Arriving first is Claire from Manchester, who has brought with her a notebook that once belonged to her grandmother Jean during World War II. On first appearance, the notebook contains nothing more intriguing than some handwritten recipes for ginger cake and biscuits, but upon closer inspection, the notebook reveals its fascinating dual purpose. Claire explains that her grandmother was in the ‘Wrens' (The Women's Royal Naval Service) during the second world war and had a specific role as a telegraphist, communicating Japanese code to the Enigma team at Bletchley Park. Claire was stunned to discover the handwritten notes about morse code and diagrams of radio equipment alongside a Christmas cake recipe. Jean had remained tight-lipped about her service, having signed the official secrets act, and so much of her involvement in the vital codebreaking work remained a secret until 2009, when Jean finally revealed her part in the vital codebreaking work that helped to end the war. 

Claire is calling on the help of expert bookbinder Chris Shaw to reinvigorate the notebook, which has been battered and torn over the years, with its once vibrant cover now faded and peeling away. Chris has his work cut out to rescue the cover before tackling the tricky areas where the spine of the book has disintegrated. Skilfully restoring this precious piece of history, Chris is finally ready to reveal the recipe/codebreaking notebook to Claire. 

Mechanical mastermind Dominic Chinea has an appointment with Geoffrey from Suffolk, who has brought with him a sizeable fire pump. The contraption, which is over 250 years old, belongs to the parish of Worlingworth, where, from 1760 to 1927, the hand-powered pump was the village's first defence against fire. But aside from a remarkable history, Dom also needs to get his head around the malfunctioning pump. Decades of neglect have seen the valves deteriorate, woodworm devour the handles and the reservoir spring multiple leaks. Dom checks off each of these tasks on a mammoth repair job before applying the perfect finish to give the pump a new lease of life. But will it work when Geoffrey returns to the barn to try it out? 

Next to arrive is 85-year-old Zarina from London. She's hoping ceramics restorer Kirsten Ramsay can piece together what's left of an item of crockery that was gifted to her by a dear friend. The healing bowl is a large dish with beautiful Arabic text featured on the inside. The bowl was originally given to Zarina by the daughter of the Sultan, Princess Amal. Despite being the royal princess, they became close friends at school, a friendship that lasted all their lives. When Zarina left Zanzibar to pursue further education in the UK in 1961, Princess Amal gifted her the bowl as a farewell present and symbol of their deep friendship. Zarina has used it to drink from many times during illness, but her sister accidentally broke it whilst cleaning the house, and the bodged repair has left the bowl cracked and incomplete. Kirsten has a classic case of breaking down before building up, first removing the rough superglue fix before carefully recreating the bowl precisely as Zarina remembers it from her schooldays in Zanzibar. 

The last visitors are Dara and Anne from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, who have an equine challenge for willow weaver Sarah Hatton. They have brought a large woven horse's head, which would be worn during performances of ancient Irish folklore. The puppet head is of Macha, the horse goddess who dates back to the Iron Age, and Dara and Anne have dedicated themselves to keeping these performance traditions alive by taking the puppets to schools and public events. As an ancient tradition, these Celtic mythologies were something shared by both Protestant and Catholic children, and so Dara used this shared history to help bring divided groups together throughout the Troubles in Northern Ireland during the 1970s. 

But after many years of good service, Macha is no longer in fine fettle. Her ears are completely disconnected from her head, there's a large hole in the wicker of her skull and worn-down material across the mouthpiece. Sarah has a substantial restoration on her hands as she takes the reigns on this one-of-a-kind repair and brings the giant puppet head back to performance-worthy condition.

The team repair a BMX bike and a famous frock. Elsewhere, there's a restoration on a piece of manufacturing equipment that helped the British army in the First World War. 

First up at the Barn, Tim Gunn has an appointment with Sharon from Swindon, who is entrusting him with a very special BMX that belongs to her husband, Dave. Sharon gifted the bike to Dave for Christmas in 1997, encouraging him to reconnect with his childhood passion of freestyle BMX, pulling stunts and soaring high above ramps! In his thirties when he received the bike, Dave passionately embraced his hobby once more despite having been diagnosed with Chiari malformation - a structural defect in the cerebellum that controls balance. Dave continued to ride for as long as he could whilst having treatment, but eventually the muscle weakness, headaches and fatigue forced him to quit riding altogether. 

The BMX is in a sorry state with a rusty chrome frame and buckled wheels. Tim has his work cut out as he attempts to bring the dull and dented frame back to the gleaming mirrored finish that Dave remembers from the late 90s, and it all starts with the careful dismantling of the iconic bicycle. 

Next to arrive are Barbara and Stefan from Holloway Fire Station, who are hoping that art restorer Lucia Scalisi can rejuvenate the painting that adorns the wall of their mental well-being garden. The painting, which depicts a fire in the background with three bold, yellow-helmeted firefighters in the foreground, was painted by a now retired firefighter called Colin Jones. The painting is the focal point of the garden, where the team come to decompress after tough days on the job. But the painting, which has always hung outdoors, is now weather-worn and seriously mouldy. 

Lucia's plan begins with removing the black mould, which obscures the yellow helmets before tackling the substantial tear in the canvas. So it's out into the sun, where the UV light will stop the mould before Lucia can vacuum the remnants away. Removing the milky old varnish from the painting is the penultimate step in this restoration as Lucia prepares to reunite the painting with Barbara and Stefan once more. 

The Barn's next guest is Ceri from Cardiff, who has a special challenge for textile conservator Rebecca Bissonet. He's brought with him an authentic gown that belonged to none other than Danny LaRue, the legendary entertainer and female impersonator. The flamboyant dress dates back to 1969 and was worn by Danny on stage. Ceri recalls seeing Danny for the first time on TV when he was just ten years old, and was partly inspired to go into theatre himself as a result. When Ceri was working as a drag artist in Soho in the mid-80s, he had the good fortune to meet Danny, and the pair became friends, with Danny bequeathing the gown to Ceri when he passed away in 2009. 

Rebecca has the job of repairing the dress's frayed train and reinforcing the stitching where the diamantes threaten to break away entirely! Her incredible work means that Ceri can proudly display the gown once again and continue to tell the story of this pioneering entertainer. 

Last to arrive are brothers Nick and Chris from Suffolk, who've brought with them a unique piece of machinery dating back to the early 1900s. The dynamometer has been in Nick and Chris's family for generations and was a key piece of equipment in the family business: a sack manufacturer. The job of the dynamometer was to measure the strength of the twine used to make coal bags and sandbags produced by the company, which dates to the 1700s. In the early part of the 20th century, the business was responsible for making hundreds of thousands of sandbags for the British army used in the trenches of the First World War. But the Dynamometer is in no condition to measure twine strength anymore, and the dial which indicates the robustness has seized up entirely. 

The repair immediately appeals to horologist Steve Fletcher, who wastes no time in coming up with a diagnosis to get it working. As Steve works on the mechanism's dial, wood restorer Will Kirk takes on the timber elements. With the dynamometer finally fixed, Nick and Chris are excited to finally test the instrument they last used as 18-year-olds on the factory floor.