Angelina Bakalarou, born January 1988 in Athens, Greece, is a paper and painting conservator who joined BBC One’s The Repair Shop in January 2023 as the programme’s resident paper expert. Aged 37 in 2026, she holds a BA in Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens and a Master’s in Conservation of Works on Paper from Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London. She spent more than seven years at The National Archives in Kew, also worked for the Smithsonian in the United States, and co-founded The Conservators alongside business partner Ashleigh, whom she met during her London postgraduate studies. She lives in London and is in a long-term relationship with partner Simone. Her net worth is not publicly disclosed.
TL;DR
- Angelina Bakalarou, Greek paper and painting conservator, born January 1988 in Athens; based in London.
- BA in Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, Technological Educational Institute of Athens; MA in Conservation of Works on Paper, Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London.
- Worked at The National Archives, Kew (7-plus years) and the Smithsonian; co-founded The Conservators with business partner Ashleigh.
- Joined BBC One’s The Repair Shop in January 2023; made her debut on 19 January 2023 in Series 11 Episode 14.
- In a long-term relationship with Simone; no children confirmed; Instagram: @angelina_bak (approx. 7,000 followers). Net worth not publicly disclosed.
Quick Bio
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Angelina Bakalarou |
| Known As | Angelina Bakalarou; @angelina_bak |
| Date of Birth | January 1988 (exact date not publicly confirmed) |
| Age | 37 years old (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Athens, Greece |
| Nationality | Greek (resident in England) |
| Ethnicity | Greek |
| Religion | Not publicly disclosed |
| Education | BA Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, Technological Educational Institute of Athens; MA Conservation of Works on Paper, Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London |
| Profession | Paper and painting conservator; television expert; co-founder of The Conservators |
| Employer / Organisation | The Conservators (co-founder); BBC One’s The Repair Shop (from January 2023); previously The National Archives, Kew; Smithsonian |
| Active Since | Approximately 2005 (career start date as stated in BBC interview) |
| Total Following | Approximately 7,000 on Instagram (@angelina_bak) |
| Relationship Status | Long-term relationship with Simone (surname not publicly confirmed) |
| Net Worth | Not publicly disclosed |
Who is Angelina Bakalarou?
Angelina Bakalarou is a Greek paper and painting conservator based in London, best known as the resident paper expert on BBC One’s The Repair Shop since January 2023, and as co-founder of The Conservators, a specialist conservation practice she runs alongside business partner Ashleigh.
Bakalarou joined The Repair Shop’s barn team at the start of Series 11, recruited directly by producers who contacted her by email after discovering her professional profile. Her television debut on 19 January 2023 involved restoring a Victorian crayon portrait, a technique that combined an enlarged photographic print with painted-over detail. Her methodical, calm approach to explaining conservation science to lay audiences made her an immediate fit for the show’s distinctive format.
Away from television, her professional record is anchored in seven-plus years at The National Archives in Kew, where she worked with centuries-old documents from the UK’s national paper archive, and a period at the Smithsonian in the United States. The Conservators, which she and Ashleigh co-founded after meeting during postgraduate study in London, specialises in paper-based objects and paintings on canvas. Bakalarou told the BBC in 2024 that conservation started for her in 2005 and she “has just never looked back.”
Early Life and Background
Childhood and Family
Angelina Bakalarou was born in January 1988 and grew up in Athens, Greece, where the density of ancient monuments, museums, archaeological sites, and cultural institutions created the environment that drew her toward art conservation from a young age.
She has spoken publicly about Greece’s role in shaping her professional instincts: “Greece has an amazing and massive amount of cultural heritage. So I was always drawn to the art and everything behind it,” she told the BBC. Athens, as the city containing the Acropolis, the National Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine and Christian Museum, and dozens of other institutions of global significance, offers an unusual early-life context for a conservator: preservation is not an academic abstraction but a daily visible reality of the public environment. Her family background is not publicly documented, consistent with her generally private personal presentation outside of her professional content.
Education
Bakalarou completed a BA in Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens before moving to London to complete a two-year Master’s in Conservation of Works on Paper at Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London.
