Dame Judi Dench and Jay Blades are reportedly set to star in their own Channel 4 after he repaired her late husband’s watch.
Actress Dame Judi, 89, has said she ‘dotes’ on restorer Jay, 53, after he helped fix her late husband Michael Williams’ watch and engrave it with his initials during a live session of the The Repair Shop at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2022.
It is claimed the pair have already started filming a fly-on-the-wall programme for Channel 4 with Hungry Bear productions, which was founded by Holly Willoughby’s husband Dan Baldwin.
A TV source told the Mirror: ‘Despite cutting jobs and axing shows, Channel 4 are splashing out on a new fly-on-the-wall series.
‘It’s the pairing we’ve all been waiting for after they had viewers in tears on the Repair Shop.’
Dame Judi Dench and Jay Blades are reportedly set to star in their own Channel 4 after he repaired her late husband’s watch (pictured in 2022)
It is claimed the pair have already started filming a fly-on-the-wall programme for Channel 4 with Hungry Bear productions (Dame Judi pictured in October 2022)
has contacted Channel 4 and Hungry Bear for comment.
Dame Judie previously said she ‘dotes’ on Jay after he helped fix her late husband Michael’s watch on the The Repair Shop.
She had the sentimental item mended and engraved with Michael’s initials as part of a special live session of the BBC One show held at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2022 to mark the programme’s fifth anniversary.
In conversation with Gyles Brandreth during a Christmas edition of I Remember It Well at London’s Garrick Theatre in December 2022, Dame Judi said of the show according to the Mirror: ‘I do watch it. I dote on Jay Blades. What are Jay’s qualities? Have you got a week or two? We are huge fans of The Repair Shop.’
She added: ‘I can’t resist seeing people making things and I like mending things to the state that people recognise that it is theirs. So it does not look brand new but the state when they first had it.’
During the live version of The Repair Shop this summer, Dame Judi told furniture restorer and programme host Jay, 52, that she had given Michael the watch while they were starring in a play together and that he had used it during the production.
She said that afterwards he carried it in his pocket and ‘treasured it’ before he died from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 65, after they had been married for just under 30 years.
A clip showed horologist Steve Fletcher dismantling the watch so he could thoroughly clean it and repair its mechanisms.
Actress Dame Judi, 89, has said she ‘dotes’ on restorer Jay, 53, after he helped fix her late husband Michael Williams’ watch (Dame Judi and Michael pictured in 2000)
The veteran actress had Michael’s watch mended and engraved with his initials as part of a live session of The Repair Shop at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2022 (L-R: Dame Judi is seen with Jay and horologist Steve Fletcher)
As Dame Judi was presented with the repaired watch live on stage at the TV festival, she appeared emotional and described the work as ‘sublime’ as she held it to her ear to listen to it ticking again after many years of silence.
The team also pointed out that they had engraved her husband’s initials on the back of the watch for her, to which she replied: ‘Oh my word, that is more than I could possibly hope for. Thank you so much.’
She added that she was ‘full of admiration’ for the work they do and is an avid viewer of the show.
Asked what she intended to do with the watch, she said she’d like to pass it on to her daughter Finty or grandson Stanley.