A mourning couple who appeared on The Repair Shop were left in tears after uncovering a ‘secret message’ left by their late son.
John Ivin and his wife Margaret lost their son Chris 15 years ago after he was diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer at the age of 34.
They appeared on The Repair Shop, a BBC show that sees family heirlooms and precious items restored to their best condition by a specialist team.
John and Margaret had been busy renovating their kitchen in 2024 when they found a secret message from Chris hidden on the wall behind one of their cupboards, which he wrote when he was a teenager.
The message from Chris read: ‘This is original wallpaper. Friday 4:15, 8th December 1989. Please leave this wallpaper, Chris.’
Margaret told the BBC show: ‘Where they’d taken one of the original cupboards off the wall, this was behind it and it was a complete shock to see it there.’
With a huge makeover of their kitchen underway, John and Margaret (with some help from the builders) managed to keep Chris’ piece of the wallpaper intact, saving his message to them.
However, the piece of wall Chris had written on sadly crumbled, leaving them no option but to come onto The Repair Shop and ask for their help.
Specialist Rob Fraser restored Chris’ message and sealed it inside a picture frame, allowing John and Margaret to continue treasuring their son’s message.
Margaret said Rob’s work was ‘brilliant’, adding: ‘Even the torn bits of paper are back together. This is better than I ever would have imagined it to be.’
Chris worked as a camera operator and helped produce TV work for the likes of rock band AC/DC and singer Tina Turner, as well as for comedians like Suzy Eddie Izzard and Lee Evans.
According to a blog updated by Chris and his fiancée Inna at the time, called Kicking Cancer In the Nuts, he was first diagnosed in 2011 and eventually died in 2012 after suffering from the illness for more than a year.
How to check yourself for testicular cancer
Movember suggests giving your testicles a bit of a feel each month while in the bath or shower, it takes just minutes to do.
Roll one testicle between thumb and fingers to get to know what’s normal and repeat with the other one.
If you notice a change in size or shape, a lump that wasn’t there before, or if they become painful to touch, see a doctor.
Mum Margaret gave more details about Chris’ secret messages: ‘He would often scribble little notes that he would leave around the house, some of them saying “I love you”.’
After seeing the final product, Margaret added: ‘What can I say? What can I say? It’s funny handwriting, he would be chuffed to bits to see that. I mean, he was 14? And he would’ve been 48 this year.’
Margaret explained: ‘It was 18 months from diagnosis to when he died. When you lose a child, you never get over it, you get through it and we’ve just got through it.’
Beforehand, Rob had doubted whether he could fix Chris’ message: ‘There’s so much going on and the paper is really fragmented, so that’s very risky. I’ll have to take my time, I might need some help.
‘It’s not going to be easy. I need to get eyes on all these pieces and work out what condition each individual piece is in. I’m really nervous about handling this. This is gypsum plaster, which is very brittle.’
The episode left fans weeping, with numerous fans coming to social media to explain how emotional Rob’s work and Chris’ story had left them feeling.
‘I love The Repair Shop and that bit of old plaster with writing from their son that passed away was a brilliant job and so moving,’ said @flub5568 on X.
‘That wallpaper repair is superb,’ said @JohnWumz, while @Crazy_B*tch88 commented: ‘That was such a lovely repair and the tears flowed.’
‘Yeah, that one’s emotional,’ said @TheProperKP, as @StellaBranch ‘Such simple personal items on The Repair Shop tonight. That scrap of wallpaper made me cry’ said Stellabranch.
‘I’m not crying, you’re crying,’ said @LifeOnPigRow.
The Repair Shop is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and airs Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC One.
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
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