It’s best behaviour in The Repair Shop barn when Jay Blades and the team of experts roll out the red carpet for the new King in a very special royal episode of the hit BBC1 show marking the BBC’s centenary.
The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit is on Wednesday, October 26 at 8pm on BBC1. Filmed in the months before His Majesty’s accession, when he was still known as HRH Prince Charles, the team’s nerve-wracking challenge is to restore two broken royal pieces on behalf of the monarch — an 18th-century bracket clock, and a Wemyss Ware vase made for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. But Jay also discovers that he and the King have more in common than he imagined when he travels to Scotland’s Dumfries House to meet His Majesty and learns about The Prince’s Foundation’s work training the next generation of craftspeople.
"It’s unbelievable that two people from so far apart, from such different ends of the spectrum, can actually have the same interests," says Jay Blades. "To me that was really special!"
Here, in an exclusive interview, Jay Blades, 52, tells us more about meeting King Charles and their shared passion for preserving heritage crafts…
Interview: Jay Blades on The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit
Wow, this is all very exciting! What was your initial reaction when you heard that The Repair Shop team would be meeting Prince Charles (as he was then)?
Jay says: "We all felt absolutely honoured to have the opportunity to meet the former Prince of Wales, partly because of the show, but also because of His Majesty’s interest in craft."
What can you tell us about some of the apprentices you meet on The Prince’s Foundation’s Building Craft Programme?
Jay says: "We were really excited to see the work there. All the buildings on the Dumfries House grounds are made by the students, and those buildings will stand the test of time and outlive everyone, so they're leaving a real legacy. They're actually learning something, building something, and then the public gets to enjoy it, which is great.
What was it like when His Majesty visited the repair barn?
Jay says: "It was exactly the same as being at Dumfries House. We have the same interests, so he showed me around his place, and then it was my turn to show him around our place at the barn and what we've achieved there. I think he was just as excited to see the work that we do here as we were to see what The Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Programme do! I don't know if he watches The Repair Shop regularly, though – but we believe he’s a fan!
You and King Charles share a passion for preserving heritage crafts and training the next generation. Did you feel like you’d found a kindred spirit?
Jay says: "Yes, 100 per cent we’re kindred spirits. To have someone like myself from a council estate and then to have someone from the Royal Estate sharing the same interests in apprenticeships and heritage crafts, it was just like two minds speaking the same thing.
You also bring back a graduate from The Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Programme to help with your work in the barn…
Jay says: "Yes, Jeremy is a blacksmith and it was brilliant to have him at the barn working with Dom on the other item in this week’s programme, which is fire side set in the shape of a soldier. What he makes is incredible! Amazingly, he also says that there’s so much blacksmith work out there and not enough blacksmiths, so he wants to go on and encourage the next generation as much as The former Prince of Wales does."
What’s it like being able to say you’ve met the King?
Jay says: "I don't think it's sunk in to tell you the truth – I can’t wait to see the programme and watch it all again!"
This special is part of the 100th anniversary programming for the BBC. How do you feel about The Repair Shop being one of the jewels in the crown (literally!) of the celebrations?
Jay reveals: "It’s an honour for the whole team – those both in front and behind the camera – to be included in the 100th year celebrations because I think we all work really hard. It’s amazing and feels really special!'
* The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit is on BBC1 on Wednesday October 26 at 8pm.
