Jay Brown made his first onscreen appearance 4 December 2006.
You know you've lived a hard life when being part of the Mitchell family brings you stability. But that's been Jay's experience. He was a loose cannon until he found a family and the love of a good woman...
About
Born on the 7th October 1994. Beneath the street-smart front, there beats a good heart. Abi Branning could see the good in Jay, and their relationship transformed him. Add to this his joining the Mitchell fold, and the Jay we see today is very different from the one who once mugged Lucy Beale or got stabbed by gang members. But Jay still had best mate Lola and girlfriend Abi by his side, even if a holiday away revealed some cracks in their relationship. Abi had a pregnancy scare, and when Jay realised that Abi didn't want children, he sought comfort in the arms of another woman, and got caught in the act by Dexter! But their love was strong enough to overcome this hurdle and they soon reunited - much to the relief of their friends. Phew!
Storylines
Jason and Jase try to flee Walford when Jase double-crosses a football firm but Dawn stops their departure by setting a date for her and Jase's wedding. Jase and Jay live safely in Walford for the next year. In January 2008, Jase gets involved with a local gang lead by Tegs. Tegs wants Jay to throw a brick through a window to finally be accepted into the gang but Jay refuses, his good side shows up and says she is a neighbour. Tegs stabs Jay and is later arrested. Jay goes on the straight and narrow.
Jay's father Jase is found by the football firm that are after him. The firm, led by Terry Bates, holds Jay hostage to get revenge on Jase. Jase is able to save Jay with Billy Mitchell's help but is beaten to death by Terry's men, and Billy, too frightened to intervene, leaves Jase to die. Jay accuses Dawn of causing his father's death and goes into care to get away from her.
Jay is later fostered by Billy, who is wracked with guilt for not saving Jase from the gang. Jay's behaviour worsens when he plans an arson attack on Dawn, but Billy is able to stop him and Jay eventually makes amends with Dawn. Jay and Billy move into a flat with Janine Butcher, who tries to get rid of Jay by stealing and blaming it on him. Feeling unwanted, Jay befriends Marissa Moore, who works at a brothel, and they plan to run away together. When Marissa backs out, Jay runs away alone and sleeps rough, until Billy convinces him to move back in. Terry's trial for Jase's murder approaches and Jay is furious to learn that, rather than attempting to help Jase, Billy hid to save himself. Terry's wife, Viv Bates, threatens to hurt Jay if Billy testifies. Jay is taken hostage by Terry's firm as a security measure, and Billy risks his own life to save him. Billy and Jay are both rescued by the police and Billy testifies, which results in Terry receiving life imprisonment for murder, partially redeeming himself in the eyes of Jay.
Abi returns from her trip and learns from her parents about Jay's involvement in Heather's murder, and she rejects him. The next day she tells him he should have done more to stop Ben. He resumes his friendship with Lola and helps her steal cleaning supplies to make money, and they end up sharing a kiss in front of Abi. Abi insists she is happy for them both, however, Lola says she was just winding Abi up, and the three friends reunite. Jay gains employment from Max but is sacked when Phil refuses to work with Jay, when he has to collect cars from Phil. Abi consoles Jay, and after she is attacked by Alexa Smith, Jay comforts her and they declare their love for each other. Jay is later pleased when Lola asks him to be Lexi's godfather, he has doubts whether he will be good enough but Abi's grandmother and Lexi's godmother Cora Cross assures him he will be. In court, Jay is sentenced to community service for his part in Heather's death. Jay, Abi, Lola, Dexter Hartman, Peter Beale and Cindy Williams go on a caravan holiday, where Abi discovers her period is late and tells Jay that she could be pregnant. Jay and Abi argue because she wants an abortion if she is pregnant, while Jay would rather be a father. Abi is not pregnant but Jay thinks thinks their relationship is over, so kisses barmaid Kitty, witnessed by Dexter. Jay and Abi reunite but he feels guilty, and when Kitty keeps calling him, he tells her to stop, but is overheard by Lola. Jay promises Lola that he only loves Abi, and Lola agrees to say nothing to Abi. Dexter reveals Jay's infidelity to Abi in an argument. Abi is devastated, but ultimately forgives Jay.
Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) is murdered by an unknown assailant, and Jay discovers that Max is having a fling with a detective involved in the case, Emma Summerhayes (Anna Acton). He agrees to keep quiet for the investigation's sake. Emma and her colleagues organise an appeal to raise public awareness into the murder inquiry, and display CCTV footage of a man in a beanie hat on the same bus as Lucy on the night she died. Jay is skittish on seeing the footage and later burns the hat. He then makes arrangements to move away with Abi when she gets accepted into Bolton University. On hearing that the police have a new lead on the man on the bus, Jay makes plans to leave for Bolton with Abi immediately after saying goodbye to Phil at a barbecue run by the Queen Vic, but during the proceedings Summerhayes and her superior, DI Samantha Keeble (Alison Newman) arrive and question Jay (as seen in scenes available online) over a robbery at a shop near to where Lucy was killed, and it is revealed he was with another man at the time. He denies any involvement and is released without charge. He later confides in Shirley that he was with Ben on the day Lucy was killed, but he has only seen Ben twice since he was released from prison. Shirley forces him to tell Phil, and his initial anger leads Jay to move in with Abi for a while, and he plans to move to Bolton before Phil marries Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean). Jay later reconciles with Phil and reunites him with Ben. It is revealed that, under Ben's instruction, Jay buried Lucy's phone and purse in the allotment. On the day of Sharon and Phil's wedding, Jay and Abi split when Abi realises Jay is harbouring feelings for Lola. When Phil is accidentally shot by Shirley, Jay and Ben are instructed by Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) to throw the gun in the canal. The Mitchells, including Phil, decide to cover for Shirley by saying that a random person shot Phil.
Jay is horrified to discover that Ben and Abi have begun a relationship and Abi later moves in with the Mitchells. Jay develops feelings for Lola again, who rejects Jay's offer to start a relationship. When Max tricks Ben into signing The Arches over to him, Jay discovers that most of the cars he has been fixing are stolen. Phil lets Max believe that the stolen cars have been located by the police and Max signs the business back to Phil.
When Ben is arrested on suspicion of killing Lucy, Jay tells Sharon, Lola and Billy that Ben mugged Lucy. Jay and Lola begin a romantic relationship. Jay realises he could be implicated in Lucy's murder, as her phone and wallet have been handed to the police. He leaves Walford, taking Lola and Lexi. They return to Walford the next day to collect their belongings before moving to Newcastle, but when Billy phones the police in a last ditch effort for more time with Lola, Jay is arrested, and Lola and Lexi move to Newcastle alone. Jay receives a suspended prison sentence and a three-month curfew. Although he intends to join her when the curfew is finished, Lola later calls Jay to end their relationship. Three months later, Jay meets Linzi Bragg (Amy-Leigh Hickman) and is attracted to her. They start dating but agree to take the relationship slowly. Jay takes Linzi to the car lot for some quiet time, and leaves her there while he goes to buy condoms, but when he returns, Phil has demolished the car lot and Jay fears that Linzi has been killed until he sees that she was not in it at the time.
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