Jay Blades: BBC The Repair Shop presenter charged with controlling and coercive behaviour towards wife

Blades, 54, appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday after being charged by West Mercia Police with one count of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.

According to court documents, the charge relates to his fitness instructor wife Lisa Zbozen, who announced on her Instagram page in May that their relationship was over. The couple married in the grounds of a beachfront villa in Barbados on November 22, 2022.

The presenter, who fronts primetime show The Repair Shop, will appear at Worcester Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on October 11. In a statement, West Mercia Police said: “54-year-old Jason Blades of Claverley in Wolverhampton has been charged with controlling and coercive behaviour.

“He appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates Court this morning (Friday 13th September) and has been bailed to appear at Worcester Crown Court on Friday 11th October.”

Furniture restorer Blades, who was made an MBE for services to craft in 2022, found fame on The Repair Shop, the restoration programme he has presented since 2017, which sees members of the public take worn-out family heirlooms to be restored by a team of experts. The Repair Shop returned to the south coast and asked residents to take part earlier this year. It is hosted at The Weald and Downland Living Museum in Town Lane, Chichester.