Rhianna Benson
A British couple broke down in tears on television this week, revealing they'd recently discovered a 'secret message' left by their deceased son.
John and Margaret Irvin appeared on the hit BBC renovation series The Repair Shop - a popular show that sees family heirlooms renovated and restored by a team of expert craftsmen.
Speaking to presenters, the couple explained they'd recently made the decision to renovate their kitchen. During the process, however, whilst removing storage, they discovered a handwritten note written on one of the walls.
Little did they initially know, that their late son, Chris, had made the inscription as a teenager.
Advert
Becoming teary-eyed, Margaret told the show's hosts: "Where they’d taken one of the original cupboards off the wall, this was behind it and it was a complete shock to see it there."
The couple then went on to explain that Chris had tragically been diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer 15 years earlier.
At the time, he was working as a camera operator and helped produce TV work for a number of huge-name stars, like the rock band AC/DC and musician Tina Turner.
His fiancé Inna set up a successful blog, 'Kicking Cancer In the Nuts' in 2011, documenting his journey with the disease.
The following year, however, Chris sadly died at the age of 34.
"He would often scribble little notes that he would leave around the house," mum Margaret explained. "Some of them saying, 'I love you'."
Recalling his passing, she went on to recall: "It was 18 months from diagnosis to when he died. When you lose a child, you never get over it, you get through it and we’ve just got through it."
Prior to his death, however, during his teenage years, he'd written on the wall of his parents' home: "This is original wallpaper. Friday 4:15, 8th December 1989. Please leave this wallpaper, Chris."
Whilst the Irvins had originally been able to keep the piece of wallpaper intact during the renovations, they'd recently become saddened to see the scrap beginning to crumble.
As such, they had no choice but to seek the help of The Repair Shop's restoration team, who thankfully managed to stop the paper from curling by elaborately framing Chris' words.
Margaret responded with many emotions, branding specialist Rob Fraser's work as 'brilliant'.
"Even the torn bits of paper are back together," she cried. "This is better than I ever would have imagined it to be."