The Repair Shop star Jay Blades has admitted that crying in front of another man saved his mental health at a time when his business and his marriage had both broken down.

The 53-year-old furniture restorer and TV presenter, whose new Channel 5 TV series Jay Blades: The Midlands Through Time debuted yesterday, revealed that he would still be in the depths of depression had it not been for a random encounter with a stranger.

He said: “Seven years ago I hit a period of depression. My marriage and business both broke down and I didn’t feel I could ask anyone for help.

“As a community worker at the time, I thought I had to support those around me, not the other way round, so I kept all my emotions inside.

“It got so bad that one day I got in the car and just drove, I went off the radar for a week and stayed in a car park,” he continued.

“The police found me because I had been reported as a missing person, and a friend came to pick me up.

“He said, ‘How are you?’ and I broke down. It was the first time I’d ever cried in front of another man and it was a proper cry, running out of the nose.

“At first it was scary, but it gave me so much relief. Years of emotions and tears were released, and that gave me power again. It made me realise that showing vulnerability gives you strength.”

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Father-of-three Blades candidly shared the incident in his memoir, DIY With Jay, by Jay Blades.

Earlier this year Blades, who is on a break from filming The Repair Shop for BBC , also told Loose Women: “Everything flopped for me… my first marriage, the job, the charity I was running and all the volunteers that I had. My intention was basically to drive myself into a bridge.”

He added: “I’m still being looked after now so I’m not successful yet… I thin the biggest killer for men over a certain age 45 I think is suicide.

“And it’s one of those things that us men, we go through life, and there’s not enough people talking about vulnerability.

“And what I found is that when I actually was able to just expose my vulnerability, it actually gave me so much strength, it made me grow and become something that I never knew was possible.”

Jay Blades’ memoir, DIY with Jay, is available to purchase from bookstores and online now.