The Repair Shop's Jay Blades sometimes thinks 'is that me?' when looking at his life

The Repair Shop star Jay Blades discussed going from sleeping in his car to being awarded an MBE and having an incredible career

His speciality is taking broken, useless stuff and turning it into works of art that people love having in their living rooms. And in that sense, Jay Blades is a living example of the kind of restoration viewers see on The Repair Shop.

Almost nine years ago to the day, he was down and out with nothing but the dirty clothes on his back. But now the East Londoner is closing in on national treasure status – and he’s just as stunned as anyone at his amazing turnaround of fortunes.

From dinners with Dame Judi Dench to hanging out with Sir David Jason to even counting the King as a mate, the popular presenter is proof that nothing is so broken that it cannot be fixed. Jay, who announced a tenth series of The Repair Shop this week, says he is still incredulous at how different his life is today.

The 54-year-old explains: “It’s unbelievable. Sometimes when I pause and I look at my life, I’m just like, ‘Really? Is that me? It’s like, is this really happening to me?’ The types of friends now that I can call up it’s like… I never would have thought this would ever have happened to me.”

Jay remembers how he and Dame Judi immediately clicked when she came on the hit BBC show.

Speaking on the fifth series of the award-winning foodie podcast Dish from Waitrose, he says: “She was going to do the Royal special because she knows the King, but he had Covid so wasn’t about to come the first time. But then we were having a chinwag and we just got on like a house on fire.

“And ever since that she sends me messages, and she’s done a couple of jingles for me for my radio show. She’s a real gem.” But he cringes as he remembers almost ruining their fledgling friendship when she invited him for lunch one day. “We were meant to be there for 12.30. We set off on time, but the traffic was bad and it was raining. I think we got there at 3 pm.

“Everybody had waited, they were starving. It was really bad, but Judi welcomed us with open arms.” He got to spend time with another national treasure, Sir David Jason, after he paired up with him for David and Jay’s Touring Toolshed.

Again, the relationship got off to a rocky start when Jay stormed off camera and told the actor to “do one” after he mocked his barrel-crafting skills. But they patched things up after Jay taught him to ad-lib on camera rather than follow a script. He says: “I called him DJ. Let me tell you something about him, he’s as sharp as a tack. I mean, the guy, he’s a comedy legend, he’s 83 years old, and he did something he’s never done in his entire career, he did unscripted.

“At first he was like a fish out of water, for about an hour. And then he realised, and I remember he told me we were a brilliant double act. He said to me, ‘Because I say something, and then you have something to say straight away’. Because he was used to thinking about the script he had to remember and all that kind of stuff.”

The then Prince Charles dropped in on Jay’s workshop in August 2021, then gave him an MBE at Windsor Castle in May 2022 for his services to craft. But Jay says that having royalty in the Repair Shop barn was “the same as having anyone else”.

“He’s just a normal geezer, he’s all right, he’s my rich friend, he runs the country!” He remembers: “What was weird was that the producers were really worried about me meeting him. Because I just let people talk and have a chinwag.

“But we we had to rehearse. Cor Blimey, I think it was two days. So I had someone pretending to be the prince, walking around and all that kind of stuff. And basically, he never did any of the stuff that we rehearsed, he just did his own thing. And it was absolutely fine.

“He was, and still is a real gem, so much so that me and him got on, and he asked me to host his 75th birthday party. It was surreal. Me and him did get on like a house on fire.” Down-to-earth Jay says he’ll never use his royal connections to get ahead, except when it comes to one thing - his beef with Waitrose over no longer stocking Bakewell tarts from Charles’s company Duchy Originals.

Talking to hosts Nick Grimshaw and Michelin-starred star chef Angela Hartnett, he explains: “Gorgeous little thing it was. So, Waitrose, if you’re listening, I have an MBE… and I know the King as well.” On a more serious note, Jay recalls the lowest point in his life, when his marriage broke down, the charity he set up collapsed, and he decided to end it all.

He recalls: “I couldn’t see myself being in tomorrow if that makes sense. So I got in a car, was driving, got on the M40 and was looking for a bridge to crash into. In my naivety didn’t know that every bridge has a barrier.”

Eventually he ran out of petrol and slept in his car for a week in a motorway services before he was rescued from his breakdown by a male friend, who Jay credits with saving his life. Not everyone on his shows has wanted to be his pal, though. He recalls: “[There] was a really expensive table, worth £25,000, which I’d painted in lovely black with mint green drawers.

“I told the geezer, who was an antique dealer and he called me a couple of names, effed and blinded, and he said, ‘Look, in all seriousness, this table is probably worth about 15 quid now.’”

*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch

• Dish from Waitrose is available now on all podcast platforms.

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