Smile Scotland charity to appear on Bangers and Cash with restored 1950s pushbike

By Chloe Irvine

August 1 2022, 11:45 am

Smile Scotland will appear on TV show Bangers and Cash with a restored 1950s pushbike. Picture by Kami Thomson

The work of a north-east mental health charity will be featured on popular TV show Bangers and Cash next week.

Smile Scotland helps young people with mental health problems, disabilities or a criminal record get back into further education and employment.

It teaches clients key skills including furniture restoration, customer service and sourcing products.

And members are now going to show off their decades-old restored pushbike, which they bought at auction last year, on the Yesterday channel’s Bangers and Cash.

The programme’s crew is based in York, but travelled up to the charity’s Oyne auction house where the 1951 Hercules Kestrel now resides.

Hercules Kestrel race pushbike which will appear on television. Picture by Kami Thomson

TV appearance to give hopeful message

Founder and trustee Clive Hampshire hopes their television appearance will inspire others.

He said: “I think the exposure on TV will tell people about us, and we hope it’ll encourage others to come forward and say they need help.

“Sometimes when people have poor mental health they just lock themselves away in a dark place and they don’t reach out.

“You might not realise they’re struggling, it takes a bit of training.”

‘Nobody is treated differently’

Clive stressed that everyone at Smile Scotland is treated the same – regardless of their circumstances.

“We have paid staff, volunteers and our clients – but nobody is treated any differently, if you walked in you wouldn’t know who was who.

“What we say is ‘we don’t judge’.

Clive Hampshire riding on the pushbike in Oyne. Picture by Kami Thomson

“We’ve worked with people who’ve been released from prison and helped them get back into work.

“And what’s good is you don’t have to have a fixed abode to apply to come here, if someone’s homeless, some charities won’t take them,” he added

Empowering people with skills, knowledge and confidence

Since the charity launched in 2014, it’s helped clients turn their lives round by finding full-time employment and even going on to do charity work of their own.

Clive said: “We want to empower people with the skills, knowledge, confidence and experience to overcome the barriers they face in getting into and sustaining employment.

“They can avoid living in poverty, sustaining positive mental and physical health.”

Smile Scotland and the restored pushbike will appear on Bangers and Cash, airing on August 11 at 8pm on Yesterday channel.