Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick, who plays Jay
Brown, has struggled with a crippling condition since he was a teenager that will never fully go away
Soap actor and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Jamie Borthwick says every
day he wakes up and thinks, “what’s wrong with me”. Telly fans are used to seeing Jamie Borthwick portraying the loveable Jay Brown in EastEnders. He has played the role for the last 18 years and won’t be taking a break during his appearance on Strictly Come Dancing because the studio is nearby. “I’m not taking a break no,” he said. “I’m still there so I’m doing both shows but we’re lucky – EastEnders is literally filmed across the road, there’s not far to go and I’ve just budgeted that I’m going to be a bit N/A for the next however long. But again, I’m used to it all really, I’ve been doing it a long time so it’s good, it’s nothing scary.”
Jamie, who turned 30 this year, joined the iconic soap when he was just 12 and even though fans won’t have noticed anything wrong with him, he’s been suffering with a debilitating health condition since he was a teenager. “I have terrible health anxiety, I’m a massive hypochondriac,” he revealed in an interview with the Mirror earlier this year. “Every day, I wake up and go, ‘what’s wrong with me today?’”
His battle began with emetophobia, which is a fear of being sick, and developed into more health issues. Jamie sought help for the condition and had therapy for the phobia and to learn ways to cope with his anxiety. He revealed: “The therapy sessions have really helped me. But I don’t think these things ever fully leave you. You just become equipped to be able to deal with it. I’m far from perfect, but I’m certainly in a much better place than I was 10 years ago.”
Earlier this year Jamie was devastated when his dad Simon and uncle Charlie were diagnosed with prostate cancer. He also has a cousin currently going through treatment. He burst into tears when mum Sharon and Simon sat him down to tell him. “I was in fits crying, I was in floods,” he said. “When mum explained it had been caught early and was going to be OK, I was like, ‘OK…’. The surgery went well, the doctors were fantastic, and thankfully he’s been through his checks and it’s all clear, we’re all good.” His uncle has also recovered and Jamie realises that they are lucky to have such a positive outcome because there are plenty of people who don’t.
Jamie ran the London Marathon for Prostate Cancer UK in character as Jay alongside co-star Emma Barton , who plays Honey Mitchell. Cameras filmed the pair as part of a storyline. He was interviewed on Good Morning Britain with Emma afterwards and revealed that he’d suffered an injury during the run.
“My right foot’s second toe is not good. It’s not pretty,” he said before revealing he was suffering from “plantar fasciitis”, a condition which refers to the inflammation of the plantar fascia, the tissue in the foot used during foot movement and walking. “The soles of my feet are pretty sore”, he added.
Hopefully they are all healed now because he’s going to be on them a lot in the coming weeks. Jamie is paired with Michelle Tsiakkas and it was only last year that he took part in the Strictly Christmas special. Despite that he insists that he’s forgotten everything he was taught as training was only two weeks long. “I’ll be honest, it feels like so much has happened since then I’ve kind of forgotten everything,” he said. “I’m hoping it’ll be like riding a bike and that it’ll come back, but I’ve kind of forgot most of it.”
