UKTV’s factual channel Yesterday has commissioned a ten-part UKTV original series, Retro Electro Workshop to air in hour-long slots.
Yesterday’s channel director, Gerald Casey:
“We’re delighted to bring Retro Electro Workshop to Yesterday. I’m sure our viewers will be fascinated to see Rob and his team bringing these timeless electronic machines back to life.”
, a new and informative documentary series about the dying art of repairing electronics, fronted by super-fixer Rob Howard, one of the UK’s last remaining full-time repair men of retro-electronic products. The series is produced by Hall of Mirrors, which also produced Myleene Klass: Miscarriage & Me for UKTV, and executive producer is Tim Green.
At one time, Britain had an electronics repairer on every street corner. From the 1930s to the 1980s, electronic gadgets were built to be repaired and to last a lifetime. Whether it’s a classic American jukebox, a retro pinball machine, a boombox or a vintage radio, super-fixer Rob Howard and his network of experts and enthusiasts are ready to find, fix, restore and revive “anything old with a plug on it”. Shamil and his dad T run a vintage electronics store and are always on the lookout for design classics to invest in and send to Rob for restoration and re-sell.
Emile Nawagamuwa, UKTV commissioning executive:
“Retro Electro Workshop opens the door into a forgotten world full of nostalgia, technical ingenuity and design innovation. Nobody is better equipped to guide us down this rabbit-hole than master repairer Rob Howard. We are hugely excited to work once again with Hall of Mirrors on this original series.”
Retro Electro Workshop will air in 2023 on UKTV’s Yesterday channel. Earlier this month the channel also commissioned a third series of Secrets of the London Underground. The first series in July 2021 became Yesterday’s biggest ever launch of a new programme, and the second series, which aired last year, was Yesterday’s second strongest launch in 2022.
The new third series will air later in 2023 and is presented once again by rail historian Tim Dunn and Engagement Manager from the London Transport Museum, Siddy Holloway.
