Jamie Borthwick is best known to millions of viewers as Jay Brown, the character he played in the BBC soap opera EastEnders for almost nineteen years, and as a Strictly Come Dancing champion, although that title needs an important clarification right at the start. He won the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special in December 2023, dancing a perfect-scoring quickstep with professional partner Nancy Xu, but he did not win the main Strictly series in 2024, when he competed with Michelle Tsiakkas and was eliminated in the tenth week. Born on 23 June 1994 in Barking, London, he is now 32 years old, and his long run in Albert Square came to an end in 2025, when the BBC confirmed that he would not be returning to EastEnders. This article tells the full story of his rise from child actor to soap favourite, his glittering Strictly journey, and what happened next.
What makes his story so compelling is the sheer length of time audiences watched him grow up on screen, because he joined EastEnders as a twelve-year-old boy in December 2006 and was still playing Jay Brown nearly two decades later, collecting major acting awards along the way. Few performers in British soap history have held a single role for that long while also stepping outside it to win a national dance competition, and fewer still have seen such a long association end as abruptly as his did in the autumn of 2025. The chapters that follow trace that journey honestly, celebrating the performances that made him a household name while also explaining, in plain terms, why his time on the soap ended and what his future might hold.
Who Is Jamie Borthwick?
Jamie Simon Borthwick was born on 23 June 1994 in Barking, London, to Sharon and Simon Borthwick, and he grew up as the eldest of three children, with two younger sisters named Samantha and Charlee. He attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School until he was sixteen, a training ground that has produced many British stage and screen performers, and his first television appearance came as an orphan in the musical Celebrate Oliver! alongside Shane Richie and Joseph McManners in December 2005. The following year he had a small role in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out, and then, in December 2006, he was cast as Jay Brown in EastEnders, a role that would define the next nineteen years of his life and make him one of the most recognisable young actors in the country.
Beyond the soap, Borthwick built a reputation as a warm and popular figure with audiences, winning the British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress in 2008, when he dedicated the award to his late grandmother, who had died one day before his win. He later won Best Actor at the Inside Soap Awards in 2023 and Best Soap Actor (Male) at the Digital Spy Reader Awards in 2022, recognition that reflected how far his portrayal of Jay had travelled from troubled teenager to one of the show’s emotional anchors. Away from acting, he is a supporter of West Ham United, he once carried boxer Kevin Mitchell’s championship belt into the ring in July 2007, and in January 2019 he joined fellow EastEnders stars in running the London Marathon for a dementia campaign honouring Dame Barbara Windsor.
EastEnders: Life as Jay Brown
Jamie Borthwick first appeared as Jay Brown in December 2006, arriving in Albert Square as a troubled young teenager whose early life had been marked by loss, and over the following years the character grew into one of the soap’s most enduring and emotionally complex figures. Jay’s storylines covered gang involvement, the deaths of both of his parents while he was still young, a much-loved relationship with Lola Pearce-Brown, played by Danielle Harold, and the heartbreak of Lola’s death from cancer in devastating scenes broadcast in 2023. Through it all, Jay remained connected to the Mitchell family orbit and to the car lot, and his role as stepfather to Lola’s daughter Lexi Pearce gave the character a tender, responsible side that audiences came to love just as much as his earlier rebellious streak.
The sheer longevity of the role is what sets it apart, because appearing regularly in a soap for almost nineteen years means growing up in public, with viewers watching a child actor become an adult performer in real time. One of his most praised storylines came in 2016, when Jay began a relationship with Linzi Bragg, played by Amy-Leigh Hickman, only for the episode broadcast on 18 April 2016 to reveal that Linzi was, unbeknown to Jay, an underage schoolgirl, a twist that tested loyalties across the Square and earned Borthwick outstanding notices from soap critics. He also took part in East Street in 2010, the charity crossover between Coronation Street and EastEnders, and by the time his tenure ended he was one of the longest-serving cast members on the show, a fact that made his eventual departure all the more striking for loyal viewers.
Winning Strictly Come Dancing
Jamie Borthwick won Strictly Come Dancing silverware in December 2023, when he took part in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special and was paired with professional dancer Nancy Xu, with the couple dancing a quickstep that achieved the maximum forty points from the judges and won the competition. That festive victory is the origin of his Strictly champion title, and it is worth stating clearly because some summaries blur it into the main series, which is a different contest altogether. His Christmas Special triumph made him an obvious candidate for the full series, and the following year he was announced as a contestant on the twenty-second series of the main show, where he was paired with professional dancer Michelle Tsiakkas, who was welcoming her first celebrity partner.
