Strictly's Jamie Borthwick's life off screen, from real age to crushing on his co-star | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

Actor Jamie Borthwick has been part of EastEnders storylines since appearing on the BBC soap at the age of 12, but is now also taking over the Strictly dance floor.

The 30-year-old has played Walford's Jay Brown since December 2006, when the character appeared on screen to attend the funeral of his grandmother Evie Brown (Marji Campie).

The young man moved in with his grandfather Bert Atkinson (Dave Hill) in Albert Square. In his early years, Jay was a real bully, terrorizing the locals, hurling racist insults and breaking into houses.

Then Jay's father, Jase Dyer (played by Stephen Lord), arrived before Bert left the area, allowing father and son to grow closer, but tragedy soon struck the duo.

In gruesome scenes, Jase was beaten to death by criminal gangsters and Jay was handed over to the Mitchells. Despite Jay's difficult childhood, he grew up to be a popular resident of Walford, caring for his late wife Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) when she met a tragic end after a battle with cancer.

Off camera, Jamie discovered he was related to his EastEnders co-star Charlie Winter, who played Hunter Owen between 2018 and 2019.

When Charlie came on the show, the two realized that their uncles had the same name, and it turned out that this was because they were actually the same person.

Speaking to The Sun in 2019, Jamie said: “My great uncle is called Charlie Winter, so when they said there was a kid called Charlie Winter coming, I thought, 'Seriously?' It turns out we're second cousins.”

In 2017, Jamie admitted that he had a crush on one of his co-stars since he was 14. The recipient of Jamie's affection is Emma Barton, who plays Honey Mitchell, reports Digital Spy.

One of his cast mates even encouraged Jamie to take the risk and approach her, and he hasn't let it go since.

“I was about 14 when I first saw Emma Barton,” said Jamie. “I fell in love with her long, shapely legs and wanted to marry her. Perry [Fenwick, who plays Billy] told me to talk to her, and I remember walking up to her and saying, “All right, honey… wow, you smell good.” That brought the whole group down, and we still laugh about it to this day.”

The soap star added: “I love working with Emma. I won't say what it is but we have something in common that is very rare and very special and brings us together. I still try to hit on her and tell her we're going to get married one day but she doesn't want to hear about it!”

Away from the BBC soap, Jamie keeps his relationship status secret and hides completely from the public.

You can catch Jamie as Jay Brown in EastEnders on BBC One and iPlayer from Monday to Thursday, or on Strictly Come Dancing, which starts on Saturday 14 September.