The Repair Shops Richard Biggs is one of the oldest experts
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The Repair Shop wouldn’t be the success that it is without its team of helpers with the expert knowledge to bring any old item back to pristine condition. The BBC One series will be welcoming back Richard Biggs to the workshop this week, where he will be restoring a pair of treasured binoculars to their former glory. Here’s everything there is to know about expert Richard Biggs.
How old is The Repair expert Richard Biggs?
The Repair Shop star Richard Briggs hasn’t stated in black and white his exact age but did give a major clue in a previous interview.
Opening up to Birdforum, Richard clarified that he was “born in South London at the end of WWII”.
As the war ended in 1945, this would make the BBC expert 77 years old and the eldest of the team at The Repair Shop.
The second oldest on the show is thought to be horologist Steven Fletcher who is 57.
On the other side of the spectrum are wood restoration and metalwork experts Will Kirk and Dominic Chinea who are in their mid-30s.
Richard started working with optical equipment in 1963 when he worked for Wallace Heaton in Bond Street for 15 months on the service counter.
The following year, he joined the Russian Equipment importers (Technical & Optical Equipment Ltd) and dealt with things such as still and cine cameras, flash guns and microscopes.
He then went on to work as the general service manager at Hanimex before setting up his own repair shop in the early 1980s.
Richard still owns Action Optics today which is now run from his home, and he specialises with binoculars and telescopes.
He did temporarily retire but according to his website, Richard went into “un-retirement” to go sailing.
However, he decided it wasn’t for him long-term and so sold his boat and returned to work.
Other details, including his marital status, are not known as Richard prefers to keep personal life out of the spotlight.
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Richard strongly believes that it his shop’s job to do all they can to help their customers when in need.
He added on Birdforum: “There is a rule that I always drummed into my staff and which I still follow.
“If an owner takes the trouble to send or bring their binoculars to the workshop thinking there is a problem, then there is a problem.
“Maybe the unit has a fault, maybe the owner is not using it correctly, or maybe he/she thinks it should do something which it can’t.
“For example, owners do not always realise that ‘viewing conditions’ such as heat shimmer, or high altitude air movement, destroy image quality. We have to find the answer and not embarrass the owner.”
The synopsis for the latest episode reads: “Simon Dinsdale from Essex needs optics expert Richard Biggs to take a look at a memento that is of ‘monstrous’ significance.
“The mini-binoculars were used by his father in the 1960s on his tireless hunt for the Loch Ness monster.
“Simon’s father was the first to capture footage of the legendary beast, and he can still picture his adventure-loving dad wearing the binoculars around his neck.”
The Repair Shop continues every Wednesday at 8pm on BBC One.
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