Rebecca Louise Houghton was born in February 1972. No details about her parents are publicly available. She first picked up the violin at the age of nine, later moving to the viola, and decided at the age of 13 that what she really wanted to be was an instrument maker.

Rebecca graduated from Newark College’s School of Musical Instrument Crafts with a degree in musical instrument crafts (violin making and repair) in 2008. That same year, she established Viva Violins, her luthier business based in North Devon. Viva Violins provides high-quality instruments and expertise to all players, from beginners to professional musicians, offering instruments for sale, hire, restoration, and specialist chinrest and shoulder rest fittings.

Rebecca was first contacted by a researcher from The Repair Shop in 2020, with the Covid pandemic delaying filming. In August 2021 she was contacted again, and has since completed one repair per series, as well as appearing in the Repair Shop on the Road spin-off series. She has also taken part in The Repair Shop at Christmas, which featured Dame Helen Mirren.

Rebecca lives in Landkey, North Devon, where her studio is based, with her partner Simon and their children. She is also the author of The Essential Handbook for Violinists, Violists and Fiddle Players, which has sold around the world.