Jay Blades’ TV future has been put on the line after he was charged with coercive and controlling behaviour towards his estranged wife – Lisa Zbozen – with the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 all axing his projects.
The 54-year-old was charged with controlling and coercive behaviour against Zbozen, including physical and emotional abuse on September 13, and appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court, before being bailed to appear at Worcester Crown Court on October 11.
Zbozen made her decision to end their 18-month marriage publicly on May 3, 2024, with Blades being arrested on the same day.
A spokeswoman for West Mercia Police said: “54-year-old Jason Blades of Claverley in Wolverhampton has been charged with controlling and coercive behaviour.”
The Repair Shop star and his fitness instructor wife married in November 2022 at an intimate ceremony in Barbados with just a select few friends and family members.
Weeks after their split, Zbozen took to her social media and revealed that their marriage had become severely strained, and admitted she was “broken.”
Now, it has been reported that Blades has been axed by the BBC from this year’s upcoming Christmas special of the renovation show The Repair Shop, with creators, Ricochet, said to be considering a permanent replacement for him.
Channel 5 has also shelved a documentary series Blades was making called A Country House Through Time, as well as Channel 4 confirmed they will not be making a sequel to his recent travelogue with Dame Judi Dench, The Odd Couple.
According to The Sun, a TV insider said: “Everything is up in the air following Blades getting charged, but TV chiefs didn’t want to be seen to act slowly. Until court proceedings have run their course, everything is getting put on hold, and alternative plans are being considered.
“But The Repair Shop is likely to continue as it’s hugely popular and the feeling is that the show is bigger than any individual.”
It was rumoured that the BBC had pulled all episodes from the schedule after Blades’ court appearance, however, an insider told The Sun: “The Beeb won’t feature any new shows in which he appears until it is clear how legal proceedings conclude”.
On Wednesday night, a new episode of The Repair Shop aired on BBC One, but it was obvious Blades had been edited out of the episode.
The BBC One narrator introducing the show: “Talking shop now on BBC One, with a change to the billed episode.”
It didn’t take long for eagle-eyed fans to notice that Blades had been “heavily” edited out of the opening credits as well as being missing from the episode itself, with one X user commenting: “Heavy edit to remove Jay from the opening montage.”
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A second fan added: “Noticing a big lack of Jay the opening few minutes. A bit of an impromptu trimming after recent headlines huh? #therepairshop.”
“Jay Blades totally erased from the #therepairshop,” a third penned before a fourth noted: “#TheRepairShop A change to the built episode.”
Someone else said: “#JayBlades removed from opening credits of the #TheRepairShop. Well done @BBCOne.”
Shortly after Blades was charged he resigned as co-chair and trustee of Heritage Crafts and as an ambassador for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), with both organisations having King Charles as their patron.
The furniture restorer was made an MBE for services to craft in 2022 and also resigned from his role as chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University.
