The Repair Shop star Will Kirk has revealed the heartbreaking story behind his early career as a woodwork restoration expert.
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Chatting on The TV Carpenter Podcast, Will revealed that he used his inheritance money following his father's death to set up his own business.
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After completing a course in antique restoration, Will went on to work at a furniture restoration company in London for a year before setting up his own business.
"I started my own business," he explained. "My father had passed away and I inherited a bit of money but not too much that I could go wild but enough for me to get a workshop and print out some flyers."
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However, things didn't go exactly to plan for the first year. "I just spent months handing flyers out and hearing nothing," said Will. "I think I made £890 in my first year.
© Photo: BBCWill set up his own business following his father's passing
"That went down well with my girlfriend. Nice, solid man to future marry," he jokingly added.
He went on to reveal that as time went on, his business began to grow. Eight years later, he was offered a job on The Repair Shop.
Explaining how his role on the BBC show came about, Will said in the same interview: "I actually fit a piece of furniture for someone who worked for the production company. He picked up the furniture, he was very pleased with what I did and then he said, 'Do you mind if I come down to your workshop with a camera and a few cans of beer and we can have a chat about your furniture, restoring furniture and everything else?'
© Photo: BBCWill has starred on The Repair Shop since it first began in 2017
He continued: "So he recorded me on camera, I didn't hear anything for about five, six months and then I got a phone call saying 'We're developing a show. Do you mind if we come with you to drop off some furniture, film the people that you're dropping off for and record you fixing things,' and then two months later, 'Do you want to be on the show?'
"It was really weird," he added.
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