Jay Blades

Jay Blades MBE is a popular British television presenter and furniture restorer. Admired for his role in ‘The Repair Shop’ and ‘Money for Nothing’, Jay has used his career to educate others about the importance of upcycling what you already have. A greatly charitable figure, he began his own charity, ‘Out of the Dark’ to teach the younger generation how to restore furniture to ensure that they are equipped with a trade for the future. When hired for events, Jay is known to inspire his crowds with the journey he has taken not only through his career, but through his whole life.

As a renowned public figure, Jay has not always been in the spotlight. Having gained a talent for furniture restoration, Jay and his wife set up the ‘Out of the Dark’ charity which helped teach the disadvantaged youth of High Wycombe the craft of restoring old or damaged furniture. After many years of the charity helping others, unfortunately, the lost funding it needed to continue running. Around this time, television producers saw a short film about the charity which led to many opportunities to arise for Jay to work as a presenter himself.

Being recognised for his restoration talent, Jay is renowned for his starring role in the ‘Repair Shop’. He was able to teach his audience the same skills as he was teaching at his charity, which was highly respected by his audience. Having gained great success from this, he has also presented shows such as Money for Nothing and Jay Blades Home Fix. As a beloved tv personality, his appearances on shows such as Celebrity MasterChef, Would I Lie to You?, and Richard Osman’s House of Games allowed him to create his own documentary ‘Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51’. Proud of his past, he ensured that he remained open about where he came from throughout his whole career and was greatly respected for both his documentary and memoir, Making It: How Love, Kindness, and Community Helped Me Repair My Life.

Jay Blades MBE is greatly respected for the career he has developed and has now become a highly sought-after speaker for many different events. Having devoted many years of his career to charity and teaching his craft to the younger generation, Jay was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours. An admirable figure within society, Jay is looking to attend speaking events, ranging from conferences to weddings, and he is known to opens up about his career journey and the obstacles he has had to face to get to where he is today.