His run in the main series in 2024 was popular with viewers but ended before the final, because he and Tsiakkas became the ninth couple to be eliminated, leaving in the tenth week after a dance-off against Olympian Montell Douglas and her partner Johannes Radebe on 24 November 2024. The two couples repeated their routines, with Borthwick and Tsiakkas performing their foxtrot to Ben E. King’s classic Stand By Me, which had scored thirty-two points, while Douglas and Radebe repeated their quickstep to Get Happy, and the judges chose unanimously to save Douglas and Radebe. On leaving, he described the show as magic, praised the judges and everyone who works on the programme, and called Tsiakkas the most amazing teacher, saying they had laughed like nobody would believe, a gracious farewell that summed up why audiences had enjoyed his time on the dance floor so much.
Life Away From the Screen
Away from the cameras, Borthwick has always come across as a down-to-earth Londoner whose interests extend well beyond the soap and the ballroom, and his public life has included sport, charity and the occasional game show appearance. He is a devoted West Ham United supporter, he carried boxer Kevin Mitchell’s championship belt into the ring before a bout in July 2007, and he is a second cousin of former EastEnders co-star Charlie Winter, who played Hunter Owen, a family connection that delighted soap fans when it became known. In January 2019 it was announced that he would run the London Marathon with some of his EastEnders co-stars for a dementia campaign in honour of Barbara Windsor, a cause close to the show’s heart, and he has also appeared as a contestant on Pointless Celebrities in 2018, The Chase: Celebrity Special in 2024 and The Hit List in 2025.
Like many people who grow up in the public eye, he has also had moments he would rather forget, and they are part of his story too, though they never defined his career while he was on the soap. In May 2021 he was caught speeding in Romford and given a driving ban, which was subsequently removed after his lawyer appealed, arguing that he is recognised while using public transport and that not all of those encounters are favourable. He has generally kept his private life out of interviews, preferring to let his work speak for itself, and while tabloid gossip has occasionally linked him with fellow Strictly performers, this article does not repeat unverified speculation about his personal relationships, because his professional record provides more than enough to remember him by.
Recent News and Projects
The most significant recent news about the actor came in the summer and autumn of 2025, when his nineteen-year association with EastEnders ended following a controversy that began during his time on Strictly Come Dancing. In June 2025 he was suspended from EastEnders by the BBC after a backstage video from the twenty-second series of Strictly in November 2024 surfaced, showing him referring to the inhabitants of Blackpool using ableist language considered derogatory toward disabled people. The BBC described his language as entirely unacceptable and said it did not reflect their values or standards, while disability charity Scope urged him to reflect on his words and educate himself, and he issued a public apology in a statement to The Sun on Sunday, expressing regret for the offence caused and acknowledging that he had not fully understood the derogatory term he had used.
In September 2025 it was announced that he had been axed from the soap after nineteen years and would not be returning from his suspension, with BBC Studios confirming in a short statement that he would not be returning to EastEnders and that it does not comment on individual matters. His final appearance had aired on 19 August 2025, a quiet scene in which Jay tied up Lexi’s shoelaces at the market, and his departure was explained on screen in the episode broadcast on 17 September 2025, when Lauren Branning told Peter Beale that Jay had gone to see his sick grandfather. By March 2026, further on-screen updates confirmed that Jay had put the car lot up for sale and was not coming back, closing the door on the character’s time in Walford, and as of October 2026 no new acting project has been publicly announced for Borthwick, a fact this article states plainly rather than filling the gap with rumour.
Read the BBC’s confirmation of his exit reported by OK! Magazine
What’s Next
For an actor who spent almost his entire working life in one role, the question of what comes next is genuinely fascinating, because the skills he built over nineteen years in EastEnders are exactly the skills that transfer to stage, television and presenting work. Former soap actors frequently find a second act in theatre, where the discipline of learning scripts quickly and performing live night after night is highly valued, and touring productions and West End plays have provided fresh starts for many performers who left long-running shows. Others move into presenting, reality television or voice work, while some step back from the spotlight altogether to retrain or to build a quieter life away from the cameras, and all of those paths remain open to a performer who is still only in his early thirties.
