TV star Jay Blades has made a triumphant return to our screens last night (Sunday) after a self-imposed exile from public life following his public divorce. Jay, 54, even halted filming The Repair Shop earlier this year after his uncle was killed and his wife Lisa-Marie Zbozen publicly announced the end of their two year marriage and details why she left their Wolverhampton home. However, another relationship in Blades life has spurred his return to TV, his friendship with Dame Judi Dench, 89, who he met two years ago on The Repair Shop.
The first episode of The Odd Couple aired on Channel 4, showing the pair visiting important places in their lives, to rave reviews, with The Guardian calling their relationship 'beautiful'. On his Instagram page Blades shared a video on Saturday , and said: "My Dear & Beautiful friend, Dame Judi Dench took me to an old family home. "Very Powerful, My Heart is with her.
100% as she was So Brave to share this with me and then you." Blades read a Shakespeare sonnet on the stage of The Old Vic theatre and told Dame Judi: "Performing here might be second nature to Judi but for me, it's the complete opposite. I've lived with Dyslexia my whole life and I learned to read and write at 51.
"Coming here today, I wanted to read to you some Shakespeare but reading that in public I just don't do it but I thought since I am with you I am going to give it a go." He said: "Reading is like kryptonite to me but she is doing things with me that she hasn't done before so I've got to do things and push myself." The country's most decorated actor was impressed and after hug, she told him: "There are easier things to learn than that, that was fantastic.
Seeing this place (The Old Vic) through Jay's eyes has been unforgettable." Taking the Dame to where he grew up with his single mother in Hackney, he told her about having to fight every day in school at nearby Islington, but took her to the youth club to meet Janet, the woman who helped local children to stay away from crime. He said: "You created a childhood for us, like a second mother or older sister, made sure we had food and something to do.
If not for this place I would have ended up in prison or dead." Janet said: "Imagine how we felt when we turned on the television and saw you on there, how did he get on the telly?" Close to tears, Jay thanked Janet for making him the "man he is today." The pair also visited Stratford-upon-Avon where a younger Dami Judi graced stages performing Shakespeare whilst building a life with her husband Michael Williams, whose grave they both visited.
Dame Judi took her late husband's pocket watch to get fixed on The Repair Shop which is where the pair first met and became friends. Dame Judi Dench said: “Sometimes if you’re very lucky you get to meet someone and find you’re totally on the same wavelength. What fun I had filming this programme with Jay, sharing memories of our past, both so different, finding we have the same sense of humour.
I could have gone on filming for days.” Explaining why the series was made, Deborah Dunnett, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4 said: “It’s a real privilege to be afforded a glimpse into the lives of two wonderfully candid and talented people. Sharing the details of their very different journey to success, this film offers an affirming story of how a shared belief in talent, hard-work and fun can lead to lives well-lived, and the most unlikely of friendships.
” Blades has credited Wolverhampton with saving his life after arriving in the city with nothing after leaving his native London after a broken relationship, a near miss with a motorway bridge and riddled with anxiety and depression. A friend in the city took him in and he rebuilt his life culminating in clinching his role in The Repair Shop. Restoring furniture whilst being able to communicate his methods helped Jay become a star and make some memorable TV, including helping King Charles.
He has previously said: "It’s almost as if I’ve got two birthplaces, I had London, then I got Wolverhampton. Everybody feels good at home. And I feel good there.
” Watch the first Odd Couple on 4 On Demand The next episode is on Sunday, and might include a visit to Jay's beloved Wolverhampton..
