Repair Shop’s Jay: How I discovered I have 25 brothers and sisters (but I’ve met only 11)
THE star of the hit BBC series The Repair Shop has described his shock at discovering he has 25 brothers and sisters thanks to his womanising father.
Jay Blades grew up on a rundown council estate in East London with his single mother Barbara and his half-brother Justin. He first met his father Trevor when he was 21.
‘He told me I had four other siblings but I then found out that wasn’t true at all,’ Blades told The Mail on Sunday. ‘I have 25 in total, including six in America, two in Africa and three in Jamaica. I’ve met 11 of them and I am really close to my half-sister, Sophie.’
As a youngster, Blades shared his father’s fondness for women. By the age of 25, he had two children by different mothers. ‘I didn’t even think about settling down,’ he said. ‘Growing up, I only knew of two families where the mum and dad were married. I loved the ladies I was with but things didn’t work out and I moved on, even though I always stayed in touch with my children. I didn’t want to be like my father.’
The Repair Shop sees a number of craftsmen pool their talents to restore family heirlooms and treasured possessions. Now on its sixth series, it has proved to be a surprise hit for the BBC, drawing nearly seven million viewers who have fallen in love with its heart-warming tales.
Blades, 50, who describes himself as a 6ft 1in dyslexic from a rough estate in Hackney, admitted he is an unlikely BBC presenter.
‘I am someone who has made some very big mistakes in life, someone who has had to really work hard to mend myself,’ he said.
Growing up, his friends were locked in a turf war with a group of youths that included Idris Elba, the future star of crime dramas The Wire and Luther. Blades left school at 15 without any qualifications but he decided to go to university aged 29.
Later, he set up a charity to teach disadvantaged youngsters about furniture restoration and even picked up the vital skills himself. But when the charity collapsed in 2015, his life unravelled – his marriage broke down and he ended up sleeping in his car.
‘I ran from all my responsibilities,’ he said. ‘I left everyone and everything and got in my car and drove as far as I could.’
He ended up in Wolverhampton, where a friend helped him to find a workshop. Later, he got involved in a pilot show on ‘upcycling’ – transforming unwanted materials into new products – which led to an offer to host The Repair Shop.
‘This show is about making life better, fixing things,’ he said. ‘It is definitely a metaphor for my life.’