A WIMBORNE resident who was the former puppeteer for Sweep in the Sooty and Sweep Show has appeared on The Repair Shop.

Ron Martin, 80, appeared on the 13th series of the show with an old magic prop made by his dad.

A magician in his youth,  Ron has had an illustrious career which included as the puppeteer for Sweep for two years alongside performing as a support act for the show.

Ron said: "We were tidying up the cottage a while ago and my wife, Nina, was going through some props and said 'oh look, there's this old magic box'.

"It was in a really sad state and so she said 'why don't we go to the repair shop? Unbeknown to me, she phoned up got a hold of them and next thing I know my phone is ringing."

An old die trick, Ron shared that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience and met presenter Will Kirk.

He also revealed that he had asked for the trick not to be shown on the show to keep the magic of the prop alive.

He said: "I said to Will, please don't give it away as you can expose it on camera instantly. When he's repairing, you don't see anything that you shouldn't.

"If the secret had been given away on the show then that would have been awful because every child in the country that has seen a magician do it at their party would have gone 'oh, that's how you do it'."

Ron reflected on his dad whilst in conversation and stated that he wasn't a magician himself but often took Ron to shows and built several props for him to use.

Semi-retired, Ron still works as a talent manager and produces the Best Ever Christmas Show at the Allendale Centre every year.

He said: "My dad used to take me to the theatre every week. He'd build a magic prop for me and I would use it and that was the start of my career.

"Show business has been really good to me. I live in a lovely cottage and I've got everything I want."