Camberwell College of Arts, part of the University of the Arts London, is one of the UK’s most respected institutions for conservation training at postgraduate level, with particular strength in works on paper, book conservation, archives, and heritage materials. The two-year MA placed Bakalarou in a peer environment that proved professionally transformative: it was during these studies that she met Ashleigh, who became her business partner and co-founder of The Conservators. Her move to London for postgraduate study, approximately in 2013 based on her stated 11-year London residency as of 2024, was the defining geographical pivot of her career.
Career Journey
Before The Repair Shop
After completing her MA, Bakalarou built a career across institutional and private conservation, working for more than seven years at The National Archives in Kew and at the Smithsonian in the United States, handling centuries-old documents and preparing them for storage and digital access.
The National Archives at Kew holds the UK’s national collection of government records and historical documents, including items dating back to the Domesday Book of 1086. Working as a conservator within that collection demands the highest levels of technical precision: materials range from medieval parchment through 18th-century paper correspondence to 20th-century administrative files, each with its own degradation profile and treatment requirements. The Smithsonian posting extended her institutional experience to one of the world’s largest museum complexes, giving her a transatlantic professional perspective that later enriched her work with private clients through The Conservators.
The Conservators
Bakalarou co-founded The Conservators with her Camberwell postgraduate colleague Ashleigh, a practice dedicated to the conservation of paper-based objects and paintings on canvas for private collectors, galleries, and heritage institutions.
According to The Conservators’ website, the business is “dedicated to protecting a wide range of paper-based objects and paintings on canvas with conscientious intervention and preventative methods of conservation.” The practice serves private clients, galleries, and institutions, spanning the full range from individual family heirlooms through works at auction level. Bakalarou holds a confirmed directorship of The Conservators Ltd, registered in the UK, listed in Companies House records.
The Repair Shop
Bakalarou made her Repair Shop debut on 19 January 2023 in Series 11 Episode 14, tackling a Victorian crayon portrait, and joined the barn as the programme’s first dedicated paper conservator, having been approached directly by the production team via email.
Her second appearance in Series 11 Episode 17 presented a very different challenge: a mining helmet made from compressed paper, used by a Welsh colliery worker across a 51-year career underground, brought in by the current custodian Ceri as a memorial to his late grandfather who started mining work at 14. The variety of paper-based objects the show’s guests bring to the barn, spanning Victorian portraiture, industrial heritage objects, family correspondence, and damaged artworks, suited Bakalarou’s institutional range exactly. Her calm explanatory style, breaking down the chemistry and craft of conservation without condescension, became a signature of her appearances. She has described her arrival in the barn as “surreal”: producers reached out by email, interviews and video calls followed, and before she was fully aware of how it had happened, she was working on her first item on set.
Career Today
As of 2026, Angelina Bakalarou continues to appear on The Repair Shop on BBC One and to run The Conservators alongside business partner Ashleigh, based in London with approximately 7,000 followers on Instagram at @angelina_bak.
Her Instagram content, described in her bio as “Art on Paper Conservator,” documents conservation work and professional projects without sharing extensive personal content. She has been living in the UK for approximately 13 years as of 2026. Her London home, which she has described as her “happy place,” is characterised by abundant plant life and artwork, glimpsed occasionally in her social media posts.
Content Style and Niche
Bakalarou’s professional niche is paper and works-on-paper conservation, encompassing documents, manuscripts, printed materials, watercolours, drawings, and paintings on paper support, within which she combines institutional archival expertise with private practice sensitivity.
On The Repair Shop, her approach translates complex conservation science, the pH chemistry of degrading paper, the mechanics of old adhesive failure, the optical properties of discolouration, into accessible narrative without losing technical accuracy. She occupies a space between the scientific conservator who communicates in laboratory terms and the television craftsperson who demonstrates manual skill without technical framework: Bakalarou does both simultaneously. Her Greek accent, her explanatory patience, and the visible care she takes with each object have made her a popular presence with the show’s audience of families who bring deeply personal items to the barn.
