Jay Blades is a familiar face to countless fans across the country, having presented the BBC programme The Repair Shop from 2017 until 2024. From treasured antiques to cherished soft toys, Jay consistently charmed audiences with his knack for restoring any item brought through the door, alongside his expert team of craftspeople and talented workers.

However, while the star may have appeared to be a natural in front of the cameras, his path to stardom hasn't always been straightforward, with Jay even disclosing that at one stage in his life he had been homeless following a series of altercations before eventually turning his circumstances around. Eager to support others who have encountered similar challenges, Jay has regularly discussed his experiences in the hope of motivating others to transform their lives as he chronicled his journey, both the triumphs and the struggles, in several documentaries throughout the years.

Back in January 2022, viewers were given an insight into Jay's life beyond the screen, when he featured in his own hour-long documentary. Jay Blades: Learning To Read at 51 was broadcast on BBC One and followed Jay's challenging experience as he endeavoured to learn to read later in life.

Elsewhere, speaking in Channel 5 documentary series, There's No Place Like Home, Hackney-born Jay disclosed that he had been left homeless in his early twenties, with all his worldly possessions fitting into a single carrier bag. "At 21 I was all over the place, I had no direction, I left London because I was getting into loads of fights and there were people after me," he said.

"I had my first child, and then split up with the missus, and moved back to London, then I ended up homeless and went into a hostel." After being assisted out of the hostel and into a flat, Jay went on to wed his ex-wife Jade, with whom he shares a teenage daughter, Zola.

Together, Jay and Jade established the charity Out of the Dark, with the aim of training disadvantaged young people in the art of furniture restoration. However, the High Wycombe-based charity ultimately lost its funding, and the couple's marriage collapsed around the same period.

He was once again left without a home, and has previously spoken of how he "hit rock bottom" in the wake of the breakdown.

During a prior appearance on This Morning, Jay revealed he had spent a week sleeping in his car after contemplating taking his own life. "Seven years ago, everything flopped for me; the charity that I was running, my marriage I was in. I basically got in the car and just drove," he explained.

"For me, I couldn't see myself in tomorrow, so I was looking for a bridge to drive into." He continued: "Eventually, the car started flashing like the petrol light came on and I turned off and I remember going to a retail park and I stayed there for a whole week in the car just sitting there."

After being fortunately assisted by friends, a television producer stumbled upon a short film about Out of the Dark, which eventually paved the way for Jay's career as a television presenter and his MBE for services to craft.

Meanwhile, Jay's world was turned upside down back in 2023 when it emerged he had a staggering 27 siblings in total, courtesy of his estranged father.

The Repair Shop star has little in the way of a relationship with his father - whom he refers to as "the man who contributed to my birth" - but did reveal he had reached out to him after four people contacted him claiming to be his siblings.

During a conversation with one of the half-siblings he discovered, Jay learnt there were 25 others who shared the same father, 11 of whom he has since met. He later uncovered two more, meaning he actually has at least 27 brothers and sisters.