Former Newark College’s School of Musical Instrument Crafts student makes appearance in BBC One’s The Repair Shop

A former Newark student has featured on a prime-time BBC One programme.

Becky Houghton, who graduated from Newark College’s School of Musical Instrument Crafts with a musical instrument crafts (violin making and repair) degree in 2008, appeared in BBC One’s The Repair Shop.

The show sees family heirlooms restored by experts.

Becky, who specialises in making and restoring stringed instruments and runs her own luthier business, was drafted in to help restore a fragile violin dating back more than 100 years.

The episode started filming in August 2021 with Becky challenged to restore a German trade violin for a family whose great-grandfather played professionally in orchestras and jazz bands after moving to Europe from the Caribbean in the 1920s.

The painstaking restoration of the much-treasured keepsake took several weeks to complete, including removing the front, fixing cracks, restoring the bow, and replacing the strings.

“From the moment I stepped into the barn I loved it” said Becky. “The other restorers and craftspeople were exactly as they appear on the TV — warm, kind and lovely.

“I really enjoyed being part of the show and it must have been well received as they are currently looking for other instruments for me to fix.”

Peter Smith, violin making and repair tutor at Newark College, said: “Becky was an engaging, intelligent, and articulate student so it’s no surprise that together with her violin making and repair skills that she arrives on our TV screens to engage the nation and draw us into the mysterious world of the inner workings of the violin.”

You can watch the episode on BBC iPlayer (series nine, episode one).