Judi Dench to appear on The Repair Shop special

Dame Judi Dench will appear on ‘The Repair Shop’.

The ‘Shakespeare In Love’ star, 87, will take an old pocket watch - one she gave to her late husband, Michael Williams, a year after they wed in 1971 - to be restored by horologist Steve Fletcher in a star-studded live edition to mark the show's five-year anniversary.

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ judge Craig Revel Horwood will also appear alongside his wooden chimp, a ‘Sunset Boulevard’ prop given to him by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, to be fixed by furniture restorer Will Kirk along with Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell, dubbed the "Teddy Bear Ladies".

The final products will be shown off alongside the show’s host Jay Blades at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

Stewart Clarke, the creative director of the festival, said: “This is the perfect opening entertainment piece and we would like to thank everyone involved for bringing a bit of 'The Repair Shop' magic of the barn to the TV Festival, it’s going to be an absolute must-see.”

Joanna Ball, the managing director of the show’s production company, Ricochet, said: “The team, on and off screen, has done an extraordinary job and our heartfelt thanks to Dame Judi and to Craig for sharing their precious stories with us.

“As always we’re a little bit nervous sharing the finished fixes but we hope that they love the work our experts have delivered as much as we loved working on them.”

Earlier this year, Judi joined Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders for a 'Repair Shop' sketch for Comic Relief, in which she portrayed a woman who wanted her childhood doll restored, only to have it destroyed by the ‘French and Saunders’ stars.

Dawn, 64, joked that the Academy Award winner was obsessed with Jay and he needed to be saved from “Judi’s clutches”.

She quipped: “Then we bring our friend Judi in as well. You’re going to have to rescue Jay Blades at the end of the day from Judi’s clutches, and then we’ll be next in line."

Jennifer, 64, added: "And she’s a huge fan, Dame Judi. 'Oh, he stole my beating heart,' is what she said."