Exclusive: Inside The Repair Shop star Steve Fletcher's family holiday: from 'Fletcher traditions' to quality time with partner Mel
Steve Fletcher is without a doubt one of The Repair Shop's most-loved experts, having amassed a legion of fans since making his debut on the heartwarming BBC show back in 2017. While the third-generation horologist is known and loved as the barn's resident clock and watch expert, he's also won the hearts of fans as a devoted family man as the dad of five children, some of whom have joined the family business.
Earlier this month, Steve swapped the iconic barn in West Sussex for sunny Cornwall as his family embarked on their annual summer getaway – and shared all the details exclusively with HELLO!. Keep reading to find out what Steve, his partner Mel and their family got up to on their week away, including their sweet family traditions.
"Holidaying in Padstow is a bit of a Fletcher tradition these days," explained Steve, who is a proud dad to son Fred and daughters Amelia, Milly, and two others whose names have been kept private. "I have five grown-up children and my partner Mel has a daughter, too - all with partners of their own, plus some with grandchildren, so over the course of a week in the summer, they all come down to visit," said the Oxfordshire-based star.
While the clock repair expert has a busy schedule juggling filming for The Repair Shop with running his Witney-based family business, he makes sure to find time for his family.
"With busy filming schedules to work around, plus The Clock Workshop to run, and everyone else's packed lives, it's so easy to let time slip by without catching up all together," explained the 62-year-old. "But in Padstow, we get the chance to muck around on the beach, making sandcastles with the little ones, then have great conversations over a drink by the harbour."
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For Steve and his brood, some of their favourite family traditions are "the most simple ones", like going crabbing on Padstow Harbour, enjoying a sweet treat from local ice cream parlour Harbour Ice and "a few too many pasties" from Chough Bakery.
Like Steve, two of his children, Milly and Fred, were also able to take time off from the family business, where Milly works as the manager and Fred, who viewers will recognise from his appearances on The Repair Shop, joined as an apprentice back in 2020.
"Milly and Fred are able to come down too, so we owe lots of thanks to the rest of our team in Witney for keeping everything going back at the workshop," said Steve.
Meanwhile, Amelia is a content creator with over 10,000 followers on Instagram, where she documents her "rural vogue" adventures across the Cotswolds with her husband Al in their Land Rover Defender 90, nicknamed 'Hutch'.
While Hutch didn't join the family on their trip, Amelia and Al were able to treat the family to a spin in their new Defender 130. "Amelia didn't bring her little green Defender with her this year, but she and Al were given a huge new Defender 130 to try for the week, so they had plenty of space to bring the kids down," explained Steve.
The expert was also able to enjoy some quality time with his partner Mel, who he's previously credited for helping him land his TV gig after stopping him from deleting an email from the show's producers.
"Mel and I took our bikes down and caught up with two of the son-in-laws, stopping in at the Camel Valley vineyard to rest our legs," said Steve, who also marked the special family trip with a post on Instagram.
Sharing some snaps from the holiday, including one of Steve and his five children, the BBC star penned: "Our annual family holiday in Cornwall was as brilliant as always. With so many of us, it's impossible to get everyone in one place at the same time back home, but we manage to do it in Padstow every year!
"Rock pool exploring, beach days, crabbing by the harbour, and plenty of food and drink. Perfect," he added.
