UPDATED: Variety understands that the BBC is not scheduling programs featuring Blades, who is not shooting for the broadcaster at the moment. However, content featuring Blades will remain on BBC iPlayer.
PREVIOUSLY: Jay Blades, the U.K. TV host best known for fronting the BBC show “The Repair Shop,” has been charged with two counts of rape.
West Mercia Police confirmed the allegations against the 55-year-old broadcaster, who is now due to appear in court next Wednesday.
“Jason Blades, 55, of Claverley in Shropshire, has been charged with two counts of rape. He is due to appear at Telford magistrates’ court on 13 August 2025,” a police spokesperson said.
“The Repair Shop,” made by Warner Bros. Discovery-owned production company Ricochet, launched in 2017 and sees members of the public bringing their treasured possessions and heirlooms to be fixed.
The show proved to be a hit, moving from a daytime slot to primetime on BBC, with Blades becoming a household name in the process. In 2023, it won a BAFTA award for a royal special edition in which King Charles (then Prince Charles) was a guest and brought a clock and a vase to be fixed.
Blades has also appeared on “Celebrity MasterChef,” “The Great Celebrity Bake Off” and “Strictly Come Dancing,” and fronted a BBC documentary, “Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51.” He was honored with an MBE in 2021.
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The host is currently awaiting trial on a separate charge of controlling and coercive behavior against his estranged wife. He pleaded not guilty to the charge — which relates to the period between Jan. 1, 2023 and Sept. 12, 2024 — at a court hearing last October.
Blades stepped back from presenting “The Repair Shop” last year.
From Variety US