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United States How many siblings does Jay Blades have? Repair Shop star's huge family explained
Jay Blades is known for being the upbeat and loveable host of the BBC's The Repair Shop. The star has not been afraid to speak out about his past before and has opened up about his childhood and relationships. Express.co.uk has all you need to know about the presenter's early life.
Jay Blades is speaking out about how he left school with no qualifications.
It took him years before he was finally diagnosed with dyslexia when he was in his 30s.
Being one of eight million UK adults who struggle to read, he wanted to speak to others just like him.
In his new documentary, he shares coping strategies with others and opens up about how he could not see a way out.
The star had a fascinating childhood and he is one of 26 children.
READ MORE: Jay Blades fights tears as he recalls reading letter from daughter
The furniture restorer is from Hackney and was raised in East London by his mother and maternal half-brother.
His father had children across different countries and he has a huge number of siblings.
Jay's father was not involved in his early life, and it remains that way to this day.
However, the presenter reached out to him when he was 21.
It was then he discovered he had 25 half-siblings, he has been in touch with at least 12 of them.
The father-of-three said his main motivation for learning to read was that he wanted to be able to read to his daughter, Zola.
He told Whattowatch.com: "Even though she’s 16 now, I’ve never been able to read her a story. I also want to inspire people like me who are dyslexic."
The star said his Repair Shop co-stars had no idea he was unable to read for the first three years.
He said producers would bring him pages of notes and he never read them.
The star added: "For me, my role is just two people having a chat.
"When I told everyone they were really supportive and couldn't believe I’d been doing everything naturally without notes. I wish I’d told them sooner."
The furniture restorer was keen to open up about his low points in life as he is very honest about his vulnerability.
Back when he started preparing for the documentary he appeared on This Morning.
He said: "I could read a little bit, I think with the experience I had at school I suffered quite a lot of racism when I entered secondary school.
"My learning just stopped there and basically it [dyslexia] wasn't identified."
Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51 airs on BBC One on January 26, at 9pm.
