Jamie Borthwick — things you didn't know about the EastEnders and Strictly star (original) (raw)
Jamie Borthwick has become a firm favourite with EastEnders fans. (Image credit: Getty)
Jamie Borthwick has grown up on national television, playing the role of EastEnders’ Jay Brown since he was just 12 years old. Now one of the most recognizable faces not only in Walford but all of Soapland, Jamie’s character has been at the center of several hard-hitting storylines — including being part of a gang, covering up a grisly murder and battling drug addiction.
Thankfully, life away from Albert Square seems a lot happier for award-winning actor, Jamie. It's been revealed that he is taking part in Strictly Come Dancing 2024!
Jamie is no stranger to the Strictly dancefloor, having won the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 Christmas Special when he was partnered with professional dancer Nancy Xu and danced a very impressive Quickstep.
Jamie says: "I had a ball doing the Strictly Christmas special last year, so when I was asked to join for this series it was the easiest yes! This is a fresh challenge and it will be so different to be learning a new dance every week and for the public to have their say. I’m hoping to be Salsa-ing around Albert Square in no time and I’ll be asking my Walford Strictly alumni for some words of wisdom. See you on the dancefloor!"
Here are a few fun facts about the star…
Jamie Borthwick went to stage school
Jamie is on the new series of Strictly (Image credit: BBC)
Jamie Borthwick was born on 23rd June 1994, to mum Sharon and dad Simon, who ran pubs and nightclubs. One of three children, he grew up in Barking, London, but fans may be surprised to learn acting wasn’t Jamie’s first love. “As a youngster, I was a really keen footballer and it was something I always wanted to do,” the star revealed in an on-set video in 2011. “Then when I was 10, I got whisked off to theatre school. I made drama my focus and never really looked back.”
Jamie was a pupil at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School, whose past alumni include McFly’s Tom Fletcher and his wife Giovanna Fletcher and Spice Girl Emma Bunton. And his television debut was playing an orphan in the 2005 musical extravaganza Celebrate ‘Oliver’! alongside his future EastEnders co-star Shane Richie.
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Jamie’s other early TV credits include appearances in episodes of Not Going Out and Gina’s Laughing Gear.
Jay Brown and his late wife Lola Pearce-Brown in EastEnders. (Image credit: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
He's grown up in the public eye
Jamie's life changed at the tender age of 12 when joined the cast of EastEnders as tearaway Jay Brown. His first episode on the BBC soap aired on December 14, 2006, and viewers were instantly drawn to the young actor's performance.
Just 18 months after his debut, Jamie scooped the gong for Best Young Performance at the 2008 British Soap Awards, and sweetly dedicated his win to his late grandmother, who had passed away the previous day.
Having been in the public eye since he was a tween, Jamie has over 1000 episodes of EastEnders under his belt. That's some staying power!
Jamie has played Jay in EastEnders since 2006. (Image credit: BBC)
He considers his EastEnders co-stars as family
Jamie is incredibly close to many of his fellow EastEnders cast, and counts his co-stars Perry Fenwick (Billy Mitchell), Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell), Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) amongst his best mates.
He also formed a bond with the late great Barbara Windsor, who passed away in 2020 after battling dementia. Jamie paid tribute to the national treasure on his Instagram account with a post reading: “Barbara was the first person I met on my first full day on Enders and she calmed me instantly as she did so many she’d met. Barbara was a REAL star! Talent, professionalism and above humble in every way.”
Jamie clearly thinks of his colleagues as faaamily, but that actually turned out to be the case when he discovered he was related to actor Charlie Winter, who played Mel Owen’s son Hunter on the show. Realizing their great-uncles shared the same name, Jamie was chuffed to realize he and Charlie were actually second cousins. Small world, eh?
He had a teenage crush on co-star Emma Barton
Yes, you read that right — Jamie used to have a thing for co-star Emma Barton, who plays Honey Mitchell. Revealing his secret teenage crush in an interview with TV Times, Jamie admitted he made an embarrassing attempt to woo her.
"I was about 14 when I first set eyes on Emma," he confessed: "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.”
