Jay Blades has addressed criticism that he 'broke royal protocol' while filming a special episode of The Repair Shop with King Charles. The monarch invited the BBC One show's gang Dumfries House to help him with a bracket clock and a Wemyss Ware ceramic piece.
The episode, which was filmed was filmed when Charles with still the Prince of Wales and prior to him accending the throne following his beloved mother's death on September 9, was a one-off to mark the BBC’s centenary and has been hailed as 'wonderful' by viewers.
The now King was visibly moved as he viewed the handiwork on an 18th-century clock whose chimes had been restored. Before the big reveal, presenter Jay greeted the monarch with a cup of Earl Grey tea presented in an HRH mug, to which Charles responded: "How did you guess."
As he entered The Repair Shop barn, Charles asked horologist Steve Fletcher: "Have you got the bells working again? The suspense is killing me." Following the uncovering, the royal said: "Oh my, look at that you see. Fantastic. It just shows what love, care and attention does. Marvellous. Having seen what it was like I can’t thank you enough, it really is wonderful. It will look really special back in Dumfries House."
The episode also saw Charles meet students from the Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Programme – a training initiative that teaches traditional skills such as blacksmithing, stonemasonry and wood carving and saw him shown restorations made to the damaged 19th century piece made for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee by British ceramics maker Wemyss Ware.
But some viewers spotted how Jay, who received an MBE in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 2021 Birthday Honours, acted in a very friendly manner towards Charles, being seen to touch his arm as they laughed together and explored The Prince’s Trust’s Dumfries House in Scotland.
After the episode aired on Wednesday night, Jay appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning (October 27), Charlotte Hawkins asked Jay about viewers saying he should remember royal protocol. Jay replied: “I was touching him and he was returning the touch as well, so the royal protocol is by the person who is a royal.
"If he didn’t want me to touch him he would have said or someone would have told me, and he would have done that." The 52-year-old added: "But I think the way that we have this mutual interest in heritage craft, that’s what bonded us together."
Jay also responded to the comparisons viewers made between him and Charles and popular TV duo Ant McPartline and Declan Donnelly. It came after one fan tweeted: "Look out Ant and Dec there’s a new double act in town." But Jay wasn't convinced as he said on GMB: "I’m not sure about that," despite being humbled by the positive reaction to the pair being on-screen together.
READ NEXT:
- Helen Skelton's ex Richie Myler makes decision as he addresses 'abusive' social media messages after split
- BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Fleur East says there were 'three people' in ABBA routine as she shares cheeky It Takes Two clip
- ITV Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins tells Adil Ray to 'stop' as he mocks 'miserable' Rishi Sunak move
- Gemma Atkinson laughs as she and Gorka look like they've 'pinched something' and fans compare them to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
- Stacey Solomon flooded with demand after melting hearts with latest look at Primark collection
