Shaw Media has been side-swiped by one of its HGTV hosts being charged with extortion.

Toronto police have charged Anthony Sayers, co-host of The Unsellables from indie producer Cineflix Productions, with four criminal counts, including fraud and criminal harassment, related to work done by his private contracting company for a Toronto client.

Shaw Media in a statement said HGTV only discovered news of Sayer’s arrest on Monday, and was investigating the matter.

“We understand that this incident relates to Anthony Sayers’ personal contracting business, Anthony Sayers Custom Builder and Designer. It does not in any way relate to any work conducted for the production of the HGTV series The Unsellables,” the broadcaster stated.

“We do however take complaints of this nature very seriously and are working with our production partners to determine next steps pending the outcome of these allegations,” Barbara Williams, senior vice president of content at Shaw Media, added.

Toronto officers with 53 Division arrested Sayers, who co-hosts The Unsellables with British property guru Sophie Allsopp, last Saturday in connection with an extortion investigation involving an apparent female victim.

The police in a statement said Sayers, also known as Barrington Anthony Sayers, “provided substandard work, criminally harassed and extorted the woman.” Repeat episodes of The Unsellables currently air weekdays on HGTV.

Sayers was also the featured carpenter on 52 episodes of the W Network series Me, My House and I.