Jamie and Emma, who ran the London Marathon together in 2019, did finally end up becoming an on-screen item, but after 18 months together, Jay and Honey’s romance fizzled out.
He’s a bit of a musician
Jamie is a passionate West Ham supporter and follows snooker and boxing. Back in 2007, he struck up an unlikely friendship with professional lightweight boxer Kevin Mitchell, and even carried his championship belt into the ring before one of his contests.
Jamie’s also into his music — he can play the guitar and has built up an impressive collection of them – both electric and acoustic. Co-star Danielle Harold once posted an Instagram story of Jamie performing Eric Clapton’s hit song Lay Down Sally in the _EastEnders_’ green room, while Shona McGarty shared a video of herself and co-star Zaraah Abrahams singing along to Jamie's guitar playing. Magic!
He's a massive Only Fools and Horses fan
Jamie is a celebrity super fan of the legendary British sitcom Only Fools and Horses and can still remember the first time he watched the show at just two-years-old.
Speaking on The Jolly Boys' Podcast, the star revealed why he’s got such a deep affection for Only Fools and Horses: “The only way I can explain it to me is that it gives me a feeling I’ve never got watching anything else. It just fits so perfectly and watching it brings me so much joy.”
Jamie’s lifelong passion is also shared by his former _EastEnders_’ co-star Harry Reid (who played Ben Mitchell from 2014 until 2018), and the boys got their chance to meet their acting hero Sir David Jason (aka Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter) at the National Television Awards, a magical moment which Jamie described as the "cherry on the Only Fools and Horses cake".
Jamie winds down after a busy day of filming by watching Only Fools and Horses. (Image credit: BBC)
He’s tight-lipped about his love life
In EastEnders, Jay married his terminally ill girlfriend Lola in an emotional Christmas wedding. But while Jay’s love life has been played out in front of the cameras, actor Jamie prefers to keep his own relationship status private. He was linked to Danielle Harold (who played on-screen love Lola). However, Jamie has always been quick to quash any suggestion of life imitating art, insisting Danielle is like a sister to him.
Jamie and his co-star Danielle Harold. (Image credit: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
He has an unusual phobia
Jamie has been involved with some incredibly hard-hitting scenes during his time on EastEnders, but off-screen he faces a daily challenge. The actor suffers from a condition called emetophobia, which is a chronic phobia of being sick.
Bravely opening up about his battle on a recent podcast, Jamie revealed: “It (emetophobia) affected me in so many ways. I didn’t want to go out, I didn’t want to shake people’s hands. It became a thing about germs and I got quite OCD about things like that.”
After reaching crisis point a few years back, Jamie learnt to cope with his condition and is now able to manage it the best way he can. “I can understand it now,” he shared. “I've got a bag of tools I can use to manage it and understand there are going to be times when I'm not going to be in the environment where I want to be all the time.”
Jamie has become an EastEnders favourite over the years. (Image credit: BBC)
Jamie Borthwick’s fact file
Frequently asked questions about the actor...
How old is Jamie Borthwick?
Jamie Borthwick is 30, he was born on 23rd June 1994.
Is Jamie Borthwick married?
Jamie Borthwick is not married.
Does Jamie Borthwick have any children?
Jamie Borthwick does not have any children.
Where was Jamie Borthwick born?
Jamie Borthwick was born in Barking, London.
How tall is Jamie Borthwick?
Jamie Borthwick is five foot seven.
Instagram: @jamie_b10
We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.
Laura has been a journalist for over a decade, writing about soaps, TV entertainment, fashion, beauty, and food. After graduating from university, she started her career working at a national soap and TV magazine. During her seven-year stint there she joined the cast of Emmerdale for a tour around the famous village, partied with soap stars at awards bashes, interviewed her acting idol David Suchet, and sat in the front row of Strictly Come Dancing.
Her heart lies with the soaps, and her all-time favourite character has to be EastEnders' Pat Butcher - no one rocked a big earring quite like her. She's also a huge fan of detective crime dramas, particularly old school Inspector Morse, Endeavour, and adaptations of Agatha Christie's Marple and Poirot. When she's not writing, she loves a spot of second-hand shopping and going on adventures with her young son.