Jay Blades used to live amongst rats as a tot.
Jay Blades revisits his childhood home
The 52-year-old TV star - who is known for being a crafting expert on BBC restoration series 'The Repair Shop' - returned to his childhood home in Stoke Newington, Hackney, north-east London as part of Channel 5’s new documentary series, 'There’s No Place Like Home', on which he revealed that because his mother was abandoned by her father when he was a baby, he was brought up in impoverished conditions.
He said: "When I was born my mum came to live here with my uncle. My mum got pregnant with the man who contributed towards my birth and he left her high and dry. Took all her money from her, said he was going to promise her this and that, and he didn’t, he just disappeared. The time for my mum must have been quite desperate I would say.
"There was loads of rubbish everywhere, there was rats."
Jay's new show with Channel 5 comes just months after he starred in BBC documentary 'Learning to Read at 51',which saw the once-illiterate star tackle the written word after years of being unable to read.
On Tuesday (03.05.22), the star received an MBE for services to craft at Windsor Castle, and upon collecting the prestigious honour from Price Charles, eh urged fans to consider a future of crafting with sustainability.
He said: ""It’s all about sustainability, it’s all about teaching the next generation as to what they should be doing and what they can do, because some people think craft isn’t accessible to them. I want craft to be accessible to everybody, from the poor side of town to the rich side of town, so everybody can access it."