Town crier's 'amazing' Repair Shop bell makeover

Kila Redfearn is Lytham's first female town crier

A town crier is ringing in the changes after having her handbell spruced up on the BBC television show Repair Shop.

Kila Redfearn, the first female town crier for Lytham, Lancashire, said she wanted the dull bell to be as shiny as she was when dressed in all her finery.

Carpenter Will Kirk and silversmith Brenton West toiled to fix Kila Redfearn's beloved bell.

Ms Redfearn, 55, said it was an "amazing" experience.

"The bell is from the 1990s so it's not really old, but it just needed to be restored," she said.

"The handle had been varnished too many times, one part had been replaced by a nut and it just wasn't shiny any more."

'Bit of a gob'

It had been passed to her when the previous crier Colin Ballard retired a couple of years ago.

"I knew him a little bit so when I was talking to him he said he regretted not having someone to take over," she said.

"I'd wanted to be a town crier since I was 20, so I applied.

"I've been doing it for nearly two years now and I love all the regalia and attention.

"I love the town, bringing joy to the visitors and I've got a bit of a gob."

The bell before being restored "just wasn't shiny any more", Kila Redfearn said

Ms Redfearn was inspired to apply to the BBC show after watching a Christmas show in 2023.

"I just thought it would be nice to get the bell repaired," she said. "So I got my phone and applied.

"They rang me and I had a couple of interviews and then about a year ago they said 'you're on'."

She travelled to the barn in Chichester last February and picked the bell up the following month.

"I asked them when it would be on the telly and they said 2025 and I thought 'that's ages'," she said.

"But what they did was amazing.

"I didn't cry, but it just looked beautiful, a showpiece and so shiny.

"And they surprised me with a baldrick - made by Suzie Fletcher - a beautiful leather holster to keep it in."

You can see the bell being repaired on The Repair Shop on BBC One on Wednesday 9 January 2025, or on the BBC iPlayer.