Furniture restorer Jason “Jay” Blades, 53, was raised by a single mother in east London. He struggled at school due to undiagnosed dyslexia, then worked as a labourer and in factories before founding a charity to train disadvantaged youngsters in furniture restoration. TV producers spotted him in a short film, thought he was a natural on screen and asked Blades to front BBC hit The Repair Shop. He has presented documentaries, opened his first bricks-and-mortar shop, Jay & Co, in Poole, and is about to appear on The Great Celebrity Bake Off. He’s married with three children and lives in Shropshire.
What’s the enduring appeal of The Repair Shop?
It’s all about love. The experts who fix things have love for their craft. The people who bring in their precious heirlooms have love for their family. Put those together and it’s magical.
There are often tears on the show. How much do you cry?
Not that often because what I’ve realised is that it’s not about me. It’s all about the person who’s bringing the item in. My role is to ask why it’s so important to them and listen to their story. I make sure I know nothing in advance. Thirty seconds before they come through the door, I’ll ask the director their name and that’s it. We just have a conversation.
Are you ever surprised by the sort of people who are Repair Shop fans?
It seems to appeal across the board, from grannies right down to five-year-olds. The only thing that shocks me is when people approach me in service station toilets. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. Let’s zip up first, mate.
Carrying precious items around the workshop, have you ever dropped anything? Never. Working in restoration, you soon learn that if you drop something, you’ve got to fix it. That got drummed into me when I got trained by the masters, so I’m always careful. But hey, if I did drop something, I’d be in the right place!
Specialists on the show – the likes of metalworker Dom, carpenter Will, horologist Steve and ceramicist Kirsten – have become cult heroes. Is that nice to see?
It’s lovely. A lot of them work in sheds on their own, so don’t get to show off or celebrate what they do. It’s terrific to see them getting appreciation on a national, sometimes international, level. We spend nine months a year filming, all staying in the same hotel and having meals together, so we’ve become like a family.
How was making last year’s BBC centenary episode with King Charles (then Prince Charles)?
It was a real moment. Like me, he has a deep love of heritage crafts. I think he was able to relax because we were talking about his passions. When we went up to film at Dumfries House, we sat down for dinner together and a proper chinwag. The guy’s really cool. He’s been talking about environmental issues for 40 years and now everyone’s caught up. I think he’s an all right geezer.
How long will you stay on The Repair Shop?
I don’t see myself going anywhere. If they’ll have me, you might see me grow very old in that barn. I already shave my head but my eyebrows might go grey.
How many pairs of glasses and flat caps do you own?
I’ve got 15 pairs of glasses and six caps that I wear regularly. The glasses are all in their own cases and I carry the caps in a hat bag. All my clothes are colour-coordinated, put in the right place and ready to be worn. It’s like with my tools. Everything has to be in order. If somebody else uses your tools and they don’t put them back where they belong, they’re in trouble big time.
You came to the attention of TV producers through Out of the Dark, the youth charity you ran in High Wycombe. Do you hear success stories of how those young people turned out?
Loads and it’s unbelievably gratifying. I worked with police, social services, schools and pupil referral units. All sorts of young people would come along and I’d teach them how to restore and revamp old furniture. Hopefully, it would engage them in education or put them on the straight and narrow if they were in trouble. I mentored Leigh-Anne [Pinnock] from Little Mix and she’s an ultra-success. Others have since got steady careers, become teachers themselves or stopped committing crime. Those are all success stories too.
Were you pleased with the reaction to last year’s documentary, Learning to Read at 51?
My philosophy is always to try to support or influence people I’m never going to meet. If I can do that through my work, I’m over the moon. About 8 million people in this country have problems with reading, so I was happy to expose my vulnerability if it was going to inspire and help people. That’s what it did. The ReadEasy adult literacy charity was inundated with offers to volunteer and inquiries doubled from people wanting to tap into their services.
How is your reading now?
A bit better. Doing script voiceovers takes half as long as it used to. I’m not a fluent reader but any words that I don’t understand, I ask.
Is there a book you’re aiming to read?
I’d love to read my own autobiography. I told a ghostwriter my story and readers tell me it sounds as if I’m talking to them. So I’d like to read that and just think, “Is that what I sound like? Cool!”
You opened your first shop, Jay & Co in Poole, last month. Was that a proud moment?
Really proud. At the official opening, there were loads of people there, so I didn’t get a chance to take it in. It was only when everyone was gone that I was like “wow, I’ve done this. This is brilliant.” It’s doing well. Whenever I go down there in person, it’s like “whoosh!” and suddenly the place fills up.
Do you have to stop yourself taking pieces home and keeping them for yourself?
One hundred per cent. I’m addicted to furniture. I’ve got a two-storey workshop and downstairs is piled high with items I’ve bought but don’t know what to do with yet.
You’ve been upcycling for decades. Has the world now come around to your way of thinking?
Yes and I’m glad. It’s about not leaving rubbish for the next generation. Leaving a mess behind for someone else to deal with isn’t nice. You wouldn’t do that at someone’s house. Why do it to the planet? Repurposing, recycling, redesigning – that’s the way forward.
How do you relax when you’re not working?
Play records and have a dance with the missus. Stick on some reggae, soul, jazz or rare groove, then we dance very closely together for a couple of hours. Or as long as she’ll tolerate me, anyway.
You appeared on Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas special in 2021. How was that?
I loved every minute, but it was one of the hardest things I’ve done. You forget that your toes have muscles but my toes were killing me after practising that jive.
Next Sunday, you’re on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer.
Don’t remind me! I’m not a baker. They sent me ingredients and some equipment in advance, so I could practise. I never opened the box. I just went straight into the Bake Off tent like “Here we go, let’s do this!” Us East Enders have our wits about us, so I totally winged it.
Was Paul Hollywood scary?
No, he’s a really nice guy. And the cameras don’t do his eyes justice! I’ve never seen a shade of blue like it. I couldn’t stop gazing into them. I was falling in love with him. He hypnotised me.
Jay Blades’s shop Jay & Co is now open in Poole and online
