BBC Strictly star Jamie Borthwick's 'teetotal for life' vow after what he saw in pubs

Jamie Borthwick is impressing with his dancing skills on Strictly Come Dancing. Offscreen the star likes to remain health conscious and has never touched a drop of alcohol

EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick will be hoping to top the Strictly Come Dancing leader board for the second week in a row.

The actor and his professional partner Michelle Tsiakkas performed an Addams Family-themed American Smooth to the film's original theme tune last weekend, much to the delight of the judges who gave them two perfect 10 scores.

Anton Du Beke called the performance joyous while Shirley Ballas branded it "pure genius" as she praised their developing partnership. Craig Revel Horwood, in his inimitable style, said it was "in-cred-ible", with the couple earning an impressive 38 points in total.

Jamie, 30, certainly has an impeccable showbiz background - he attended the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School until he was 16, with fellow alumni including Dua Lipa and Amy Winehouse.

The star began playing Jay Brown in EastEnders when he was just 12 years old and he remains in the role today. Offscreen, he is a big West Ham fan who loves snooker, boxing and playing the guitar.

Jamie has bagged several acting awards for his EastEnders, including a British Soap Award for best dramatic actor in 2008 and an Inside Soap Award for best actor in 2022. But don't expect to see him celebrating with a glass of fizz anytime soon - the star, who grew up in London with parents Simon and Sharon, who ran nightclubs and pubs, is tee-total.

"I've never touched a drop of alcohol in my life," he explained in an interview. "I grew up in pubs and people used to come in at 9pm and they're really, really nice.

"Then they used to leave at 1am and they wasn't very nice, and I was like: 'Do you know what? I don't fancy that.' So I've never drunk, ever."

Speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of the launch of Strictly, the actor confirmed: "No booze ban for me. I've never drunk ever in my life and no one loves me, so I can't do a sex ban! No bans for me, just loads of food."

Chips are a particular favourite of Jamie's but the sensible star likes to remain health conscious overall. "I've never smoked, I've never drunk, I've never taken a drug ever in my life," he told the Mirror. "I just do things I enjoy, really.

"I love playing my guitar, I love being with my friends, going on little trips away. Just being around people, really. I play football whenever I can, I'm a big snooker boy. That's the stuff that makes me feel good."

The star recently revealed he suffers from emetophobia, the fear of being sick. The condition has led to him developing terrible health anxiety, with Jamie telling the Mirror "therapy sessions have really helped me".