Jay Blades spoke candidly to Dr Sian Williams for the first episode of her new Channel 5 programme, Mind Matters with Dr Sian. In the interview, which airs on Wednesday evening, The Repair Shop star opened up about his struggles with mental health.
TV presenter and furniture restorer Jay revealed he considered taking his own life when he was struggling to find work.
Before signing up to the hit television series, he worked as a labourer and in various factories to hone his craftsman skills.
However, he admitted to Dr Sian it was often difficult to find stable work.
At one of his lowest points, he recalled: “I think I sat in a car for about a week, just, like, people were just going past all the time and just doing what they were doing.
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“I don’t even remember going to the toilet. It was just a void.
“It was almost as if I was there, I know I was physically there, but I wasn’t mentally there.”
It wasn’t until a friend from Wolverhampton, who received a call from his ex-wife when he was found on the streets by the police, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
“He came to see me and I don’t know what he said, he must have said something to me,” he told Dr Sian.
“I remember sitting in his car and I just broke down crying. I mean, proper crying, snot, tears, the whole shebang.”
“It was like I walked into the place naked, because I didn’t want to meet these people in the state that I was in.
“The rest is history to a certain extent, because after that, showing my vulnerability, everything just started slotting into place,” he continued.
“It’s the weirdest thing. Very, very weird. I can still see seven years ago, and then to see where I am now, talking to you, doing whatever I’m doing.
“It’s like, ‘Are you for real? Is this really your life now?’ Just because I showed my vulnerability.”
Thankfully, Jay now stars in one of the BBC’s most popular documentary series.
The tear-jerking series is currently in the middle of its 10th season, with another Christmas special expected to air in December.
Earlier this year, he appeared in the TV documentary Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51 and also the three-part series No Place Like Home, in which he returns to his home in East London.
He is also known for his charity work, having become a trustee for Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s foundation The Black Fund and founding his own organisation, Out of the Dark, with his wife Jade.
The Repair Shop is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Mind Matters with Dr Sian airs Wednesday at 5pm on Channel 5.