BBC presenter Jay Blades has been charged with controlling and coercive behaviour against his estranged wife, court documents show.
West Mercia Police said the 54-year-old appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning and was bailed to appear at Worcester Crown Court on 11 October.
The London-born presenter is best known for hosting the shows The Repair Shop, Money for Nothing and Jay Blades’ Home Fix, as well as various other documentaries and TV appearances.
Blades appeared at the 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 22 November, 2022.
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 13 September) and has been bailed to appear at Worcester Crown Court on Friday 11 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.