BBC's Repair Shop host Jay Blades charged with controlling and coercive behaviour

The Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades has been charged with controlling and coercive behaviour against his estranged wife.

The alleged behaviour includes physical and emotional abuse, according to court documents.

The 54-year-old appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court and was bailed until another court appearance next month.

Blades married fitness instructor Lisa Zbozen in November 2022 in Barbados, but in May she said she was “broken” after grabbing a bag of things and leaving home.

West Mercia Police said he was charged on Thursday after they were called to an address on 3 May, the day after Ms Zbozen’s Instagram post, and began an investigation.

Blades – a furniture restorer – is the face of the popular BBC show, which features people having treasured objects repaired and rejuvenated.

The Repair Shop first aired in 2017 and its 14th series is due later this year.

Blades’ other TV work includes Britain’s Best Beach Huts and David and Jay’s Touring Tool Shed, alongside Sir David Jason.

The BBC said a repeat of the latter show had been dropped from Friday’s schedule.

The presenter was raised by his mother on a council estate in Hackney in east London, according to his website.

It says he left school with no qualifications before studying criminology and then finding his “true vocation in restoration and supporting vulnerable people”.

Blades announced a break from social media at the end of April – and said he would be getting therapy – after posting that his uncle had been murdered.

However, he returned in June for an Instagram post to honour his grandmother and aunt as part of the Windrush generation.

A repeat of David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed, which was scheduled to run on the BBC on Friday night, was removed and the BBC will not schedule any programmes in which he features, PA news agency reported.

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