‘It’s about time EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick got given some better storylines’

Some soap characters seems to merely exist to draw attention to others. To those who are either much-loved, or utterly loathed, but nonetheless bring excitement and suspense through their storylines. This sadly has been the case with Jay Brown, who for a long-time was joined at the hip with the troublesome Ben Mitchell, and is ultimately overshowed by his menacing presence.

If Jay were to leave Albert Square now, there’s a high chance he may not leave a long lasting impression with fans unless he’s given a compelling storyline of his own, and soon. It wouldn’t be helpful however, if it is simply tied to a romantic hook or if he is shoehorned into one that will clearly do nothing to build his character.

Jay is neither a villain, a bad boy or complex killer- he is just that nice guy who it feels has overstayed his time in Walford. And who ever remembers a soap character for just being nice?

READ MORE: What child star who played Louise Mitchell looks like now more than 10 years after soap fame

We are only really reminded that he is still a part of the soap through moments in fear we will forget about him completely. Jamie Borthwick, who plays Jay, has been a long-time character ever since he first appeared on our screens in 2006. As viewers we’ve seen the young man grow up right in front of our very eyes. Jay’s storyline seems to be far more interesting throughout his first few years of being on the soap compared to now.

Since joining EastEnders, we saw Jay being part of a gang, coping with the death of his father Jase Dyer (Stephen Lord), and tragically being orphaned by age 14. However, disappointingly, his storylines have only gone down hill for him from there.

Ever since he was taken in by the Mitchell family, his storylines seemed to have become less relevant and boring. Nothing about his earlier struggles to prove himself capable of running one of Mitchell businesses made for worthy screen time. Or whenever he’d rejected Ben from assisting him in his shady antics, it was a frustrating moment as it was a missed opportunity for him have some dimension.

The fact that he dated another less predominant character, Lola Pearce, fails in its attempt to redeem him from being uninteresting. At one point we’d seen some development in his life when he’d become independent and lived in his own flat, but it still managed to end up being a yawn fest.

Considering the years he has been on the soap, it would only make sense for him to have a few high episodes but instead, he continues to blend in the background. Even a newcomer Eve, who’d only recently rocked up on Albert Square, is stealing all of the spotlight.

Introduced as icon Stacey Slater wife, bubbly Eve is already proving to be the heart of Walford. She’s welcoming and talks to pretty much everyone on the square, showing concern for their problems, whereas Jay only speaks to small members of the community such as Billy Mitchell, Lola, Honey and Ben.

However, this isn’t to say that Jay doesn’t have potential at all. Recently, we’ve seen a side to him that should be used to an advantage. Fans saw him with a bit of temper when he’d find out that Honey was being threatened by Suki, as he was simply not having any none of that. This shows there’s certainly more to Jay Brown, he just need to be given the right storylines to finally shine.

Want more from MyLondon? Sign up for our daily newsletters for all the latest and greatest from across London here.

Do you have a story you think we should be covering? Email [email protected].

Is your weekly dose of drama from Albert Square simply not enough? Do you find yourself scrolling through the social media pages of cast members, trying to guess what might happen next? Are you as well acquainted with the ‘Enders as you are your own family?

If the answer to any of the above questions is a resounding yes, we have good news.

You’re flipping invited to sign up to MyLondon’s EastEnder’s newsletter to get all the latest from Walford straight to your inbox- and it’s absolutely FREE!

Make sure you stay ahead of the crowd and get all the gossip on upcoming storylines, off-screen gossip and updates about the cast by signing up.

To sign up to the EastEnders London newsletter, simply follow this link and select the newsletter that’s right for you.

And to really customise your news experience on the go, you can download our top-rated free apps for iPhone and Android. Find out more here.