‘I want to inspire others'

Jay Blades on his life-changing mission to learn how to read

- TESS LAMACRAFT

JAY BLADES: LEARNING TO READ AT 51

NEW WEDNESDAY / BBC1 / 9PM (TIMES VARY) / EP 1 of 1 / FACTUAL

Jay Blades has spent his life avoiding the written word. But now the furniture restorer and The Repair Shop frontman, who left school with no qualifications and was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 31, is embarking on a ‘very personal journey’ to confront his decades-long struggle with literacy in a new BBC1 documentary, Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51.

Cameras will follow Jay as he receives one-to-one tuition through national charity Read Easy and meets other adults on the same mission.

TV Times caught up with Jay, 51, to find out more…

What was your motivation to start learning how to read now?

I wanted to be able to read to my daughter, Zola. Even though she’s 15 now, I’ve never been able to read her a story.

I also want to inspire other people like me who have dyslexia.

Looking back, what were your school years like?

Secondary school was a bit naughty for me. The class I was in was called ‘L’ for Learners, but was known as L for Losers, so that’s how I got treated at school.