Jay Blades lands brand new show as he bounces back from marriage breakdown
JAY BLADES has weathered the storm of his marriage breakdown and will bounce back with a brand new TV series.
Jay Blades’ Country Homes Through Time will see the host, who announced his split from fitness instructor Lisa-Marie Zbozen in May, explore stately homes for Channel 5.
It is the latest in a string of factual programmes for Jay, who presented East End Through Time in June last year and The Midlands Through Time in October.
A third in the series, West End Through Time, in which he explored the London quarter famed for its theatres, palaces and mansions, aired to critical acclaim at the weekend.
A source said: “Jay will probably always be best known for The Repair Shop but he has really carved out a groove as a historian for Channel 5.
“Whilst the East End and Midlands series had an autobiographical flavour as they explored Jay’s roots, later series have shown him flex to areas beyond his own patch.
“The format is really gathering pace and viewers love it.
“It really could run and run, with Jay exploring every corner of the UK and beyond.
“Channel 5 remains very excited about the partnership.”
Jay said: “I love these series, uncovering eye-opening, surprising and extraordinary facts about where we live. There is so much history to delve into.”
The new series, which will air later this year, was filmed at stately homes all over the country.
Jay was spotted earlier this year working on the project at Weston Park in Shropshire.
It comes after he bagged a Bafta for The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit featuring King Charles.
Next stop, Buckingham Palace.
DR WHO’S THAT GUY WITH ME?
NCUTI GATWA is going to be hanging out with the likes of Daniel Craig and Millie Bobby Brown.
Not in real life, but in a new all-things-television area of Madame Tussauds in London.
The Doctor Who star unveiled the waxwork of himself as the Fifteenth Doctor, which will be placed among an impressive Whoniverse set with its very own TARDIS from tomorrow.
He joins former Time Lords Jodie Whittaker and Tom Baker, who have also had their own waxworks displayed by the museum.
The new “Baker Street Studios” area of the attraction will also feature Millie, who stars in Sherlock Holmes spin-off Enola Holmes, as well as James Bond actors Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore, E.T. and a range of Bollywood stars.
Doctor Who with Ncuti in the lead role is available to stream on BBC iPlayer, with a new series expected to air in 2025.
GREG: I’D GET MY SKATES ON
HE was forced off Dancing On Ice after suffering a horror injury in March, but that hasn’t stopped Greg Rutherford wanting to take to the ice again.
The former Olympic long jumper, who appears in Channel 4 documentary The Path To Paris: The Hunt For Gold, which starts on Saturday, said: “There is a bit of unfinished business – and I would do it again.
“I don’t think I’d do the dance where I got hurt, it would have to be a Bolero. I do still talk to (skate partner) Vanessa Bauer loads as we became good friends, and I genuinely loved the show.
“Of all the shows I’ve been in, that was my favourite to do.
“But detaching my lower abs, herniating my stomach, it’s not what I expected when I signed up for the show, though it does demonstrate the level of risk involved.
“I love to push my body, I do love a challenge, but whether it happens or not, I don’t know.”
Greg added: “If I could turn back the clock, I was a massive ice hockey fan as a kid, and I’d have loved to have been an Olympic ice hockey player.
““I just don’t think I’d like being hit in the face by a puck.”“I just don’t think I’d like being hit in the face by a puck.
LIVE cricket is coming to the BBC, with the fourth series of The Hundred starting on Tuesday. Combining sporting action with live music, the tournament will be aired across BBC channels and iPlayer.
Hosts Isa Guha and Alex Hartley will be joined by guests including Michael Vaughan.
BERRY GOOD, CLAUDIA
YOU would expect her to know more about a quickstep than a quiche, but Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman swapped her sequins for saucepans when she appeared on Dame Mary Berry’s cookery show.
On Mary’s Foolproof Dinners, which will air later this year on BBC Two, the kitchen queen helped Claudia knock up easy meals to feed her family.
The two are old friends from their time as presenter and judge on BBC One cookery show Best Home Cook from 2018 to 2021.
Elsewhere on the series, Alan Carr needs assistance with classic comfort food, Strictly winner Hamza Yassin asks for help boosting his cooking confidence and Sara Davies from Dragons’ Den wants to give her dinner parties the extra edge.
Sue Perkins and The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk are also keen to polish up their pots and pans.
Mary said: “We had so much fun with the series last year, I’m delighted we’re returning with six more fabulous friends to change their thoughts about cooking.
“Dinner is often the meal where we need most inspiration.
“These really are foolproof. I can’t wait to share them with you.”