Series 1: Jay Blades

The Repair Shop's Jay Blades returns to his childhood neighbourhood of Hackney to discover the extraordinary history that was on his doorstep, meeting locals, historians and old friends as he explores the place he thought he knew so well, and discovers there is often much more than meets the eye.

Episodes

Each episode has its own detail page.

Episode 145 min2022-05-03

Episode 1

Jay walks in his mother's footsteps to market, and revisits his first ever home, where he and his mother were taken in by family in 1970 when he was a newborn baby. He also learns about the terrifying Zeppelin air raids that saw the first ever bombs raining down on London in 1915, and explores the mythology built up around the infamous Kray twins

Episode 245 min2022-05-10

Episode 2.

Jay retraces his footsteps as a teenager in East London, revisiting some of his old haunts and uncovers their extraordinary histories and the people behind them. Jay discovers how his old road was totally transformed by a V-1 rocket during the Second World War, before he treads the boards of the local theatre where he used to hang out, uncovering its rich history as a music hall venue that rivalled West End theatres

Episode 345 min2022-05-17

Episode 3

In his final journey, Jay follows in the footsteps of his young adult self, walking the streets where he used to live and discovering their hidden secrets. Jay revisits a former flat that he shared in Peabody Estate in Bethnal Green, and discovers the philanthropic story of Peabody, lifting the deserving poor out of poverty. Later, Jay makes his way to the famous cemetery Abney Park, and recalls the ghosts of Hackney past that he encountered on his journeys and the rich history of the place that shaped his youth and made him the man he is today.

Season Cast

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Cast

Jay Blades

Self

Nicola Walker

Narrator

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