Social Media Presence
Bakalarou maintains an active Instagram account at @angelina_bak with approximately 7,000 followers, focused on conservation projects, The Repair Shop appearances, and professional work with The Conservators.
| Platform | Followers / Subscribers | Content Type |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram (@angelina_bak) | Approximately 7,000 | Conservation work, Repair Shop episodes, professional projects, personal glimpses |
| The Conservators website | Not applicable | Professional portfolio and conservation enquiries |
Net Worth and Income Streams
Angelina Bakalarou’s net worth is not publicly disclosed; her income derives from television work on The Repair Shop, The Conservators practice, and private and institutional conservation commissions.
| Income Stream | Estimated Contribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Repair Shop (BBC One) | Primary public income | Regular appearances since January 2023 |
| The Conservators (co-founder) | Primary professional income | Private clients, galleries, institutions; paper and canvas conservation |
| Freelance conservation commissions | Supporting | Private collectors and individual heritage items |
Physical Appearance
Height and Body Stats
Angelina Bakalarou’s physical measurements are not confirmed in public sources.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Height | Not publicly disclosed |
| Weight | Not publicly disclosed |
| Eye Colour | Not publicly disclosed |
| Hair Colour | Not publicly disclosed |
Personal Life
Relationships
Bakalarou is in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend Simone, who first appeared on her Instagram in 2015 and with whom she has travelled to destinations including Doha and Sardinia.
Simone’s surname has not been made public. Bakalarou does not discuss her relationship in interviews and the Hello Magazine profile of her private life in September 2024 was the most detailed public account available, establishing the existence and approximate duration of the relationship from the earliest Instagram evidence. No engagement or marriage has been announced publicly. No children are confirmed.
Family
Bakalarou’s family background in Greece is not publicly documented; she has spoken warmly about Greece’s cultural environment as a formative influence but has not discussed her parents or siblings in any published interview.
Her move to London approximately 13 years ago for postgraduate study represents the biographical transition point between her Greek upbringing and her UK-based professional life. She has described London as her adopted home and her flat there as her “happy place.”
Achievements and Milestones
- BA in Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, Technological Educational Institute of Athens: Undergraduate specialist degree providing the disciplinary foundation for her career.
- MA in Conservation of Works on Paper, Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London: Postgraduate specialist degree at one of the UK’s most respected conservation training programmes.
- The National Archives, Kew: Seven-plus years working with the UK’s national document collection, spanning materials from medieval to 20th-century.
- Smithsonian, United States: Institutional conservation experience at one of the world’s largest museum complexes, extending her professional reach transatlantically.
- Co-founded The Conservators: Established a specialist conservation practice with postgraduate colleague Ashleigh, serving private collectors, galleries, and institutions.
- The Repair Shop debut, 19 January 2023: Joined the barn team for Series 11 Episode 14 as the show’s first dedicated paper conservator, tackling a Victorian crayon portrait.
Interesting Facts About Angelina Bakalarou
- Bakalarou joined The Repair Shop after the production team cold-contacted her by email; she had not applied or sought a television role, and described the subsequent journey from email to first item in the barn as “quite surreal.”
- Her second Repair Shop appearance involved restoring a compressed paper mining helmet used by a Welsh colliery worker across a 51-year underground career, one of the more unusual paper-based objects in the show’s history.
- She told the BBC that her conservation career began in 2005 and that the “if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life” formula accurately describes her relationship with the profession.
- Her business partner Ashleigh, co-founder of The Conservators, was her fellow student during the Camberwell MA: the collaboration moved directly from academic to professional partnership without interruption.
- Bakalarou’s Instagram account, at @angelina_bak, describes her as “Art on Paper Conservator” for The Conservators and “Paper conservator at The Repair Shop, BBC1,” positioning the two roles as co-equal professional identities rather than television celebrity with a day job.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Angelina Bakalarou?
Angelina Bakalarou is a Greek paper and painting conservator based in London, known as the resident paper expert on BBC One’s The Repair Shop since January 2023. She co-founded The Conservators with business partner Ashleigh and previously worked at The National Archives in Kew and the Smithsonian.
How old is Angelina Bakalarou?
Angelina Bakalarou was born in January 1988, making her 37 years old as of 2026.
When did Angelina Bakalarou join The Repair Shop?
Angelina Bakalarou made her Repair Shop debut on 19 January 2023 in Series 11 Episode 14, restoring a Victorian crayon portrait. She joined after the production team contacted her directly by email.
What are Angelina Bakalarou’s qualifications?
Angelina Bakalarou holds a BA in Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens and a Master’s in Conservation of Works on Paper from Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London.
Is Angelina Bakalarou married?
Angelina Bakalarou is in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend Simone. She is not married and has no confirmed children.
