BBC Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders star's phobia 'so bad' he sought therapy

Strictly Come Dancing TV BBC logo
-Credit: (Image: BBC)


Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick has opened up about his health battles ahead of this year's show. The 30-year-old, who is best known for playing Jay Brown in the BBC One soap, will be swapping Albert Square for the dancefloor over the next few weeks.

Jamie has been playing the role of Jay ever since he was 12. Despite being in the BBC spotlight for years, Strictly Come Dancing is the first reality TV show he's taken part in.

He will be battling it out against fellow celebs and dancers, including Pete Wicks, Tasha Ghouri, Sam Quek, JB Gill and Chris McCausland. Signing up to this year's series was the "easiest yes", he told the BBC, describing it as a "fresh challenge".

But dancing on Strictly isn't the only challenge Jamie has faced. He has been open about his own health battles, and that of his family's.

Earlier this year Jamie reflected on his time running in the London Marathon to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. Both Jamie's father and uncle have overcome prostate cancer in the past.

"17 months on from my sister running the London marathon for @prostatecanceruk I am now doing the same for our beloved dad & uncle," he said at the time on Instagram. "Prostate cancer affects 1 in 8 men and the more awareness we raise and encourage all us men to get checked a lot earlier hopefully we can bring that number down."

Openly speaking about his dad and uncle's health battles has prompted him to speak out about his grapples with anxiety. Ever since he was a teenager, Jamie says he has been dealing with anxiety and mental health issues. He said it became 'so bad' at one point, he needed therapy to help him cope.

Jamie Borthwick at the National Television Awards 2024
Jamie has spoken about his mental health struggles -Credit:Getty

Candidly speaking to the Irish News, he said: "I have terrible health anxiety, I’m a massive hypochondriac. Every day, I wake up and go, ‘what’s wrong with me today?’"

Hypochondria is classified as an anxiety disorder. Individuals who experience hypochondria often have persistent concerns about their health, even in the absence of any serious issues.

Common indicators include frequent visits to the doctor without feeling comforted, excessive discussions about health topics, and spending too much time online looking up symptoms. Jamie added: "I had a really bad phobia about being sick, emetophobia it’s called, it actually started with that.

"Then as I got older, that developed into more health things. I’ve just had to manage it, really. I had therapy for the phobia, it was that bad, and ever since then the coping mechanisms and tools I gathered in the therapy sessions have really helped me."

He continued by expressing that he believes "these things never fully leave you," but you can learn to be "equipped to handle" them. Jamie mentioned that he feels he is in a far better position than he was a decade ago and is still mindful of his health.

Visit the NHS website to find out how to access NHS mental health services and where to get urgent help. Many listening services let you talk for as long as you need - you can find more on Mind's website.