Jay Blades quits King’s Foundation after coercive control charges

Jay Blades has resigned from the King’s Foundation after being charged with engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife.

The Repair Shop presenter, 54, last year won a daytime Bafta TV award along with other members of the BBC programme for a special featuring the King, who was at the time the Prince of Wales.

He supported the King’s Foundation, formerly the Prince’s Foundation, as an ambassador, and visited its Dumfries House location in Ayrshire for BBC special The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit.

The educational foundation confirmed on Sunday that Mr Blades has informed the charity of his resignation.

On Friday, Mr Blades appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court after being charged by West Mercia Police with one count of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.

The charge relates to his fitness instructor wife Lisa Zbozen, who announced on her Instagram page on May 2 that their relationship was over, according to court documents.

West Mercia Police confirmed Mr Blades was charged on Thursday following the launch of an investigation after they were called to an address the day after Ms Zbozen’s post.

The couple married in the grounds of a beachfront villa in Barbados on November 22, 2022.

A repeat of Mr Blades’s show David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed was no longer on the BBC’s schedule on Friday night and it is understood the broadcaster will not currently schedule any programmes in which he features.

The furniture restorer, who was made an MBE for services to craft in 2022, has also resigned from his role as chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University.

Mr Blades will appear at Worcester Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on October 11.

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