranquil shores of Cornwall, dubbing it a "life-changing" experience. When quizzed about the move, he confessed, "It is completely life-changing. It really is. I'm never moving again.
"It was stressful, but it's like having that workshop and having that at home has been a dream for so long. And I'm very, very fortunate, very grateful that I've actually been able to do it, but it doesn't come easy.”
Dominic joined The Repair Shop in 2017 as part of the crew, but it wasn't long before he found himself front and centre as a main presenter after Jay Blades stepped down.