Jay Blades was born in Brent, North London and raised in Hackney, East London with his mother and maternal half-brother.
20 Facts About Jay Blades
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Jay Blades has dyslexia, which was not diagnosed at school.
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Jay Blades says that he experienced racism at school and from the police.
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In September 2022 Jay Blades appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs and said that his childhood had been "blighted by racism and violence".
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Jay Blades enrolled in Buckinghamshire New University as a mature student to study criminology.
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Jay Blades was supported by friends and by the Caribbean community.
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In 2021, Jay Blades became trustee of a charity founded by singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, The Black Fund.
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Jay Blades released a memoir in that year, entitled Making It: How Love, Kindness and Community Helped Me Repair My Life, published by Pan Macmillan UK.
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Jay Blades was appointed co-chair of the Heritage Crafts Association in August 2022.
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Jay Blades danced with Luba Mushtuk in the 2021 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.
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In October 2022, Jay Blades was the lead presenter for the edition of The Repair Shop which featured King Charles III.
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In June 2023, Channel 4 commissioned Britain's Best Beach Huts, which Jay Blades co-presented with Laura Jackson.
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Jay Blades has a daughter from his first marriage and two sons from previous relationships.
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Jay Blades married his second wife, Lisa Zbozen, in Barbados in November 2022.
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In September 2024, Jay Blades was charged with controlling and coercive behaviour against Zbozen, including physical and emotional abuse.
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Jay Blades revealed, shortly before, that his uncle Richard Brathwaite had been killed.
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Jay Blades told The Independent he was planning to seek counselling.
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Jay Blades appeared at Worcester Crown Court on 11 October 2024 and entered a "not guilty" plea.
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Jay Blades was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 Birthday Honours, for services to craft.
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In May 2022, it was announced that Jay Blades would be appointed as the first Chancellor of Buckinghamshire New University.