What is certain is that Jamie Borthwick will not be short of goodwill from audiences if he does return to the screen or the stage, because his portrayal of Jay Brown earned him a loyal following and his Strictly appearances showed a warmth and humour that viewers responded to strongly. Any comeback role would inevitably be measured against Jay, the character he played from childhood to adulthood, but that is a challenge many former soap stars have embraced successfully, and his award-winning performances suggest he has the range to do the same. Until an announcement is made, fans can only watch and wait, but the story of his career so far already guarantees him a place in EastEnders history, whatever chapter comes next.
Conclusion
Looking back across his career, the defining facts are these: a twelve-year-old boy from Barking joined EastEnders in December 2006 and stayed for almost nineteen years, winning major awards and becoming one of the soap’s most recognisable faces; he then won the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special in 2023 with a perfect-scoring quickstep and charmed audiences again in the main series in 2024; and his time in Walford ended in 2025 after a suspension and axing that followed an off-screen controversy for which he publicly apologised. It is a career with genuine highs and a difficult ending, and any honest account of it must hold both parts together rather than pretending that one erases the other.
For viewers who grew up watching Jay Brown, the abiding memory will surely be the performances rather than the headlines, from the troubled teenager finding his feet to the grieving husband and devoted stepfather of later years. Those performances are preserved in the show’s archive and in the affection of its audience, and they are the reason his name still prompts such strong reactions whenever it appears. Whatever he does next, his place in British soap history is secure, and his story remains a reminder of how long, how public and how unforgiving a life in front of the cameras can be.
How old is Jamie Borthwick?
Jamie Borthwick was born on 23 June 1994, which makes him thirty-two years old as of October 2026, and he was just twelve when he first appeared as Jay Brown in EastEnders in December 2006. That youth is central to his story, because it means audiences literally watched him grow up on screen, from a child actor finding his feet in Albert Square to an adult performer carrying some of the soap’s heaviest storylines. When reports of his axing appeared in September 2025, several described him as thirty-one, which fits exactly with his June birthday, and his age at each milestone helps explain why his departure felt so significant to viewers who had followed him for so long.
His age also puts his Strictly appearances into perspective, because he was twenty-nine when he won the Christmas Special in December 2023 and thirty when he competed in the main series in 2024, an age when many performers are still establishing themselves rather than looking back on nearly two decades in a single role. That combination of youth and experience is rare in British television, and it is one reason why his next move will be watched with such interest, since he has both the time and the track record to build a substantial second act.
Is he still in EastEnders?
No, he is no longer in EastEnders, and his departure was confirmed in stages during 2025 rather than in a single announcement. He was suspended by the BBC in June 2025 after the backstage video from Strictly’s Blackpool week surfaced, and in September 2025 BBC Studios confirmed that he would not be returning to the soap, ending a run that had lasted since December 2006. His final appearance aired on 19 August 2025, and the character’s exit was explained on screen the following month, when Lauren Branning told Peter Beale that Jay had gone to see his sick grandfather, a deliberately quiet explanation for a character who had once been at the centre of so many dramatic storylines.
Later episodes in 2026 made the finality of that exit even clearer, with Jay putting the car lot up for sale and other characters accepting that he was not coming back, even though the character himself was not killed off on screen. That distinction matters, because it leaves the fictional door open in a way that the real-life decision did not, but for viewers asking the simple question, the answer is straightforward: the actor has left, the character has left Walford, and there are no plans for a return.
Who was his Strictly partner?
He had two different Strictly partners, and keeping them straight is the key to understanding his dance career, because each partnership belongs to a different competition. In the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special in December 2023 he was partnered with professional dancer Nancy Xu, and together they danced a quickstep that earned the maximum forty points from the judges and won the festive competition outright. That victory made him a Strictly champion in the Christmas Special sense, and it was the success that led to his invitation to join the main series the following year.
In the twenty-second series of the main show in 2024, his partner was professional dancer Michelle Tsiakkas, who was taking on her first celebrity partner, and the pair reached the tenth week before being eliminated in a dance-off against Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe. On his departure he praised Tsiakkas as the most amazing teacher and said they had laughed like nobody would believe, a tribute that spoke volumes about their partnership, and while that series did not end with a trophy, it confirmed what the Christmas Special had already shown: that the soap star could hold his own on the ballroom floor.
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