BBC The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades charged with controlling and coercive behaviour against estranged wife

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Jay Blades, presenter on The Repair Shop series, has been charged with controlling and coercive behaviour towards his estranged wife.

Blades, 54, appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday and was bailed to appear at Worcester Crown Court on 11 October.

Court documents show that the alleged behaviour includes physical and emotional abuse of his former wife Lisa Zbozen.

West Mercia Police said it launched an investigation after being called on 3 May, the day after Ms Zbozen posted a message on Instagram saying their marriage had ended after 18 months.

Blades is the face of the popular The Repair Shop on the BBC, where people bring in heirlooms to be restored by craftspeople.

In early May filming on the new series of The Repair Shop began without him as he said he was taking a break to “take stock” following the alleged murder of his uncle and as headlines surfaced over his split from Ms Zbozen, who he married in Barbados in 2022. In May, Blades also announced the couple had broken up in a post on Instagram to his 193,000 followers.

A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “Fifty-four year-old Jason Blades of Claverley in Wolverhampton has been charged with controlling and coercive behaviour. He appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates Court this morning [Friday 13th September] and has been bailed to appear at Worcester Crown Court on Friday 11th October.”

Blades found fame after being named the presenter of The Repair Shop in 2017. In an interview with The Independent, Blades said securing the presenting gig had saved his life after an acute mental health crisis.

The furniture restorer began his life in Brent, North London, working as a labourer and in factories until he enrolled at Buckinghamshire New University as a mature student to study criminology.

He later set up a charity supporting disadvantaged young people in furniture restoration, based in High Wycombe, before moving to Wolverhampton to launch a social enterprise helping disengaged groups.

After filming a documentary programme for the BBC called Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51, he became the anchor for The Repair Shop.

He also presented the BBC’s Money For Nothing until 2020, appeared on Celebrity Masterchef and Celebrity Bake Off as well as Comic Relief and delved into the history of the West Midlands and the East End for two Channel 5 documentaries.

He has appeared with many well-known figures in television for one-off programmes, including with Dame Judi Dench for Dame Judi and Jay: The Odd Couple and Sir David Jason in David and Jay’s Touring Toolshed.

He was last on air on The Repair Shop on Wednesday.

In 2021, he received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to craft. In March 2023, he became Buckinghamshire New University’s first chancellor.

In a statement posted on its website, Buckinghamshire New University said: “Jay Blades MBE has resigned from his role as Chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University with immediate effect. We thank Jay for his loyal service to the University and will be making no further comment.”