Thursday, September 19, 2024

Jay Blades makes charity decision after being charged with controlling and coercive behaviour

Must read

Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades has made the decision to resign from the King’s Foundation after being charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour towards his wife. 

Blades, 54, had supported the foundation – formerly the Prince’s Foundation – as an ambassador.

He also visited its Dumfries House location in Ayrshire for the BBC special programme The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit.

However, the charity confirmed today that Blades has informed them of his resignation. 

Blades also resigned from his role as chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University. 

On Friday, Blades appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court having been charged with one count of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour. 

In 2022, a special one-off episode to mark the BBC’s centenary saw Jay Blades and the repair team visit the King, when he was still the Prince of Wales, at Dumfries House in Scotland

Jay Blades (left) has been charged with offences against his estranged wife Lisa Zbozen (right)

Jay Blades (left) has been charged with offences against his estranged wife Lisa Zbozen (right)

Blades's wife Lisa Zbozen, a fitness instructor, posted this photograph on Instagram

Blades’s wife Lisa Zbozen, a fitness instructor, posted this photograph on Instagram 

Jay Blades and Lisa Zbozen married at a beachfront villa in Barbados on November 22, 2022

Jay Blades and Lisa Zbozen married at a beachfront villa in Barbados on November 22, 2022

Jay Blades found fame on the BBC restoration programme The Repair Shop, which sees members of the public take worn-out family heirlooms to be restored by a team of experts

Jay Blades found fame on the BBC restoration programme The Repair Shop, which sees members of the public take worn-out family heirlooms to be restored by a team of experts 

The charge relates to his wife Lisa Zbozen, a fitness instructor, who posted on Instagram in May that their relationship had come to an end, according to court documents. 

The couple married in the grounds of a beachfront villa in Barbados on November 22, 2022. 

Police began an investigation after being called to an address the day after Ms Zbozen made the social media post. 

Blades presents the popular BBC show Repair Shop, which shows people having valuable and sentimental objects repaired and brought back to life.  

He is set to appear at Worcester Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on October 11. 

Blades left school at 15 with no qualifications but got back on track studying for a degree in criminology and philosophy at Buckinghamshire New University from 2001.

Following his graduation, Blades co-founded the Out of the Dark charitable social enterprise that recycled and revamped furniture to train, educate and employ young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

And he found fame on the BBC restoration programme The Repair Shop – which sees members of the public take worn-out family heirlooms to be restored by a team of experts – starring on the show since its launch in 2017.

In 2022, a special one-off episode to mark the BBC’s centenary saw Blades and the repair team visit the King, when he was still the Prince of Wales, at Dumfries House in Scotland.

Latest article