Jamie Borthwick has been a familiar face on the BBC soap for 13 years, but away from EastEnders, the star is notoriously private about his personal life.
Jamie Borthwick, who has been a key player in EastEnders storylines since joining the BBC soap at just 12 years old, is now set to strut his stuff on the Strictly dance floor.
The actor, now 30, has portrayed Walford’s Jay Brown since December 2006 when the character first appeared on-screen for the funeral of his grandmother, Evie Brown (Marji Campie).
Young Jay moved to Albert Square to live with his grandad Bert Atkinson (Dave Hill), and in his early days, he was quite the troublemaker, terrorising locals with racist insults and house break-ins.
Jay’s father, Jase Dyer (played by Stephen Lord) arrived before Bert left, allowing the father and son to bond. However, tragedy soon struck the pair.
In shocking scenes, Jase was brutally killed by gangsters, leaving Jay under the care of the Mitchells. Despite his tough upbringing, Jay has matured into a beloved Walford resident who tenderly cared for his late wife, Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold), during her tragic battle with cancer.
Off-screen, Jamie discovered he was related to fellow EastEnders actor Charlie Winter, who played Hunter Owen from 2018 to 2019.
When Charlie joined the cast, the two realised their uncles shared the same name, leading to the surprising revelation that they were actually the same person.
In a 2019 interview with The Sun, Jamie revealed a surprising family connection on set: “My great uncle is called Charlie Winter, so when they said there was a kid coming in called Charlie Winter, I was like, ‘Seriously?’ Turns out we are second cousins.”
Back in 2017, Jamie confessed to having a teenage crush on his co-star Emma Barton, who plays Honey Mitchell, as reported by Digital Spy.
A fellow EastEnders actor even egged Jamie on to flirt with her, which has become an anecdote they still chuckle about today.
“I was about 14 when I first set eyes on Emma Barton,” Jamie reminisced. “I fell in love with her long, shapely legs and I wanted to marry her. Perry [Fenwick, who plays Billy] told me to chat her up, and I remember walking over to her and saying, ‘Alright darlin’… Wow, you smell nice.’ It brought the house down and we still laugh about it now.”
He also shared how much he enjoys working with Emma: “I love working with Emma. I won’t say what it is, but we have something in common that’s very rare and very special that brings us together. I still try and chat her up and say that one day, we’ll get married, but she’s having none of it!”
Despite his playful banter on set, Jamie keeps his personal life away from the limelight, maintaining a private relationship status.
You can watch Jamie in his role as Jay Brown on EastEnders from Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer, or catch him on Strictly Come Dancing which starts on Saturday, September 14.
