How to repair E84 cup holder under arm rest

[forwardthinking]

Hi all,
I noticed the cup holder under my arm rest was missing two of the tensioned arms that hold cups in place - no doubt pushed in by one of my over exuberant children. In the attached image you can see the tensioned blue band in the gaps.


While attempting to access this area from above with a pry tool, I have broken off most of the tabs on the center console chrome ring. The missing tabs are still where they were plugged into - i.e. not on the ring anymore.



My questions are:
1. Do I really have to remove my entire center console to access this to repair? And how to do this safely on a right-hand drive.
2. I have read that it is best to replace this tensioned wire with something stronger, any ideas what would work here? Just some rubber bands or is there something more specific to the task?
3. I think I have found a replace Center Console Chrome Ring (AUD$70!!!) but not sure how I will get the tabs out. Any suggestions? Will this be easier accomplished if the console is out?

Really hoping the community can help out, any assistance is greatly appreciated.