Emmerdale has revealed a heartbreaking twist for Billy Fletcher as his wife Dawn (played by Olivia Bromley) announces her desire to separate, amidst her affair with Joe Tate (Ned Porteus).
In a shocking turn of events, Dawn declared her intention to part ways with her husband, blaming his illicit boxing career and his habit of viewing explicit images of other women online as the reasons behind her dwindling affection.
Billy, a devoted father, was taken aback by Dawn's revelations but immediately suspected an affair, which she falsely denied. Will Billy uncover the truth?
As Billy becomes the focal point in the ITV soap, we take a look back at actor Jay Kontzle's television journey prior to his arrival in Emmerdale.
Jay has been embodying the character of Billy on Emmerdale since December 2018. However, his showbiz career actually kicked off on the ITV talent show Britain's Got Talent, where he was part of the boyband The Mend, reports Leicestershire Live.
The band was put together in 2008 by ex-Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith and amassed a large fanbase before announcing their split in 2015.
They had previously auditioned for The X Factor in 2011 but were asked to leave during the boot camp stage due to an existing management deal.
Nevertheless, they reunited with judge Simon Cowell on BGT 2012 and made it to the final after being selected as the judges' Wild Card Act.
The band made it to the final, eventually securing the 7th place. They later supported Little Mix on their 2013 DNA tour.
The group went their separate ways in 2015, yet Jay has remained vocal about the positive impact his time with The Mend had on him.
Chatting with Cheshire Live in a previous interview, he reminisced: "Being part of The Mend was a huge life experience for me and some of the best times of my life."
He further explained, "Obviously being on tour and performing live on TV gave me so much experience, but as we grew older we realised that as a boy band that catered for teenagers, we couldn't keep re-inventing ourselves."
Jay also opened up to Inside Soap about his mixed feelings towards the industry, expressing enthusiasm for the performance aspect but disillusionment with the business side.
In conversation with the magazine, he noted: "The best thing about being in a band was the insight I got into the industry.
"You work with top professionals like Simon Cowell. However, eventually, the music business aspect didn't sit well with me. It was an experience! I don't dwell on it much nowadays; I've kind of moved on."
It was in December 2018 when Jay made a splash in Emmerdale, having been clued into an audition by his mate, the ex-Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas.
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITVX
English (United States) ·