The Repair Shop's Jay Blades' life off screen with rarely-seen wife
17.01.2024 - 19:25
/ ok.co.uk
As The Repair Shop once again returns to our screens with another batch of priceless treasures to be restored, Jay Blades is once again at the helm of the show, which first started back in 2017. From antique treasures to beloved soft toys, Jay has continually delighted viewers at home with his ability to repair any item brought into the shop, with the help of his expert team of craftsmen and skilled labourers.
Yet while the star may seem like a natural on camera, his journey to fame hasn’t always been easy, with Jay even revealing that at one point in his life he had actually been homeless after getting into several fights before finally getting his life back on track. Despite a rocky start however, Jay was able to turn his life around and now lives an idyllic life with his wife Lisa Marie.
Here, we take a closer look at his surprising life off screen, including his journey to fame… Early Life Born in Brent, North London, on 21 February 1970, Jay Blades was primarily raised in Hackney with his mother and maternal half-brother. As a child, Jay struggled with dyslexia, which went undiagnosed until well into adulthood, and that often made school a difficult chore as he struggled to complete his work.
In addition, as a young black man in London, he also experienced racism both at school and from the police, which left him disillusioned enough with academics and instead saw the youngster turn his hand to labouring instead. After making a name for himself as a hard grafter, Jay later made the decision to return to education at the age of 31, when he enrolled at Buckinghamshire New University to study criminology.
It was here that he discovered he was dyslexic, and had the reading age of an eleven year old at the time. Homeless
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