Both Narrators of ‘The Repair Shop’ Have ‘Game of Thrones’ Connections

The right narrator can make all the difference in reality television: Think Michelle Buteau’s voiceovers in The Circle, Natasha Rothwell’s in 12 Dates of Christmas, and James McAvoy’s in The Bridge.

And if you’ve been charmed by a certain British docuseries about talented craftspeople restoring ordinary people’s prized possessions, you may be wondering, who’s the narrator of The Repair Shop?

Turns out, the BBC One series — now airing in the United States on Discovery and streaming on Discovery+ — has had two narrators over the years. Bill Paterson lent his voice to the first season before taking a break for a couple years, letting Robert Pugh man the commentary for three seasons.

And in a fun coincidence, one of those actors appeared on the HBO megahit Game of Thrones, while the other will appear on GOT’s upcoming spinoff, House of the Dragon.

Bill has narrated more than 125 episodes of The Repair Shop so far, narrating the first season in 2017 and returning in 2019 to emcee Season 5 onward, according to his IMDb filmography. And he’s responsible for the “soft Glaswegian tones” that contribute to The Repair Shop’s comforting nature, as Metro notes.

A Glasgow native, Bill has been an actor for more than a half-century now. He starred as Crown Prosecution Service Director George Castle in Law & Order: UK, he portrayed lawyer Ned Gowan in Outlander, and he played the father in Fleabag. His Fleabag role earned him a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

On the big screen, the 76-year-old has appeared in The Witches, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, and Miss Potter.

Coming up, Paterson will play Lord Lyman Beesbury in House of the Dragon, who is the Lord of Honeyholt and Master of Coin on King Viserys’s small council in the Game of Thrones prequel series, as HBO explains. The series will premiere later this year.

The Repair Shop’s other narrator, who gave voiceovers for 62 episodes between 2018 and 2019, is Welch actor Robert Pugh. These days, Robert is perhaps best known for playing Free Folk member Craster, a rough-edged ally of the Night Watch north of the Wall, in the second and third seasons of Game of Thrones.

The 71-year-old also had notable roles in the 2003 movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and the 2010 film Robin Hood, both of which starred Russell Crowe.

Aside from their Game of Thrones connection, Robert and Bill have crossed paths two other times. For starters, they both appeared in the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven, with Robert playing Liam Neeson’s onscreen older brother and Bill playing a bishop in the director’s cut.

Four years later, they shared the screen again in the HBO movie Into the Storm, with Robert playing British Indian Army officer Hastings Ismay and Bill playing British politician Clement Attlee.

Everyone’s connected in showbiz!