Jay Blades’ The Repair Shop ‘replacement’ revealed after presenter charged with coercive behaviour

Roman Kemp has temporarily replaced Jay Blades as the host of The Repair Shop’s annual Christmas special.

Blades, 54, was axed from the BBC series after he was charged in September with controlling and coercive behaviour towards his estranged wife Lisa Zbozen. Blades has denied the allegations.

The presenter worked on the series since its launch in 2017, in which he welcomes people who bring in their heirlooms to be restored by craftspeople situated at the repair workshop located in West Sussex.

Kemp, the son of the Spandau Ballet bass player Martin and Pepsi And Shirlie singer Shirlie Holliman, has stepped in for the festive special as part of the collaboration between The Repair Shop and The One Show. Kemp joined the latter as a co-presenter in 2023.

In the first images released showing Kemp in the workshop at the Weald & Downland Living Museum in Singleton, the presenter beams at the camera while wearing a festive red scarf standing in front of the show’s logo.

While the BBC has not announced an official long-term replacement for Blades, Kemp is understood to be fronting the show for its annual festive tear-jerking episode airing on Christmas Eve.

Kemp said: “It’s really special – it’s like going inside one of your favourite TV shows so it’s always a very cool moment.”

In the episode, the team will repair the teddy bear belonging to a One Show viewer named Kat, two puffin sculptures from a bookshop with a moving story, and a 100-year-old projector that’s special to one family’s Christmas Eve tradition.

Kemp is best known for hosting Capital FM’s Breakfast show for over six years, but left the show earlier this year and was replaced by Jordan North. As well as his weekly appearances on The One Show, Kemp hosts the BBC One gameshow The Finish Line, which he co-presents alongside Sarah Greene.

In early May filming on the new series of The Repair Shop began without Blades as he said he was taking a break to “take stock” following the alleged murder of his uncle and as headlines surfaced over his split from Ms Zbozen, who he married in Barbados in 2022.

In September, Blades pleaded not guilty to engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife at Worcester Crown Court.

The TV star, who was honoured with an MBE in 2021 for services to craft, is accused of behaviour that had a “serious effect” on his partner, “namely that it caused her to fear on at least two occasions that violence would be used against her”.

Blades found fame after being named the presenter of The Repair Shop in 2017. In an interview with The Independent, Blades said securing the presenting gig had saved his life after an acute mental health crisis.

The furniture restorer grew up in Brent, North London, working as a labourer and in factories until he enrolled at Buckinghamshire New University as a mature student to study criminology.

He later set up a charity supporting disadvantaged young people in furniture restoration, based in High Wycombe, before moving to Wolverhampton to launch a social enterprise helping disengaged groups.

After filming a documentary programme for the BBC called Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51, he became the anchor for The Repair Shop.

He also presented the BBC’s Money For Nothing until 2020, appeared on Celebrity Masterchef and Celebrity Bake Off as well as Comic Relief and delved into the history of the West Midlands and the East End for two Channel 5 documentaries.

He has appeared with many well-known figures in television for one-off programmes, including with Dame Judi Dench for Dame Judi and Jay: The Odd Couple and Sir David Jason in David and Jay’s Touring Toolshed.

In 2021, he received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to craft. In March 2023, he became Buckinghamshire New University’s first chancellor.

In a statement posted on its website, Buckinghamshire New University said: “Jay Blades MBE has resigned from his role as Chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University with immediate effect. We thank Jay for his loyal service to the University and will be making no further comment.”

The Repair Shop Christmas Special airs on Christmas Eve at 8.15pm on BBC One.