Jay is best known as a presenter on the BBC's The Repair Shop, where he and the show's team restore the nation's most treasured timepieces back to their original condition. Brought up in the East End, Jay is an upholsterer by trade. Since presenting The Repair Shop, he has endeared the public with his easy, affable charm and adept craftsmanship.
View / Submit"Jay was authentic and inspiring and conveyed all of the messages we were hoping for. He exceeded our expectations."
Stonewater
Jay Blades is the face of BBC1's The Repair Shop and Money for Nothing. He also co-presented Jay and Dom's Home Fix.
Though a recognisable face across much of the country today, Jay grew up a struggling young man in eighties East End London. His dyslexia proved severely challenging throughout his education, in addition to bullying and police brutality. He eventually became an upholsterer, fixing furniture and other complex household objects, and so cultivating the skills that would later secure him the role of welcoming people into the BBC’s repair workshop.
However, at the age of forty, Jay was homeless, and living out of his car. He talks about community, the importance of making and fixing things, resilience, and the art of asking for help in a society that pressures men to cope alone.
In his memoir Making It: How Love, Kindness and Community Helped Me Repair My Life, Jay reflects on strength, weakness and what it means to be a man and questions the boundaries society places on male vulnerability. While in Life Lessons: Wisdom and Wit from Life's Ups and Downs, Jay shares his adventures and escapades and the way they have shaped his outlook to help him to live life to the fullest.
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